The Government has said Uganda’s economy remained stable during and after the 2026 general elections, with strong economic growth, low inflation and a stable currency despite global economic uncertainty.
In the newly released Post-Election Economic and Fiscal Update, the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development projected economic growth for the 2025/26 financial year at 6.6 per cent, driven by investment, exports, tourism and oil and gas activities.
“The macroeconomic environment remained stable during the general elections and the post-election period,” the report states.
The report, signed by Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury Ramathan Ggoobi, says the domestic economy has remained resilient despite “a challenging global economic environment characterised by subdued global growth, geopolitical tensions, and volatile commodity markets.”
According to the report, Uganda’s economy grew by 6.7 per cent in the first half of the financial year, compared to 5.8 per cent during the same period last year.
The industrial sector registered the strongest performance, growing by 9.1 per cent, supported by manufacturing, construction and electricity production. The services sector expanded by 6 per cent, while agriculture, forestry and fishing grew by 5.9 percent.
The ministry attributed the performance to rising aggregate demand, increased investment and export growth.
“Strong aggregate demand, investments and exports” together with tourism growth, oil and gas activities and government programmes were identified as the main drivers of growth.
The report also noted that inflation remained under control. Annual headline inflation averaged 2.9 per cent in the first three months of 2026, below the Bank of Uganda’s target of 5 per cent.
“Inflation has remained low and stable,” the report noted, attributing the trend to “prudent monetary policy, stable food prices, and relatively stable exchange rate conditions.”
However, the ministry warned that rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East had pushed up global fuel prices, leading to increased Energy, Fuels and Utilities inflation from 1.7 per cent in January to 4.1 per cent in March 2026.
On the labour market, unemployment slightly increased to 12.2 per cent in 2025 from 11.9 per cent in 2021. Male unemployment rose from 10.4 per cent to 10.8 per cent, while female unemployment marginally declined from 14.1 per cent to 13.9 per cent.
The report linked the changes to “structural shifts in labour demand” and growth in the services and trade sectors.
Uganda’s external sector also showed improvement, according to the report. Merchandise exports rose by 57 per cent between January and March 2026, increasing to 4.26 billion US dollars from 2.71 billion dollars a year earlier.
Gold exports were a major contributor to the increase, rising by 151.4 percent.
Tourism receipts also increased by 13.3 per cent to 395.69 million US dollars, supported by “higher spending per visitor and longer stays.”
The ministry said remittances from Ugandans abroad slightly declined due to weaker economic conditions in the Middle East and Europe.
On public finances, the government revised the fiscal deficit for the current financial year downwards from 7.8 per cent to 7 per cent of GDP due to lower-than-expected expenditure on externally financed projects.
Preliminary data showed that government operations between January and March 2026 resulted in a fiscal deficit of Shs3.74 trillion, lower than the planned Shs4.34 trillion.
The ministry also disclosed that the government spent more than Shs1.5 trillion on the 2026 general elections as of April 2026.
According to the report, the Electoral Commission accounted for the largest share of election spending at Shs1.15 trillion, while the Uganda Police Force spent Shs347.9 billion.
The report said supplementary funding was needed because of “emergent security requirements and inflationary adjustments in logistical procurement.”
The government said it would continue prioritising investments under its Ten-Fold Growth Strategy, focusing on agro-industrialisation, tourism, mineral development, including oil and gas, and science and technology.
“As we continue to set the economy on a tenfold growth trajectory, we are mindful of fiscal and debt sustainability,” Mr Ggoobi said.
He added: “Government will focus on improving domestic revenue mobilisation and efficiency of public expenditure to achieve self-sustaining and inclusive growth.”
