Travel services (% of commercial service imports) in Uganda
Uganda: Travel services (% of commercial service imports) was 8.2% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Travel services in Uganda, 1980–2025
Source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of commercial service imports.
Analysis
The most recent figure for travel services in Uganda is 8.2%, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 3.2% on the previous year and up 5.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, travel services in Uganda peaked at 22.9% in 2004 and was at its lowest, 3.6%, in 2020.
Uganda ranks 166th of 198 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 30 years of available data.
Travel services (% of commercial service imports) in Uganda, year by year
| Year | % of commercial service imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 17.3% | — |
| 1981 | 16.0% | -7.5% |
| 1993 | 13.5% | -15.1% |
| 1994 | 17.8% | +31.3% |
| 1995 | 14.3% | -19.9% |
| 1996 | 20.1% | +40.7% |
| 1997 | 16.9% | -15.8% |
| 1998 | 13.0% | -23.1% |
| 2004 | 22.9% | +76.2% |
| 2005 | 21.1% | -7.8% |
| 2006 | 16.3% | -22.9% |
| 2007 | 13.8% | -15.2% |
| 2008 | 12.6% | -8.5% |
| 2009 | 13.9% | +10.3% |
| 2010 | 18.0% | +29.7% |
| 2011 | 16.6% | -8.1% |
| 2012 | 19.7% | +18.8% |
| 2013 | 8.7% | -55.9% |
| 2014 | 7.1% | -18.1% |
| 2015 | 7.8% | +10.2% |
| 2016 | 10.4% | +32.8% |
| 2017 | 10.4% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 12.7% | +22.4% |
| 2019 | 15.4% | +21.3% |
| 2020 | 3.6% | -76.8% |
| 2021 | 8.3% | +131.9% |
| 2022 | 7.8% | -6.3% |
| 2023 | 7.8% | -0.3% |
| 2024 | 8.5% | +9.6% |
| 2025 | 8.2% | -3.2% |
Uganda compared with similar countries
- Uganda's 8.2% is below the median for low income countries, which is 9.2%, 90% of the median. (23 countries reporting)
- Uganda's 8.2% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 9.4%, 88% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Travel services (% of commercial service imports) in Uganda changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | +131.9% | 3.6% | 8.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 16.6% | 16.0% | 17.3% | 2 |
| 1990s | 15.9% | 13.0% | 20.1% | 6 |
| 2000s | 16.8% | 12.6% | 22.9% | 6 |
| 2010s | 12.7% | 7.1% | 19.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.4% | 3.6% | 8.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Uganda
More private sector data for Uganda
- Merchandise trade 49.9% (2025)
- Food imports 10.7% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 47.3% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 18.40 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service imports 5.41 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 39.3% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 14.3% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 12.50 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service exports 2.40 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 243.26 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is travel services in Uganda?
- Travel services in Uganda was 8.2% in 2025, according to Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest travel services recorded in Uganda?
- The highest recorded value was 22.9% in 2004.
- What is the lowest travel services recorded in Uganda?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.6% in 2020.
- How does Uganda rank for travel services?
- Uganda ranks 166th out of 198 countries with data for 2025.
- Is travel services rising or falling in Uganda?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Uganda data come from?
- The figures come from Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Travel services (% of commercial service imports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 30 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Travel services cover goods and services for own use or to give away acquired from an economy by nonresidents during visits to that economy, or acquired from other economies by residents during visits to these other economies. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of service imports which are commercial services provided by non-residents to residents.