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Poverty in Uganda

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POVERTY IN UGANDA

The fight against poverty in Uganda has been ongoing. However, despite improvements registered in recent years, most people in Uganda continue to live in abject poverty. African Christian updates on Poverty in Africa

The Ugandan government has made enormous progress in reducing poverty, slashing the countrywide incidence from 56 per cent of the population in 1992 to 31 per cent in 2005. And, at 12 per cent, the reduction of poverty in urban areas has been even more marked.

Notwithstanding these gains, however, poverty remains firmly entrenched in the country’s rural areas, home to more than 85 per cent of Ugandans. About 40 per cent of all rural people – some 10 million men, women and children – still live in poverty. Poverty in Uganda thrives in the rural because of the poor infrastructure which makes the transportation of their farm produce difficult.

Women are particularly vulnerable because they have very many burdens to bear. This includes taking care of the orphaned children, the sick and the very elderly with the very low income they are able to substantiate.

The areas that are mostly affected by this sort of poverty are the north and north-east of the country, where outbreaks of civil strife have disrupted small farmers’ lives and agricultural production. These are fragile, dry and sub-humid regions where the extreme variability of rainfall and soil fertility means that farming presents a challenge. Production falls short of minimum household needs, rendering the inhabitants particularly vulnerable to food insecurity increasing poverty in Uganda.

Nationwide, about 5 per cent of all rural households continue to be affected by food insecurity. Health and social issues make a significant contribution to rural poverty in Uganda. The population of about 30 million is growing at a rate of 3.2 per cent per annum, doubling every 20 years.

Here is further information on Poverty in Kenya

statistsics on poverty in uganda

Poverty in Uganda Statistics

  1. Although the country has been able to dramatically reduce the incidence of HIV/AIDS among the population, the pandemic has caused the death of large numbers of young adults and orphaned approximately 1 million children. (source: daily monitor)
  2. 6.5% is the population percentage of citizens aged between 15 and 49 years who are infected with HIV and AIDS (source: world development indicators)
  3. The estimated rate of HIV adult (15-49 years) prevalence is 6.5 (unicef)
  4. The estimate number of people of all ages with HIV in 2009 thousands -1200 (unicef)
  5. By 2003, about one out of ten of the 1.5 million people living with HIV/AIDS in Uganda was a child under 15 years.
  6. Orphanhood that is AIDS related is on the increase from 17 percent in 1990 to 51 percent in 2000/01. (Ministry of finance, planning and dev)
  7. About 40 per cent of all rural people – some 10 million men, women and children – still live in abject poverty. (source: daily monitor)
  8. According to the Human development report released recently, poverty in Uganda has continued to rise from 35% in1998 to 38% in 2003 with the gap between the poor and the rich widening. (source: daily monitor)
  9. A population of 58% lived below the international poverty line of US $ per day between the years 1998 and 2008 (source: unicef)
  10. The number of orphaned children aged between 0 to 17 due to all causes is 200 per every 1000 children (unicef)
  11. 40% of the population received the lowest share of household income between 2000 and 2009 which was 16%
  12. Despite having UPE in place, there is a significant number of children in Uganda who have never attended school and many who are failing to complete and transition to higher education.
  13. Northern Uganda is the worst affected with about 21 percent of children aged 6-12 years having never been to school. Implicit costs under UPE remain the main barrier to accessing primary education. (souce:ministry of finance, planning and development)
  14. Children residing in poor households face a high risk of mortality and morbidity. Infant mortality is almost twice as high for the poorest 20 percent of the population compared with the richest 20 percent. (ministry of finance, planning and development)

More for information and statistics on Poverty in Uganda – Click here for unicef updates