The Ugandan currency

The Ugandan Shilling is the monetary unit of the country, with the ISO 4217 code 'UGX'.

For one euro, you need approximately 4,157.99 UGX, meaning 1 UGX is equivalent to 0.0002 euros.

The Ugandan Shilling in history

In 1966, the first Ugandan shilling came into being. It has been officially used as the Ugandan currency since 1987. For context, it replaced the old shilling, the East African shilling, at an exchange rate of one hundred old shillings for just one Ugandan shilling. This currency is issued by the Central Bank: the Bank of Uganda, with a subunit of one hundred.

Coins and banknotes in daily use

Currently, Uganda circulates three coins and six banknotes.

The three Ugandan coins:

• 0.1 UGX
• 0.2 UGX
• 0.5 UGX

The six Ugandan banknotes:

• 1,000 UGX
• 2,000 UGX
• 5,000 UGX
• 10,000 UGX
• 20,000 UGX
• 50,000 UGX

Cost of living in Uganda

It's helpful to get a sense of how the Ugandan shilling translates to everyday purchases. Here are some examples:

• one kilometre by taxi costs 1,996 UGX, which equals 0.48 euros
• a 1.5-liter bottle of water costs in Uganda: 2,038 UGX, or 0.49 euros
• a kilogramme of oranges for 5,032 UGX: 1.2 euros