# Kenya and Uganda compared Kenya and Uganda side by side: 42 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, and the 1 events their chronicles record of each other. Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/ken-vs-uga Updated: 2026-08-10 (latest of the two dossiers' refreshes and the two chronicles' verification dates) Two sourced records set beside each other — nothing on this page was written for the pair. Every figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two national dossiers; every event is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle. Figures are compared, never graded. A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero; each value shows its own observation year — vintages differ by indicator and nation. ## Formation - Kenya: 12 December 1963 — Kenya becomes independent of Britain - Uganda: 9 October 1962 — Uganda becomes independent of Britain ## Economy | Metric | Kenya | Observed | Uganda | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | GDP | $120 B | 2024 | $54 B | 2024 | | GDP per capita | $2,132 | 2024 | $1,078 | 2024 | | GDP growth | 4.7% | 2024 | 6.1% | 2024 | | Inflation | 4.5% | 2024 | 3.3% | 2024 | | Trade openness | 40.2% | 2024 | 42.7% | 2024 | ## Society | Metric | Kenya | Observed | Uganda | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population | 56 m | 2024 | 50 m | 2024 | | Life expectancy | 63.8 yrs | 2024 | 68.5 yrs | 2024 | | Urban population | 31.9% | 2024 | 31.3% | 2024 | | Fertility rate | 3.2 | 2024 | 4.2 | 2024 | ## Governance | Metric | Kenya | Observed | Uganda | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Voice & accountability | 50.6 | 2024 | 39.1 | 2024 | | Political stability | 42.7 | 2024 | 48.4 | 2024 | | Government effectiveness | 45.5 | 2024 | 44.5 | 2024 | | Regulatory quality | 49.6 | 2024 | 46.6 | 2024 | | Rule of law | 49.0 | 2024 | 44.3 | 2024 | | Control of corruption | 31.6 | 2024 | 25.3 | 2024 | ## Health | Metric | Kenya | Observed | Uganda | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Health spending | 4.4% | 2023 | 4.2% | 2023 | | Physicians | 0.29 | 2023 | 0.19 | 2022 | | Under-5 mortality | 38.8 | 2024 | 48.7 | 2024 | | Measles immunisation | 88.0% | 2024 | 90.0% | 2024 | | Safe drinking water | — | — | 18.1% | 2024 | ## Education | Metric | Kenya | Observed | Uganda | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Adult literacy | 82.2% | 2000 | 77.0% | 2024 | | Education spending | 4.0% | 2024 | 2.6% | 2022 | | Primary enrolment | 98.2% | 2023 | 106.2% | 2017 | | Secondary enrolment | 84.3% | 2023 | 24.1% | 2007 | | Tertiary enrolment | 10.4% | 2024 | 4.6% | 2014 | ## Technology | Metric | Kenya | Observed | Uganda | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | R&D spending | 0.8% | 2024 | 0.4% | 2023 | | Researchers (per million) | 384 | 2024 | 81 | 2023 | | Internet users | 35.0% | 2024 | 8.9% | 2024 | | Mobile subscriptions | 126 | 2024 | 83 | 2024 | | High-tech exports | 3.2% | 2024 | 1.9% | 2024 | ## Geography | Metric | Kenya | Observed | Uganda | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Land area | 580,876 km² | 2023 | 200,520 km² | 2023 | | Forest area | 6.2% | 2023 | 11.0% | 2023 | | Agricultural land | 49.5% | 2023 | 71.9% | 2023 | | CO₂ per capita (t) | 0.4 | 2024 | 0.2 | 2024 | | Renewable energy | 67.7% | 2021 | 90.9% | 2022 | ## Resources | Metric | Kenya | Observed | Uganda | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Resource rents | 1.2% | 2021 | 7.5% | 2021 | | Oil rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 | | Mineral rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 | | Forest rents | 1.2% | 2021 | 7.5% | 2021 | | Electricity access | 76.2% | 2023 | 51.5% | 2023 | ## Military | Metric | Kenya | Observed | Uganda | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Military burden | 1.0% | 2024 | 1.9% | 2024 | | Defense spending | $1.2 B | 2024 | $1.1 B | 2024 | | Armed forces | 24,000 | 2020 | 46,000 | 2020 | Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/KEN.md and https://terralore.co/country/UGA.md. ## Entangled histories (1 event) Events in which either nation's sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the record exactly as its own chronicle carries it, with that chronicle's sources. - 1896–1901: **The Uganda Railway is built** — The 'Lunatic Line' is driven from Mombasa to Lake Victoria, built largely by indentured Indian labourers; it reaches Nairobi in 1899 and opens the interior to settlement. (from the Kenya chronicle; sources: Uganda Railway; History of Kenya) ## Sources - World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://data.worldbank.org - Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators - Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.who.int/data/gho - Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://childmortality.org - R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://uis.unesco.org - ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics - Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/KEN/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/UGA/chronicle.md. Citation template: Terralore, "Kenya and Uganda compared", terralore.co/compare/ken-vs-uga, retrieved .