Natural Resources
Uganda's most important natural resource is its rich soil, which provides the basis for the diverse agricultural economy of the country. In addition, Uganda has exploitable deposits of gold, copper, tin, and tungsten and ample waterpower resources for producing hydroelectricity.
Economy
The Ugandan economy is largely dependent on agriculture. A good deal of the farming is at the subsistence level. The principal cash crops, cotton and coffee, are dependent on a fluctuating world market. In addition, political considerations have sharply curtailed economic cooperation with its East African neighbors, Kenya and Tanzania. Unsettled internal political affairs in the 1970s and 1980s hurt Uganda's economy as well, as did drought conditions in the north beginning in the late 1970s. Yet Uganda's economy has great potential. The country has significant natural resources, including ample fertile lands, regular rainfall, and mineral deposits. The gross national product (GNP) in the early 1990s was estimated at $6 billion, or about $300 per capita.
Labor
The Uganda workforce was estimated at about 8.1 million in the early 1990s. More than 80 percent of the workers were engaged in farming, largely on a subsistence basis.
Agriculture
Crop farming and livestock raising are the primary occupations in Uganda. Coffee is the main commercial crop and constitutes more than 90 percent of the yearly value of exports. Other major exports are cotton and tea. Annual farm production in the early 1990s included bananas and plantains (8.7 million metric tons), cassava (3.8 million), sweet potatoes (1.8 million), sugarcane (920,000), maize (595,000), millet (593,000), beans (402,000), and sorghum (375,000). Livestock included some 5.1 million cattle, 3.4 million goats, 2 million sheep, and 20 million poultry.
Forestry and Fishing
Uganda produces hardwoods, chiefly mahogany, for export. The annual cut in the early 1990s included about 15.7 million cu m (about 554 million cu ft) of wood, more than 87 percent of which was used as fuel. The major bodies of water in Uganda are commercially exploited, and the fish is consumed locally. The catch in the early 1990s was about 254,900 metric tons; major species landed include tilapia and Nile perch.
Mining
Mining has made a negligible contribution to Uganda's economy since the near cessation of copper mining in the early 1980s. Small amounts of tungsten, salt, phosphate rock, and limestone were extracted in the early 1990s. Uganda also has reserves of tin, beryllium, and gold, but they have not yet been exploited.
Manufacturing
Much of the manufacturing industry of Uganda is centered in the Jinja-Kampala-Tororo area and is related to the processing of the country's agricultural output. In the 1960s such basic goods as textiles, shirts, footwear, processed food, beer, soft drinks, and matches began to be manufactured on a larger scale. Uganda's economy is recovering from the political turmoil of the late 1970s and early 1980s, with production of building and construction materials and a variety of consumer goods resuming.
Energy
In the early 1990s Uganda annually produced about 782 million kilowatt-hours of electricity. Almost all of the power was generated in hydroelectric facilities, especially the large Owen Falls project on the Victoria Nile near Jinja. Other hydroelectric plants are on the Kagera and Kiruruma rivers.
Currency and Banking
The unit of currency is the new Uganda shilling (1195 shillings equal U.S.$1; 1994), issued by the Bank of Uganda, which was founded in 1966. Several foreign banks operate in the country, in addition to a number of domestic state banks.
Foreign Trade
The cost of Uganda's imports generally exceeds the value of its exports. In the early 1990s annual exports earned about $180 million and imports cost about $610 million. The leading export by far is coffee; cotton and tea also are of some value. Leading imports include transportation equipment, petroleum, primary and fabricated metal, machinery, paper and paper products, food, and cotton textiles. Major trade partners for exports are the United States, Great Britain, France, and Spain; the most important trade partners for imports are Kenya, Great Britain, and Italy. Because of Uganda's lovely scenery, tourism was an important industry before the political turmoil of the 1970s and the 1980s curtailed visits by foreigners. Uganda, with Kenya and Tanzania, was a member of the East African Community, an organization designed to foster economic cooperation and development, until it was dissolved in 1977 after much conflict among its three members.