Overview In 2020, Uganda was the number 93 economy in the world in terms of GDP (current US$), the number 108 in total exports, the number 110 in total imports, the number 187 economy in terms of GDP per capita (current US$) and the number 99 most complex economy according to the Economic Complexity Index (ECI).

Exports The top exports of Uganda are Gold ($3.47B), Coffee ($539M), Cocoa Beans ($101M), Raw Sugar ($71.2M), and Tea ($69M), exporting mostly to United Arab Emirates ($3.5B), Kenya ($401M), South Sudan ($357M), Democratic Republic of the Congo ($265M), and Italy ($144M).

Imports The top imports of Uganda are Gold ($1.97B), Refined Petroleum ($651M), Palm Oil ($319M), Packaged Medicaments ($309M), and Delivery Trucks ($128M), importing mostly from China ($1.18B), Kenya ($940M), India ($797M), Tanzania ($734M), and United Arab Emirates ($518M).

Location Uganda borders Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, and Tanzania by land.

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The following section uses the most recent trade data from partners of Uganda.

Disclaimer: data is presented based on availability and only countries that use the harmonized system are being shown.

*All data is converted to USD using January 2020 exchange rates when data is reported in local currency.

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The data obtained is mirror data. The trade of countries that do not report current data can be reconstructed based on data reported by partner countries with current data available.

*All data is converted to USD using January 2020 exchange rates when data is reported in local currency.

Historical Data

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Top Export (2020): Gold, $3.47B

Top Destination (2020): United Arab Emirates, $1.18B

In 2020, Uganda exported a total of $5.87B, making it the number 108 exporter in the world. During the last five reported years the exports of Uganda have changed by $3.48B from $2.39B in 2015 to $5.87B in 2020.

The most recent exports are led by Gold ($3.47B), Coffee ($539M), Cocoa Beans ($101M), Raw Sugar ($71.2M), and Tea ($69M). The most common destination for the exports of Uganda are United Arab Emirates ($3.5B), Kenya ($401M), South Sudan ($357M), Democratic Republic of the Congo ($265M), and Italy ($144M).

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Fastest Growing Export Markets (2019 - 2020)

Fastest Growing Import Markets (2019 - 2020)

Uganda Exports Services (2018): $1.97B

Uganda Imports Services (2018): $2.54B

In 2018, Uganda exported $1.97B worth of services. The top services exported by Uganda in 2018 were Personal travel ($880M), Government services, n.i.e. ($398M), Other business services ($195M), Transportation ($181M), and Business travel ($147M).

The top services imported by Uganda in 2018 were Transportation ($1.41B), Other business services ($718M), Personal travel ($137M), Construction services ($80M), and Insurance services ($74.4M).

Economic Complexity

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Most Specialized Products by RCA Index

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Uganda has a high level of specialization in Cereal Flours (79.6), Coffee (49.9), Vanilla (40.4), Cocoa Beans (33.7), and Bran (28.2). Specialization is measured using RCA, an index that takes the ratio between Uganda observed and expected exports in each product.

Most Complex Products by PCI

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The highest complexity exports of Uganda according to the product complexity index (PCI) are Artificial Filament Tow (1.42), Motorcycles and cycles (0.45), Other Paints (0.41), Other Iron Bars (0.14), and Casein (0.11). PCI measures the knowledge intensity of a product by considering the knowledge intensity of its exporters.

Export Opportunities by Relatedness

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The top export opportunities for Uganda according to the relatedness index, are Manganese Ore (0.19), Niobium, Tantalum, Vanadium and Zirconium Ore (0.19), Crustaceans (0.17), Other Hides and Skins (0.16), and Coconuts, Brazil Nuts, and Cashews (0.16). Relatedness measures the distance between a country's current exports and each product. The barchart show only products that Uganda is not specialized in.

The product space is a network connecting products that are likely to be co-exported. The product space can be used to predict future exports, since countries are more likely to start exporting products that are related to current exports. Relatedness measures the distance between a product, and all of the products a country currently specializes in.

Relatedness Space

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This network shows the products most related to the production structure of Uganda. These are products that tend to be co-exported with the products that Uganda exports. Higher relatedness values ​​indicate greater knowledge, which predicts a greater probability of exporting that product in the future.

Diversification Frontier

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The Complexity-Relatedness diagram compares the risk vs strategic value of a country's potential export oppotunities. Relatedness is predictive of the probability that a country increases its exports in a product. Complexity, is associated with higher levels of income, economic growth, less income inequality, and lower greenhouse emissions.

Economic Complexity Ranking

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During the last 20 years Uganda's⁩ ⁨economy has become relatively less complex, moving from the ⁩⁨nullth to the 99th⁩ position in the ECI rank.

These economic complexity rankings use 6 digit exports classified according to the HS96 classification. We consider only countries with population of at least 1 million and exports of at least $1 billion, and products with world trade over $500 million. To explore different rankings and vary these parameters visit the custom rankings section.

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