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Uganda’s GDP growth hits 6.8% in first half of 2022/23 fiscal year

According to Uganda’s finance ministry, the country’s economy expanded 6.8% in the first half of the 2022–23 fiscal year, which runs through the end of June, compared to 3.7% in the same time the year before. Services, agriculture, forestry, and fishing were the key drivers of growth.
Uganda’s GDP growth hits 6.8% in first half of 2022/23 fiscal year
Uganda’s GDP growth hits 6.8% in first half of 2022/23 fiscal year
  • The country aims to increase its economic growth to over 7% by beginning crude oil extraction.
  • However,Uganda and its partners face increased pressure from environmentalist groups due to concerns about the destruction of the ecosystem and displacement of locals in the region.

According to Uganda’s finance ministry, the country’s economy expanded 6.8% in the first half of the 2022–23 fiscal year, which runs through the end of June, compared to 3.7% in the same time the year before. Services, agriculture, forestry, and fishing were the key drivers of growth.

With the support of lessening inflationary pressures, the East African nation is on course to have a growth rate of 5.3% for the entire fiscal year, the finance ministry added in a report.

This growth results from Uganda’s push to diversify its economy, particularly in its agriculture, fishery, forestry, industry, services and hospitality sector.

With the support of lessening inflationary pressures, the East African nation is on course to have a growth rate of 5.3% for the entire fiscal year, the finance ministry added in a report. In an effort to increase economic growth to more than 7%, Uganda wants to begin extracting crude oil.

Uganda is currently collaborating with Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and foreign multinationals to explore some of its oil reserves. 

Since more than 20 years ago, Uganda has found enormous oil deposits that the nation had been sluggish to exploit. However, the Russia-Ukraine conflict-induced energy rush in 2022 offered a chance to close a market gap that Uganda couldn't pass up.

Uganda hopes to eventually generate 230,000 barrels of crude oil per day with this project. The rig will be used to drill a total of 31 wells in the Kingfisher region, according to Uganda's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, while three further rigs that will be deployed later in the Tilenga project area will drill a total of 426 producing wells.

However, Uganda and its partners TotalEnergies and Tanzania continue to face increased pressures from environmentalist groups owing to said groups estimating that the project would bring about the destruction of the ecosystem and displacement of the locals in the region.

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