Uganda’s public debt is projected to reach $18 billion —or more than 50 per cent of the country’s GDP — by the end of financial year 2022/23, according to economists, with critics questioning the returns on investment in large infrastructure projects and spikes in domestic government borrowing.
The total debt portfolio of Uganda by end of June 2017 amounted to some $9.4 billion or 37 per cent of GDP, and increased further to $10.74 billion by the close of June 2018, equivalent to 41.5 per cent of GDP. External debt was estimated at $7.29 billion while domestic debt accounted for $3.45 billion, according to data compiled by Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development. Total public debt rose to $11.7 billion in December 2018, equivalent to 41.8 per cent of GDP. It grew further to $12.2 billion by end of June this year, standing at 42 per cent of GDP.
