The World Bank in its report estimates that Uganda’s economy will significantly grow to an increased shape by 5 percent by the start of 2023.
According to the report, the Ugandan economy is expected to expand by 5.5 percent during the 2022 and 2023 Financial Year, up from 4.7 percent in the previous Financial year.
The estimation was revealed in World Bank’s 20th edition of the Uganda Economic Update, which detailed Uganda’s economy to reflect back from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The 20th edition of the Uganda Economic Update was released in Kampala on Thursday, December 15, 2022.
The report also indicated that the Ugandan economy is expected to expand by at least 6 percent in 2024, demonstrating the strength of the economy in a period of Global Economic turmoil.
Uganda’s economy was hit by Covid-19 as the lockdown protocols cut down the growth of the economy by half in 2021.
The country’s slow economic recovery started to rise up in 2022, owing to a strong performance in the Services and Industrial sectors, progressing private consumption, and a boost in private investment.
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The World Bank projects that in the coming years, the growth in the East African Country’s economy will be accelerated by Infrastructure Construction and Heavy Investment in Oil Production.
In part, the World Bank’s report reads, “accelerated growth may reduce the poverty rate slightly to 41.9 percent by 2024, though this will depend on how circumstances evolve.”
Commenting on the World Bank’s prediction, Mukami Kariuki, the World Bank country manager, said in a statement that “now, to generate enough job opportunities for one of the fastest growing populations in the world, accelerate growth in incomes and lift its population out of poverty, the Ugandan economy will need to grow even more rapidly, sustainably, and broadly. Strengthening regional trade and international trade is one of the ways to go.”
Further, the World Bank warned of a few growth deterrents. For starters, the bank warned that if the Ebola outbreak in the country is not contained, it could drastically affect the country’s economy as well.
“The government’s fiscal strategy should rationalize expenditures to create adequate space for priority spending while continuing to rebalance expenditures away from hard infrastructure and towards investment in human capital,’’ the World Bank report indicates.
