CASE STUDIES FROM AFRICA

education services imports. According to Dee, 24 restrictions on commercial presence are much
more common than restrictions on study abroad.
However, the author claims that there is a relation between these kinds of restrictions. Students
from economies where there are high restrictions on commercial presence tend to seek
enrolment abroad if they are able. Dee argues that if barriers to FDI imports of education
services were liberalised completely, it would result in 60% fewer students outbound to study
abroad. Globalisation of education services has become an important feature of the modern
world economy. In order to take full advantage of the opportunities offered by this nowtradable
service, it is necessary to overcome some of the challenges of defining institutional type
and quality of programmes, funding for research, designing migration policies in host
economies, and fostering international cooperative arrangements.
The Service Sector in Uganda
Sectoral Overview
Services comprise the largest part of Uganda’s economy, accounting for close to 45.5% of the
country’s GDP in 2012. The services sector is Uganda’s most significant sector, due to its
contribution to GDP, its importance as a source of foreign exchange, and its role as a major
employer. The share of services to total GDP has been growing steadily, rising from 41.2% in
2001/2 to 52.4% in 2010/11.In contrast, the share of agriculture has continued to decline, falling
from 15.7% in 2007/08 to 15.1% in 2008/09, despite employing over 80% of the population. 25
Services have consistently exhibited dynamic growth rates in Uganda, with an average annual
growth rate of 17% over the 5-year period 2006/7 to 2011/12. 26 With respect to external trade,
services exports have been relatively steady, especially in the period 2000–2012, in which
services registered an annual average growth of 18.3%. This was higher than the LDC and EAC
Partner States’ average export growth over the same period. Services exports are estimated to
have totaled to about US$ 2 billion in 2012, demonstrating the importance of services as a stable
source of external revenue for Uganda. By the end of 2012, Uganda’s services exports comprised
mainly travel (tourism) 56.6%, construction 12.3%, transport 7.9%, financial and insurance 2.8%,
IT enabled services (ITES) 2.8%, communications 1.2%, cultural and recreation 0.4%, and others
16%. In terms of sectoral performance, major services subsectors in the country include retail
and wholesale trade; tourism; education; health; information and communications technologies
(ICT) and related services; financial services; water and sanitation; construction and engineering
services; and professional services. The service sector has also had a significant direct
contribution to job creation in Uganda, and provides crucial inputs for the rest of the economy.
24
Ibid.
25
Uganda. Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development. The Background to the Budget 2011/12
Fiscal Year: Promoting Economic Growth, Job Creation and Improving Service Delivery, 2011.
26
Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS). Statistics Abstract, 2012.
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