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Uganda - Market Shaping Indicators

View Reall projects in Uganda

As a priority country, Reall has been engaged in Uganda since 2014, partnering with Enterprise Housing Development Uganda (EHDU). In 2020, Reall initiated a new partnership with Smart Havens Africa (SHA). Smart Havens brings a significant track record in creating women’s access to employment and property and in green and climate smart technologies. Uganda has also been one of CAHF’s priority countries since 2015 and has collaborated with FSD Uganda (FSDU) across research programmes. Together with the yearbook profile, CAHF’s research in Uganda is an important input into the broader Data Agenda work in Uganda identifying key gaps in housing market data that would help create a better understanding of the housing ecosystem, for more targeted interventions and policy.

Country Overview

Housing provision remains one of the most pervasive challenges faced by over two-thirds of Uganda’s population. For low income households, which account for more than 60 percent of urban households in Uganda, the formal housing economy is inaccessible. The country has a housing shortage of approximately 2.4 million units, and produces 60 000 housing units against a demand of 200 000 housing units a year. Access to affordable housing is exacerbated by insecure urban land tenure, mushrooming informal settlements, high costs of rental housing. High mortgage interest rates (currently at 17 percent), and the need for bankable collateral pose serious hurdles for low income households to access formal mortgage loans and therefore adequate housing. A great proportion of housing in Uganda is therefore self-provided and often constructed incrementally. Poorer households tend to occupy low quality units such as single-room dwellings of less than 10m2, at average monthly rents of USh150 000 (US$40) and below. The country is largely characterised by private-sector led housing development, which is unable to meet the growing demand for affordable housing.

State of Housing Data

For prospective investors, key public institutions including the Bank of Uganda and Uganda Bureau of Statistics usually disseminate data on the housing finance sector, and these are the most reliable sources of information. Bank of Uganda provides economic data and reports on the performance of financial and non-financial institutions and private sector credit. Uganda Bureau of Statistics publishes quarterly and annual reports with data and information on household incomes, poverty rates, housing conditions and residential prices. Information about mortgage lending and related market and population dynamics are published on a quarterly and yearly basis by these institutions, augmented by other government ministries, departments and agencies and non-state special-interest organisations.

Accessing hard data on mortgage rates, numbers, housing stock, costs of construction and housing prices for research purposes from financial institutions and other actors is by way of formal requests through bureaucratic systems. There are significant data gaps that hinder understanding of property transactions, access to finance and mortgage credit. There is also a lack of downloadable data from real estate, property and other private sector institution websites. Critical land assembly data published by the Ministry of Land, Housing and Urban Development is often outdated, limiting understanding of the government’s commitment to housing provision, as well as the formality of the housing sector.

Accessible, timely and credible data is critical for informing policy and investment decisions in Uganda’s housing sector. The Bank of Uganda could be an alternative data provider for accessing important income and transaction data through banks and credit bureaus. Data relating to housing sector formality should be presented in an accessible format and be frequently updated, allowing for improved public understanding of the processes involved in, for example, property registration and title deed access. The publication of nationally representative data would avoid sampling bias caused by an overreliance on private sector sources.

Text on this page is based on the MSI Uganda Country Profile, drawn from Centre for Affordable Housing Finance (2020). Housing Finance in Africa Yearbook: 11th Edition 2020, with additional content from CAHF and Reall.

Key Indicators

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1. Land & Infrastructure

% of urban bottom 40 households without access to basic sanitation services

94.5

Bottom 40 See all MSI countries
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Country Year Data Source Value
Cote d'Ivoire 2012 DHS 96.5%
Ghana 2014 DHS 93.15%
Kenya 2014 DHS 88.25%
Morocco 2004 DHS 52.05%
Mozambique 2011 DHS 95.6%
Nigeria 2018 DHS 83.1%
Tanzania 2017 DHS 37%
Uganda 2016 DHS 94.5%
Rwanda 2016 National Institute of Statistics Rwanda (NISR) 13.13%
Pakistan 2018 The DHS Program 2.75%
India 2018 NSSO 76th Round 0.2%

2. Construction & Investment

% of urban population living in slums, informal settlements, or inadequate dwellings

Close
Country Year Data Source Value
Cote d'Ivoire N/A
Ghana N/A
Kenya N/A
Morocco N/A
Mozambique N/A
Nigeria N/A
Tanzania N/A
Uganda N/A
Rwanda 2018 World Bank 42.1%
Pakistan N/A
India 2018 NSSO 76th Round 35%

3. Sales & Rental

Price of the cheapest, newly built dwelling by a formal developer or contractor

125,000,000 UGX$34,097.11

Urban See all MSI countries
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Country Year Data Source Value
Cote d'Ivoire 2018 Site d'annonce et promotion dans l'immobilier en Côte d'Ivoire 15,500,000 CFA$27,087.48
Ghana 2019 Damax Construction Co. Ltd 108,704 GH₵$19,621.66
Kenya 2019 Tsavo Real Estate 4,000,000 Ksh$37,037.04
Morocco 2019 Various real estate websites 250,000 DH$27,027.03
Mozambique 2016 Casa Minha 3,418,491 MZ$48,147.76
Nigeria 2019 Millard Fuller Foundation; Shelter Origins 2,900,000 NGN$7,651.72
Tanzania 2018 CAHF 37,966,107 TZS$16,508.58
Uganda 2019 Various property developers 125,000,000 UGX$34,097.11
Rwanda 2020 Marchal Real Estate Developers 10,000,000 R₣$11,119.14
Pakistan 2021 Partners 2,500,000 PKR$14,305.33
India 2022 Real estate websites and industry experts 160,000 IN₹$2,176.87

3. Sales & Rental

% of national households that rent their dwelling

53.45

National See all MSI countries
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Country Year Data Source Value
Ghana 2017 Ghana Statistical Service 28%
Kenya 2019 Central Bank of Kenya, Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, FSD Kenya 35.01%
Morocco 2014 High Commission for Planning; World Bank 18.5%
Nigeria 2018 World Bank; Nigeria National Bureau of Statistics 21.8%
Tanzania 2017 National Bureau of Statistics 80.56%
Uganda 2016 DHS 53.45%
Rwanda 2020 Access to Finance Rwanda (AFR) and National Institute of Statistics Rwanda (NISR) 8.94%
Pakistan 2017 Population and Housing Census 11.53%
India 2018 NSSO 76th Round 13%

5. Enabling Environment

Ease of Doing Business Index Rank: Global

116

National See all MSI countries
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Country Year Data Source Value
Cote d'Ivoire 2020 World Bank 110
Ghana 2020 World Bank 118
Kenya 2019 World Bank Ease of Doing Business 61
Morocco 2020 World Bank 53
Mozambique 2019 World Bank 74
Nigeria 2020 World Bank 131
Tanzania 2020 World Bank 141
Uganda 2020 World Bank 116
Rwanda 2020 World Bank Ease of Doing Business Indicators 38 out of 190
Pakistan 2020 World Bank Doing Business Indicator 108 out of 190
India 2020 World Bank 63 out of 190

6. Economic Environment

GDP Per Capita

2,357,327 UGX$643.02

National See all MSI countries
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Country Year Data Source Value
Cote d'Ivoire 2018 World Bank 1,024,171 CFA$1,789.82
Ghana 2019 World Bank 11,489 GH₵$2,073.83
Kenya 2018 World Bank 173,272 Ksh$1,604.37
Morocco 2018 World Bank 30,725 DH$3,321.62
Mozambique 2018 World Bank 30,772 MZ$433.41
Nigeria 2018 World Bank 659,159 NGN$1,739.21
Tanzania 2018 National Bureau of Statistics; World Bank 2,297,020 TZS$998.80
Uganda 2018 World Bank 2,357,327 UGX$643.02
Rwanda 2019 World Bank 737,578.59 R₣$820.12
Pakistan 2020 World Bank National Accounts Data 188,900 PKR$1,080.91
India 2020 Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation 151,760 IN₹$2,064.76

7. Demand

Population Size

41,487,000

National See all MSI countries
Close
Country Year Data Source Value
Cote d'Ivoire 2017 World Bank 24,437,469
Ghana 2019 World Bank 30,417,856
Kenya 2017 World Bank 50,221,473
Morocco 2017 World Bank 36,471,769
Mozambique 2018 World Bank 29,495,962
Nigeria 2017 World Bank 190,873,311
Tanzania 2019 World Bank 58,005,463
Uganda 2017 World Bank 41,487,000
Rwanda 2019 World Bank 12,626,950
Pakistan 2020 World Bank National Accounts Data 220,892,331
India 2021 Minsitry of Health and Family Welfare 1,361,343,000
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All Indicators

Please enter 3 or more characters to begin search.

You can then click on a result to be taken to the relevant tab.

    The Market Shaping Indicators project is a work in progress. Significant gaps exist in data, which will be filled in future revisions. We would recommend checking back regularly for updates. We are keen to receive any feedback that you have on this Dashboard, which can be sent to [email protected].

    Using the Dashboard

    The indicators are split into 6 key areas, split into the Housing Value Chain: Land & Infrastructure, Construction & Investment, Sales & Rental, Maintenance & Management, Enabling Environment, Economic Environment and Demand, shown in the following tabs. Navigation can either be undertaken by using the tabs, or through the Search box immediately above. Above this, currency indicators can be toggled between USD and local currency.

    Users are able to further interrogate each indicator each indicator through clicking on the arrows to the left of each indicator. This expanded section shows the data elements that are used to produce the overall indicator value, dates of data collection, source details, hyperlinks to the original data where possible, and a breakdown of data quality. The majority of indicators are quality assessed, based on the whether they are: Interpretable; Relevant; Sufficiently Accurate; Representative; Timely; and Accessible. Indicators are scored on each of these criteria using a 1-4 star system, detailed below:

    ☆ – poor

    ☆☆ – moderate

    ☆☆☆ – good

    ☆☆☆☆ – excellent

    Finally, all data can be downloaded for further interrogation. By clicking on Switch to Data View at the top of the screen, users can filter data based on countries and columns, and download in a .csv or .xls file.

    Bottom 40

    Reall targets the Bottom 40% of the urban income pyramid, referred to as the ‘Bottom 40’ or ‘B40’. An objective of the MSI work was to better understand and demonstrate the market from the perspective of households in the Bottom 40, and as such data is aggregated for this group where possible. Data for this group can be particularly challenging to come across. In part, this is due to the difficulties in accurately defining this group using existing data sets. Additionally though, the informality of much of life for lower income groups severely limits data availability, particularly in terms of key data on jobs, housing and relationships with local government. This lack of data is a key blockage for further engagement at the lower end of the housing market, and resolving this is an objective of Reall’s and of the MSI work.

    Aggregations

    Data is shown at various different “aggregations”, which demonstrate the size and location of the population for which the data represents. This varies from national to city level in terms of population groupings. Additional aggregations exist for the Bottom 40, as detailed above, enabling a focused view on the lower end of the market.

    For relevant data, Reall’s partners are also included as an aggregation. This is not meant to be representative of the entire market, but recognises that as practitioners and experts within the lower end of the housing market of each country, their experiences are a useful check on other data sets, and an indication of the value when other data is not available.

    Terms of Use

    Reall Ltd (“Reall”) endeavours to make its data as freely available as possible in order to demonstrate the successes of its model and encourage other actors into the affordable homes movement. Reall provides the user with access to these data free of charge subject to the terms of this agreement.

    Users are encouraged to use the data to benefit themselves and others in creative ways.

    Unless specifically labelled otherwise, you are free to copy, distribute, adapt, display or include the data in other products for commercial or non-commercial purposes for no cost under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, with the additional terms below.  The basic terms may be accessed here. By using or downloading the data, users are agreeing to comply with the terms of a CC BY 4.0 licence, and also agreeing to the following mandatory and binding additions:

    – You agree to provide attribution to Reall in any published use of the data, including but not limited to articles, papers, blogs, books. Usage includes both direct publication of the existing data, along with any analysis undertaken by the user. This attribution should include Reall’s name and the following link – reall.net/dashboard. An electronic copy of all reports and publications based on the data should be shared with Reall ([email protected]).

    – When sharing or facilitating access to the data, you agree to include the same acknowledgement requirement in any sub-licences of the data that you grant, and a requirement that any sub-licences do the same. You may meet this requirement by providing the uniform resource locator (URL) to these terms of use.

    – Some datasets and indicators may be provided by third parties, and may not be redistributed or reused without the consent of the original data provider, or may be subject to additional terms and conditions. Where applicable, third party data is labelled as such, and usage conditions can be found on their respective websites.

    Land

    The provision of affordable housing in Uganda has been significantly affected by land governance challenges. This is exacerbated by an unregulated urban land market, driven by speculation, resulting in inflated land prices. Uganda scores low (ranking 135 out of 190) in the quality of land administration index, which is composed of the reliability of infrastructure, transparency of information, geographic coverage, land dispute resolution and equal access to property rights.

    Infrastructure

    Transport is a key expenditure item for most households, and is exacerbated by urban sprawl and poor accessibility to urban centres. Nationally, households spend approximately 14 percent of their income on transport. However, this does not capture the spatial and income inequality often felt by poorer households living in cities (which also impacts mortgage affordability).

    A lack of access to basic services reflects the poor living and housing conditions of most Ugandans, whose access is significantly reduced as you move downmarket. In 2017, the proportion of the population living in households without access to basic drinking water and sanitation services was 51 and 57 percent, respectively. In contrast, 57 percent and 82 percent of the urban bottom 40 of the population were reported to have no access to drinking water and sanitation services. Almost all (97 percent) urban bottom 40 households had no access to electricity in their homes in 2016.

    There have, however, been efforts to address access to housing conditions and affordability. Government assistance has focused on developing crucial housing-related infrastructure. This includes power supply, piped water supply, sanitation and solid waste management. By the end of 2019, the state-owned National Water and Sewerage Corporation had increased piped water supply coverage, reaching approximately eight million people in 280 urban areas, close to 100 percent coverage of the country s urban population, a significant improvement over the previous three years.

    Of the 23 indicators in this group, 9 are currently populated.

    Indicator Data Source Aggregation Year Data Quality Data Accessibility Value
    Regulated minimum size of a residential plot in urban areas in square meters
    i
    The minimum size of a residential plot in urban areas in square meters as per legislation/regulation.
    Ministry of Land, Housing and Urban Development Urban 2019
    200
    % of land for residential development acquired from the private sector
    i
    Percentage of land acquired from the private sector by formal developers / contractors for residential developments in urban areas out of all the land that they acquired for residential developments in urban areas.
    Smart Havens Africa Smart Havens Africa 2020 Not rated Not rated 100.00%
    Number of procedures to register residential property Smart Havens Africa Smart Havens Africa 2019 Not rated Not rated 12
    Name of residential property registration procedure that takes the longest to complete
    i
    The name of the procedure that takes the longest to complete out of all procedures required to register residential property. Assumptions about the sellers property: Is fully owned by the seller. Has no mortgages attached and has been under the same ownership for the past 10 years. Is registered in the land registry or cadastre, or both, and is free of title disputes. Is located in an urban residential zone and no rezoning is required. The property, consisting of land and a dwelling, will be transferred in its entirety. The dwelling is in good condition, complies with all safety standards, building codes and other legal requirements. The property will not be subject to renovations or additional construction following the purchase. Has no trees, natural water sources, natural reserves or historical monuments of any kind. Will not be used for special purposes, and no special permits are required. Has no occupants, and no other party holds a legal interest in it. Assumptions about procedures: A procedure is defined as any interaction of the buyer, the seller or their agents (if an agent is legally or in practice required) with external parties, including government agencies, inspectors, public notaries, architects, surveyors, among others. Interactions between company officers and employees are not considered. All procedures that are legally or in practice required for registering property are recorded, even if they may be avoided in exceptional cases. Each electronic procedure is counted as a separate procedure. Payment of capital gains tax can be counted as a separate procedure. If a procedure can be accelerated legally for an additional cost, the fastest procedure is chosen if that option is used by the majority of property owners. Although the buyer may use lawyers or other professionals where necessary in the registration process, it is assumed that the buyer does not employ an outside facilitator in the registration process unless legally or in practice required to do so. Assumptions about time: Time is recorded in calendar days. The measure captures the median duration that property lawyers, notaries or registry officials indicate is necessary to complete a procedure. It is assumed that the minimum time required for each procedure is one day, except for procedures that can be fully completed online, for which the time required is recorded as half a day. Although procedures may take place simultaneously, they cannot start on the same day (again except for procedures that can be fully completed online). It is assumed that the buyer does not waste time and commits to completing each remaining procedure without delay. If a procedure can be accelerated for an additional cost, the fastest legal procedure available and used by the majority of property owners is chosen. It is assumed that the parties involved are aware of all requirements and their sequence from the beginning. Time spent on gathering information is not considered. If time estimates differ among sources, the median reported value is used.
    Smart Havens Africa Smart Havens Africa 2019 Not rated Not rated Exchange of Completion Documents
    Time to register residential property (days)
    i
    The total time taken in days to complete all of the procedures required to register residential property. Assumptions about the sellers property: Is fully owned by the seller. Has no mortgages attached and has been under the same ownership for the past 10 years. Is registered in the land registry or cadastre, or both, and is free of title disputes. Is located in an urban residential zone and no rezoning is required. The property, consisting of land and a dwelling, will be transferred in its entirety. The dwelling is in good condition, complies with all safety standards, building codes and other legal requirements. The property will not be subject to renovations or additional construction following the purchase. Has no trees, natural water sources, natural reserves or historical monuments of any kind. Will not be used for special purposes, and no special permits are required. Has no occupants, and no other party holds a legal interest in it. Assumptions about procedures: A procedure is defined as any interaction of the buyer, the seller or their agents (if an agent is legally or in practice required) with external parties, including government agencies, inspectors, public notaries, architects, surveyors, among others. Interactions between company officers and employees are not considered. All procedures that are legally or in practice required for registering property are recorded, even if they may be avoided in exceptional cases. Each electronic procedure is counted as a separate procedure. Payment of capital gains tax can be counted as a separate procedure. If a procedure can be accelerated legally for an additional cost, the fastest procedure is chosen if that option is used by the majority of property owners. Although the buyer may use lawyers or other professionals where necessary in the registration process, it is assumed that the buyer does not employ an outside facilitator in the registration process unless legally or in practice required to do so. Assumptions about time: Time is recorded in calendar days. The measure captures the median duration that property lawyers, notaries or registry officials indicate is necessary to complete a procedure. It is assumed that the minimum time required for each procedure is one day, except for procedures that can be fully completed online, for which the time required is recorded as half a day. Although procedures may take place simultaneously, they cannot start on the same day (again except for procedures that can be fully completed online). It is assumed that the buyer does not waste time and commits to completing each remaining procedure without delay. If a procedure can be accelerated for an additional cost, the fastest legal procedure available and used by the majority of property owners is chosen. It is assumed that the parties involved are aware of all requirements and their sequence from the beginning. Time spent on gathering information is not considered. If time estimates differ among sources, the median reported value is used.
    Smart Havens Africa Smart Havens Africa 2019 Not rated Not rated 61
    % of households without access to improved drinking water services
    i
    The share of households without access to improved drinking water services. According to DHS 7, these include: piped into dwelling piped to yard/plot; public tap/standpipe; piped to neighbour; tube well or borehole; protected well; protected spring; rainwater; tanker truck, cart with small tank; bottled water
    World Bank National 2017
    50.90%
    DHS Bottom 40 2016
    57.30%
    % of households without access to improved sanitation services
    i
    The share of households without access to an improved sanitation facility. According to DHS 7, these include: flush - to piped sewer system; flush - to septic tank; flush - to pit latrine; flush - don't know where; pit latrine - ventilated improved pit (VIP); pit latrine - with slab; composting toilet
    World Bank National 2017
    81.53%
    DHS Bottom 40 2016
    94.50%
    % of households without access to electricity
    i
    The share of households without access to electricity in their dwelling.
    World Bank National 2018
    57.35%
    DHS Bottom 40 2016
    97.45%
    Transport as a % of household expenditure
    i
    Expenditure on transport as a share of total household expenditure.
    Uganda Bureau of Statistics National 2020
    13.78%
    Smallest residential plot size
    i
    The smallest plot size (in square meters) available in a residential development by a developer / contractor.
    - - -
    Average land costs per m2
    i
    The average cost per square meter of unserviced land that is zoned for residential development in urban areas.
    - - -
    World Bank DBI geographic coverage index score ranking: Africa
    i
    The rank of the country's score on the World Bank's geographic coverage index within Africa. The geographic coverage index has four components: (1) How complete the coverage of the land registry is at the level of the largest business city. A score of 2 is assigned if all privately held land plots in the city are formally registered at the land registry; 0 if not. (2) How complete the coverage of the land registry is at the level of the economy. A score of 2 is assigned if all privately held land plots in the economy are formally registered at the land registry; 0 if not. (3) How complete the coverage of the mapping agency is at the level of the largest business city. A score of 2 is assigned if all privately held land plots in the city are mapped; 0 if not. (4) How complete the coverage of the mapping agency is at the level of the economy. A score of 2 is assigned if all privately held land plots in the economy are mapped; 0 if not. (5) The index ranges from 0 to 8, with higher values indicating greater geographic coverage in land ownership registration and cadastral mapping.
    - - -
    World Bank DBI geographic coverage index score ranking: Global
    i
    The global rank of the country's score on the World Bank's geographic coverage index. The geographic coverage index has four components: (1) How complete the coverage of the land registry is at the level of the largest business city. A score of 2 is assigned if all privately held land plots in the city are formally registered at the land registry; 0 if not. (2) How complete the coverage of the land registry is at the level of the economy. A score of 2 is assigned if all privately held land plots in the economy are formally registered at the land registry; 0 if not. (3) How complete the coverage of the mapping agency is at the level of the largest business city. A score of 2 is assigned if all privately held land plots in the city are mapped; 0 if not. (4) How complete the coverage of the mapping agency is at the level of the economy. A score of 2 is assigned if all privately held land plots in the economy are mapped; 0 if not. The index ranges from 0 to 8, with higher values indicating greater geographic coverage in land ownership registration and cadastral mapping.
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