• Uganda’s economy grows 8.5% in Q2 2025/26, minister says

• Growth driven by investment in ICT, construction, machinery sectors

• Oil pipeline reaches 80% completion, boosting future export prospects 

Uganda's economy expanded 8.5% in the second quarter of fiscal year 2025/26, Finance Minister Henry Musasizi announced on Tuesday. That is up from 5.4% in the same period a year earlier.

VOTE 008 MINISTERIAL POLICY STATEMENT FOR FY2026/27 PRESENTED TO FINANCE COMMITTEE OF PARLIAMENT

Today together with the Under Secretary and Accounting Officer, Dr Sengonzi Damulira and the technical team we appeared before the Finance Committee of Parliament to present the… pic.twitter.com/jkdzvSptT8

— Hon Henry Musasizi (@henrymusasizi1) March 24, 2026

"This performance reflects effective economic management, supported by strong aggregate demand and sustained investments in productive sectors, particularly ICT, construction, and machinery, which are critical for long-term growth & structural transformation," Musasizi said while presenting his ministry's policy statement to Parliament's finance committee.

The minister said domestic revenue collected between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31, 2025, totaled 16,476.07 billion Ugandan shillings (approximately $4.44 billion), against an initial target of 17,511.59 billion shillings. That is equivalent to 94.09% of the target and represents 8.05% revenue growth compared with the same period in fiscal year 2024/25.

Musasizi also said construction of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), a $5 billion infrastructure project to export Uganda’s crude to international markets, has reached 80% completion. The pipeline will stretch 1,443 kilometers, linking oil fields in western Uganda to the port of Tanga on Tanzania's Indian Ocean coast.

Uganda has discovered several oil deposits in the Lake Albert basin in the west, including the Mputa, Kingfisher and Tilenga fields. Crude reserves in the lake, which lies on the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, are estimated at 6.5 billion barrels, of which approximately 2.2 billion barrels are currently considered recoverable.

International oil companies including China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and France's TotalEnergies continue to invest in developing the fields. The government plans to generate 2,200 billion Ugandan shillings in revenue from oil exports during fiscal year 2026/27, Musasizi said.

The International Monetary Fund has estimated that the start of oil production should allow the East African nation to record double-digit economic growth and sustainably improve its fiscal and current account balances.

Walid Kéfi