Uganda is ranking fifth with a score of 57 out of 23 countries surveyed in the Africa Financial Markets Index 2021.
Absa Group survey, released on Wednesday said Uganda was up from 10th position in comparison to the survey done in 2020.
The survey, according to the bank, evaluates financial market development in 23 countries, and highlights economies with the most supportive environment for effective markets.
Ghana and Uganda entered the top five for the first time both earning points for progress, the survey said. South Africa, Mauritius and Nigeria maintain their lead in the index, though with scores slipping in 2021 for all three.
In the East Africa region, Uganda ranked number one followed by Kenya with a score of 47, Tanzania came third with a score of 45, followed by Rwanda with 43 and Ethiopia 25.
The average scores declined to 46.4 from 50.8 last year, with only seven countries earning above 50. Malawi, Egypt and Uganda are among the countries that improved their ranking the most, according to the survey.
Out of 23 countries in the index, 19 scored lower than last year.
Michael Atingi-Ego, deputy governor of the country’s central bank, Bank of Uganda, while giving his keynote address at the launch of the survey said despite the effects of the pandemic, Uganda managed to perform well.
Atingi-Ego said the ranking shows that there is need to sustain good policies and strategies that will power the financial market to drive economic growth and socio-economic transformation.
“Targeting the top of the index is symbolic of our determination to nudge, push and incentivize the fuller development of our financial markets. Effective and efficient financial markets in an open, transparent, and progressive economic environment will sustain and broaden our capacity to attract global capital, promote the effective use of domestic resources, increase resilience to economic shocks, and stimulate the economic recovery that remains fragile partly due to subdued investment,” Michael Atingi-Ego, deputy governor, Bank of Uganda.
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