Writes Leo Odera Omolo

SEEMINGLY, Ugandans working abroad are not only flying the country’s flag high, but they also contribute significantly to the economy back home.

In 2008, for example, Ugandans in the diaspora remitted about $723m back home, this represents about 5% of Uganda’s gross domestic product (GDP) ,which is a measure of the total value of goods and services produced in the country in a given year.

This figure is equivalent to 35% of the deposit base of all Ugandan banks as of March 2008 (figures computed from budget speech of 2008/2009).

When compared to Uganda’s budget for the fiscal year 2008/2009, this figure is equivalent to about 23% of the budget.

Or put another way, it is bigger than the largest allocation to any one sector in the country.

How does Uganda compare to her East African peers?

According to a World Bank report on development indicators (see below), Uganda’s $723m remittances come second to Kenya which bagged about $1.6b in 2008 from Kenyans in the diaspora, representing about 5.6% of its GDP.

Tanzanians abroad sent home $18m in 2008, which represented a paltry 0.09% of East Africa’s third biggest GDP.

On the other hand, Rwandans working outside their country, which is slated to grow by 6% this year, sent home nearly three times what Tanzanians did, at $67m. This accounted for 1.5% of their GDP.

The Burundians abroad sent home the smallest amount at $3.6m, which was 0.31% of their GDP.

Uganda’s large remittances, relative to Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda, may be explained by the larger number of Ugandans living and working abroad, who migrated as refugees during the turbulent 70s and 80s and perhaps, more recently, as guards in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Ends