Income share of the richest 1% (before tax) in Uganda

Uganda: Income share of the richest 1% (before tax) was 21.4% in 2019. ▼ Falling

Latest (2019)
21.4%
Change on year
up 25.7%
World rank
13th
of 113 countries
All-time high
22.7%
in 2002
All-time low
15.2%
in 1989
Years of data
33
1948–2019

Income share of the richest 1% (before tax) in Uganda, 1948–2019

05101520251948198320191948: 20.3 %1949: 19.8 %1950: 20 %1951: 20 %1952: 20.4 %1953: 21 %1954: 21 %1955: 20.9 %1956: 20.8 %1957: 21.1 %1958: 21.5 %1959: 21.5 %1960: 22 %1961: 21.8 %1962: 21.3 %1963: 20.9 %1964: 20.4 %1965: 20.2 %1966: 19.6 %1967: 19.3 %1968: 19.1 %1969: 18.5 %1970: 18.2 %1989: 15.2 %1992: 20.1 %1996: 15.3 %1999: 19.4 %2002: 22.7 %2005: 18 %2009: 18.5 %2012: 15.5 %2016: 17 %2019: 21.4 %

Source: World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

Uganda recorded 21.4% for income share of the richest 1% (before tax) in 2019.

That represents a change of up 25.7% on the previous year and up 15.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, income share of the richest 1% (before tax) in Uganda peaked at 22.7% in 2002 and was at its lowest, 15.2%, in 1989.

Uganda ranks 13th of 113 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 33 years of available data.

Income share of the richest 1% (before tax) in Uganda, year by year

Annual values for Income share of the richest 1% (before tax) in Uganda, 1948 to 2019.
Year % Change
1948 20.3%
1949 19.8% -2.7%
1950 20.0% +1.2%
1951 20.0% +0.1%
1952 20.4% +1.8%
1953 21.0% +2.8%
1954 21.0% +0.1%
1955 20.9% -0.3%
1956 20.8% -0.7%
1957 21.1% +1.6%
1958 21.5% +1.7%
1959 21.5% +0.0%
1960 22.0% +2.4%
1961 21.8% -1.0%
1962 21.3% -2.2%
1963 20.9% -2.0%
1964 20.4% -2.2%
1965 20.2% -1.2%
1966 19.6% -2.9%
1967 19.3% -1.4%
1968 19.1% -1.2%
1969 18.5% -3.0%
1970 18.2% -1.7%
1989 15.2% -16.6%
1992 20.1% +32.4%
1996 15.3% -23.7%
1999 19.4% +26.1%
2002 22.7% +17.0%
2005 18.0% -20.5%
2009 18.5% +2.7%
2012 15.5% -16.1%
2016 17.0% +9.7%
2019 21.4% +25.7%

Uganda compared with similar countries

  • Uganda's 21.4% is above the median for low income countries, which is 14.6%, 1.5× the median. (12 countries reporting)
  • Uganda's 21.4% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 14.5%, 1.5× the median. (29 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Income share of the richest 1% (before tax) 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.

YearChange FromTo
1992 +32.4% 15.2% 20.1%
1999 +26.1% 15.3% 19.4%
2019 +25.7% 17.0% 21.4%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1940s 20.0% 19.8% 20.3% 2
1950s 20.8% 20.0% 21.5% 10
1960s 20.3% 18.5% 22.0% 10
1970s 18.2% 18.2% 18.2% 1
1980s 15.2% 15.2% 15.2% 1
1990s 18.3% 15.3% 20.1% 3
2000s 19.7% 18.0% 22.7% 3
2010s 18.0% 15.5% 21.4% 3

Countries ranked near Uganda

  1. 10 Mozambique 22.7% compare
  2. 11 Tunisia 22.4% compare
  3. 12 Turkey 21.7% compare
  4. 14 Georgia 21.1% compare
  5. 15 Zimbabwe 21.1% compare
  6. 16 United States 20.7% compare

See the full ranking of 113 places →

More reference data data for Uganda

All data for Uganda →

Frequently asked questions

What is income share of the richest 1% (before tax) in Uganda?
Income share of the richest 1% (before tax) in Uganda was 21.4% in 2019, according to World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest income share of the richest 1% (before tax) recorded in Uganda?
The highest recorded value was 22.7% in 2002.
What is the lowest income share of the richest 1% (before tax) recorded in Uganda?
The lowest recorded value was 15.2% in 1989.
How does Uganda rank for income share of the richest 1% (before tax)?
Uganda ranks 13th out of 113 countries with data for 2019.
Is income share of the richest 1% (before tax) rising or falling in Uganda?
Over the last ten years it is up 15.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Uganda data come from?
The figures come from World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Income share of the richest 1% (before tax). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 33 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Income share of the richest 1% (before tax) in Uganda. Statizoid, drawing on World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 24 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/incomes-of-the-richest/uganda/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/incomes-of-the-richest/uganda/">Income share of the richest 1% (before tax) in Uganda</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Income share of the richest 1% (before tax)
Unit
%
Source
World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
113 places, 3,075 data points, 1820–2024
Last refreshed

Share of income received by the richest 1%. Income here is measured before taxes and benefits.