Give salient features of Uganda’s (LDC) economy.

Uganda’s economy is characterized by the following

1. It is dominated by the agricultural sector (predominantly subsistence in nature). Majority of Uganda’s   population   is employed   in the agricultural   sector.   It is also the major   source of food and foreign   exchange   earner   for the country.
2. It has small but growing industrial sector. Most   of the   industries    are small   and   mainly concentrated   in urban areas.  The few large industries   are owned by foreigners.   The industrial sector contributes   less than 15% of GDP.
3. It is a mixed economy. There is existence of both public and private ownership  and allocation   of resources.  Investments   which require huge capital are owned and controlled   by the government.
4. It is a dual economy. A dual economy   is one where  there  is co-existence   of two  contradicting sectors  where  one is modem  and desirable  while  the other  is traditional   and undesirable.   Uganda is technologically,   socially, economically   and regionally   dualistic in nature.
5. It is an open economy. Uganda interacts with other countries  in terms of trade.  It exports to and imports from other countries.   Uganda’s   exports are mainly primary   products   while the imports are mainly oil products,   capital and manufactured’ goods.
6. It is mainly a dependent economy. Uganda greatly depends on other countries  in terms of trade and other resources for survival.  It mainly depends on international   trade as a source of imports.
7. It is characterized by unskilled   and semi-skilled   labour force.   Uganda’s     labour    force   is characterized   by high  levels  of illiteracy   due  to low  levels  of  education   and  lack  of  experience for particular  technical  jobs.
8. It is mainly characterized by high population growth rate. This is due to high fertility rates and lack of effective family planning  programs.   This leads to high dependence   burden and pressure on social services especially in urban areas.
9. There is wide spread unemployment and under employment. This is due to limited production, investment   and other employment   creating activities resulting   from the high degree of resource underutilization.
10. It is mainly characterized by poorly developed and inadequate social-economic infrastructure. This is in form of poor roads, poor health and educational   facilities and inadequate   power supply which limit investment   in the country.
11. It is mainly characterized by poor entrepreneurship. Uganda’s    economy   is mainly comprised of   incompetent    entrepreneurs     who   lack   the   required    skills   to   start   and   sustain    business enterprises.   This leads to resource misallocation   and mismanagement.
12. It is characterized by high imports and low exports due to low production
13. It is characterized by excess capacity (underutilization of resources in several sectors)