Ubos revises GDP growth upwards
Services continued to be the biggest contributor to gross domestic product, with a share of 43.1 percent. Photo / File
What you need to know:
- The revision is expected to boost employment, and expenditure, and improve income patterns
Uganda Bureau of Statistics (Ubos) has revised the gross domestic product growth for the 2023/24 financial year to 6.1 percent from an earlier estimate of 6 percent.
In June, Finance Minister Matia Kaisaija during the Budget reading had indicated that gross domestic product would grow at 6 percent, from 5.3 percent in the 2022/23 financial year.
The increase is expected to boost employment, and expenditure, and improve income patterns.
Ubos also indicated that the size of the economy in nominal terms expanded to Shs202 trillion in the year ended June 2024 from Shs183 trillion in the 2022/23 financial year.
Services continued to be the biggest contributor to gross domestic product, with a share of 43.1 percent, an increase from 42.5 percent in the 2022/23 financial year, followed by industry (24.9 percent) and agriculture at 24.7 percent.
Ubos executive director Chris N.Mukiza, said the revised growth had been occasioned by the gross value added in agriculture forestry and fishing, which registered a growth of 5.4 percent compared to 4.5 percent.
“The performance in agriculture is largely [due to] the good performance in cash crop growing, which [grew] by 10 percent, food crop growing [5.1 percent], and livestock activities, which grew by 7.9 percent,” he said.
Last year gross value added in industry was 4.9 percent, up from the 4 percent due to an increase in manufacturing, which grew by 4.7 percent, construction (5.3 percent), and electricity which grew by 8.9 percent.
The gross value added to services was 6.8 percent compared to 5.9 percent in the 2022/23 financial year due to improved performance in trade and repair, which grew by 9.5 percent compared to 3.8 percent.
Accommodation and food services grew by 13.5 percent, compared to 12.4 percent in the previous financial year, while information and communications grew by 13.3 percent from 10.3 percent.
Education grew by 4.4 percent compared to 3.4 percent, while transport and storage bounced back with a growth of 7.4 percent from an earlier decline of 5.4 percent in the previous financial year.
Financial and insurance activities grew by 2.5 percent in the period ended June 2024, while administrative and support activities grew by 3.5 percent.
However, taxes on products registered a slower growth of 8.9 percent compared to an earlier projection of 9.2 percent registered in the previous financial year.
