Uganda: A Major Hub for Migrants in East Africa

Uganda is increasingly recognized as a pivotal country for migration flows in the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) region. Data from 2022 reveals a substantial volume of cross-border activity, with 1,211,861 people entering and 1,300,001 departing the country.

Notably, the majority of individuals crossing Uganda’s borders are non-residents, underscoring the nation’s role as both a destination and a transit hub. In 2022, non-residents constituted over 814,000 of the arrivals and nearly 791,000 of the departures, a trend that has been consistent over time.

This pattern of high non-resident movement predates the COVID-19 pandemic, with similar figures observed in 2016. While pandemic-related restrictions in 2020 led to a sharp decline in travel, movement has since rebounded, reaching over 1.2 million arrivals and 1.3 million departures by 2022.

Beyond transit and destination, Uganda is also grappling with a significant rise in reported human trafficking cases. The number of cases escalated from 421 in 2021 to 1,200 in 2022. Alarmingly, children accounted for 532 of these cases, representing about 44% of the total.

These migration trends occur within the broader IGAD region, which has seen a considerable increase in international migrants, rising from 4.1 million in 2013 to 6.8 million in 2022. The region also hosts a substantial refugee population, with approximately 4.3 million individuals by the end of 2022. Factors such as socio-economic pressures, political instability, and climate change are identified as key drivers of these complex migration patterns.

Source: https://observer.ug/news/uganda-emerges-as-key-destination-and-transit-country-for-migrants