The economy of Uganda advanced 5.6% from a year earlier in the first quarter of 2019, decelerating from an upwardly revised 6.8% in the previous period. It was the slowest expansion since Q2 2018, led by services (6.5% vs 8.8% in Q4), namely trade & repairs (5.1% vs 7.5%); transportation & storage (4% vs 10.1%); information & communication (1.7% vs 8.6%); administrative & support service (8% vs 16.7%); public administration (7.2% vs 9.1%) and arts, entertainment & recreation (5.7% vs 13%). Also, industrial output rose at a slower pace (2.9% vs 3.5%), mainly due to construction (0.9% vs 4.2%) and mining & quarrying (-3.8% vs -8.1%). In contrast, the agricultural sector strengthened (4.8% vs 4.7%), boosted by cash crops (12% vs 6.4%) and food crops (5.2% vs 3.6%), amid favourable weather conditions. On a quarterly basis, the GDP grew 0.3%, the least since Q1 2016 when it contracted 0.7%, and below 1.2% in the last quarter of 2018. GDP Annual Growth Rate in Uganda averaged 5.59 percent from 2009 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 11.70 percent in the second quarter of 2009 and a record low of 1.10 percent in the second quarter of 2012.
GDP Annual Growth Rate in Uganda is expected to be 6.30 percent by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate GDP Annual Growth Rate in Uganda to stand at 5.80 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the Uganda GDP Annual Growth Rate is projected to trend around 6.10 percent in 2020, according to our econometric models.