Uganda emerges as key destination and transit country for migrants

What the report says

Uganda is increasingly serving as both a destination and transit point for migrants in the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) region, according to an IGAD population and migration report published in July 2025 and cited by The Observer. The report says Uganda recorded 1,211,861 arrivals and 1,300,001 departures in 2022, with non-residents making up the majority of crossings in both directions. The figures suggest the country’s borders remain heavily used by people moving within the region, not just Ugandan residents.

The report places Uganda’s migration pattern in a broader regional context. It says cross-border movement had been disrupted in 2020 during Covid-19 restrictions, then recovered in 2021 and 2022. Uganda’s earlier border data also showed large numbers of non-resident crossings in 2016, indicating that the trend predates the pandemic. IGAD said limited and fragmented migration data across the region make it harder for governments to track irregular movement and respond to protection risks.

The article also highlights a rise in reported human trafficking cases in Uganda, from 421 in 2021 to 1,200 in 2022, with children accounting for about 44% of those cases. The report links trafficking and irregular migration to poverty, low employment and other pressures. More broadly, IGAD said international migration in the region rose from 4.1 million in 2013 to 6.8 million in 2022, while the bloc was hosting about 4.3 million refugees at the end of 2022. These trends underline the scale of mobility and the protection challenges facing East Africa.