Kenya vs Uganda: Geographically, Kenya has a greater Square Land area of 580,367 km. Uganda has a Square Land area of 241,038km.

Now, a while back, a tweet by the former commander of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) and Yoweri Museveni’s son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, elicited many perturbing reactions from Kenyans.

“It wouldn’t take us, my army and me, 2 weeks to capture Nairobi,” he claimed. But is there any fact to this?

Kenya’s military has been ranked for years consecutively as the most powerful force in East Africa ahead of its neighboring counterparts, Uganda and Tanzania.

The Global Firepower, an agency that assesses the military strength of worldwide nations, ranks Kenya as the most powerful nation in East Africa based on its manpower, range of weaponry, logistical flexibility and financial budgets

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In this article, we shall take a look at the three highlights between the two nations featuring; Military Rankings, Economical elements and Technological advancements

1. Military Rankings

African Rankings: In 2022, Kenya ranks higher in African Military strength at 12th position with an overall Power Index Score of 1.5252. Uganda ranks 15th with a Power Index of 2.2436. A power Index of 0.0000 is the highest a nation can attain.

World Rankings: Globally, Kenya stands at position 81/142 nations while Uganda comes at 92/142.

Population: Kenya has a higher overall population and available military manpower compared to Uganda.  Kenya’s population is 54,685,051 while Uganda’s is 44, 712,143. Kenya has 20,233,469 available manpower while Uganda trails behind with just 15,202,129.

Defense Budget/Financials: Uganda’s defense budget in 2022 is $934,250,000. This is short of over and above $250,000,000 in the Kenyan defense budget, which has been allotted $1,186,080,000.

Military Aircraft/Airpower: Kenya ranks 54 worldwide with a total air fleet of 151 while Uganda ranks 82/142 with a total of 49 aircraft. Kenya has 87 helicopters, with Uganda having less than a third of Kenya’s numbers, 25 helicopters.

Military Tanks/Landpower: Uganda has stronger land power overall compared to Kenya. Kenya’s Tank strength is 109, which is less than half of Uganda’s 237 tank strength. This lies Kenya at Rank 72 while Uganda is at Rank 54 globally.

Kenya has 959 armored vehicles whereas Uganda has 1058 armored vehicles. Kenya has 30 self-propelled artillery whereas Uganda had 6 of them. Lastly, Kenya has 50 towed artillery while Uganda has 35.

Uganda has more mobile Rocket projectors with figures at 26. Kenya has 5 mobile rocket projectors.

2. Economy

GDP (2021) in billions: In 2021, Kenya recorded a GDP of $110.35. Uganda recorded a GDP of $40.43. Among the East Africa countries, Kenya has had the greatest growth in Gross Domestic Production between 2000 and 2021, with Uganda trailing and Tanzania in the middle with a GDP of $67.78 billion in 2021.

GDP per Capita (2021) in billions: In 2021, Kenya has recorded a GDP per capita of $2,006.8 while Uganda on the other hand had a GDP per capita of $858.1.

GDP growth (2021) annual %: Kenya has had the highest GDP growth in 2021, at 7.5%. Uganda has had a GDP growth of 3.4%.

Poverty Headcount (2017 PPP) % of population: Kenya’s poverty headcount in percentage is 29.4% while Uganda has the highest poverty headcount in East Africa with 42.2%.

Life Expectancy at Birth (2021): Over the past decade, Kenya’s life expectancy has increased significantly from 56 years to 67 years. Uganda’s life expectancy stands at 64 years.

Population growth (2021) annual %: Uganda has had the highest population growth rate in East Africa since 2000, with the figure at 3.0% in 2021. Kenya’s population growth is 2.2% as valued in 2021.

3. Technological advancements

Electricity access (2020) % of population: Kenya’s access to electricity is 71.4% whereas Uganda’s electricity access is 42.1% of its total population.

Internet penetration (2020) % of population: Individuals with access to the internet signify 30% of the population while those with internet access in neighbouring countries Tanzania and Uganda stands at 22% and 20% respectively.

Literacy Rate (2020): Kenya’s literacy rate is higher at 82% while Uganda’s literacy rate is 77% as of 2020.

The data listed above for all sections is highly verifiable and sourced from the Global Firepower Index and World Bank’s Database.