Business
Uganda remittances reach sh11.46 trillion in one year
The figure was recorded alongside $3.24 billion (about sh12.26 trillion) in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and $1.7 billion (about sh6.43 trillion) in tourism receipts during the same period.
Finance Minister Henry Musasizi, presenting the Budget Strategy at the National Budget Conference in Munyonyo on Thursday, Sept 16. (Courtesy photo)
By: Sarah Nabakooza, Journalist @New Vision
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Ugandans abroad sent home $3.03 billion (about sh11.46 trillion) in the financial year 2025/26, making remittances one of the country’s significant sources of external inflows, according to the FY2027/28 Budget Strategy.
The figure was recorded alongside $3.24 billion (about sh12.26 trillion) in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and $1.7 billion (about sh6.43 trillion) in tourism receipts during the same period.
Presenting the Budget Strategy at the National Budget Conference in Munyonyo on Thursday, Sept 16, Finance Minister Henry Musasizi said the economy was increasingly generating resources from multiple sources as the Government pursued faster growth and structural transformation.
“Uganda’s economy continues to grow at a fast rate,” Musasizi said, noting that the economy expanded by 6.4% in FY2025/26, with its nominal size increasing from sh227.9 trillion to sh250.4 trillion.
The Minister said exports of goods and services increased by 37.4% to $18.42b, while merchandise exports rose by 46.4% to $15.75b during the year.
The Deputy Secretary to the Treasury, Patrick Ocailap, representing the Permanent Secretary/Secretary to the Treasury, Ramathan Ggoobi, said the country was building on a decade of economic growth, which averaged about 5%, even before oil and gas revenues began coming on stream.
“Uganda’s economy continues to grow at a fast rate,” Musasizi said, noting that the economy expanded by 6.4% in FY2025/26, with its nominal size increasing from sh227.9 trillion to sh250.4 trillion.
The Minister said exports of goods and services increased by 37.4% to $18.42b, while merchandise exports rose by 46.4% to $15.75b during the year.
The Deputy Secretary to the Treasury, Patrick Ocailap, representing the Permanent Secretary/Secretary to the Treasury, Ramathan Ggoobi, said the country was building on a decade of economic growth, which averaged about 5%, even before oil and gas revenues began coming on stream.
“With oil revenues starting to come in, and our emphasis on domestic revenue mobilisation to drive the budget, we are looking towards an even faster growth with gainful jobs,” Ocailap said.
For FY2027/28, the Government will continue to focus on Agro-Industrialisation, Tourism Development, Mineral-Based Industrial Development and Science, Technology and Innovation, collectively referred to as ATMS, alongside their critical enablers. The strategy places emphasis on job creation, export growth and diversification, private investment, productivity and improved household incomes.
The strategy also seeks to encourage legitimately earned income from we abroad to come home and contribute to the economy through a review of foreign-sourced income taxation, while maintaining safeguards against tax avoidance.
For every major new budget intervention, Government will assess its contribution to productive jobs, exports or foreign-exchange savings, private investment, productivity and household incomes.
For FY2027/28, the Government will continue to focus on Agro-Industrialisation, Tourism Development, Mineral-Based Industrial Development and Science, Technology and Innovation, collectively referred to as ATMS, alongside their critical enablers. The strategy places emphasis on job creation, export growth and diversification, private investment, productivity and improved household incomes.
The strategy also seeks to encourage legitimately earned income from we abroad to come home and contribute to the economy through a review of foreign-sourced income taxation, while maintaining safeguards against tax avoidance.
For every major new budget intervention, Government will assess its contribution to productive jobs, exports or foreign-exchange savings, private investment, productivity and household incomes.