Digital Transformation of the Land Sector in Uganda: A Policy Note

With only 16 years remaining to achieve Uganda’s Vision 2040, the digital transformation of the land sector is critical to accelerating social well-being and economic growth. Uganda has made notable progress on land sector reforms, such as establishing the Uganda National Land Information System (UgNLIS) and piloting an approach for systematic demarcation. However, challenges persist. Low levels of registered properties, cumbersome processes for sporadic land registration, and incomplete support systems to enable data transparency and accessibility, all contribute to the persistently limited digitalization. These challenges are compounded by population growth and internal migration, which drive complex, competing demands for land and are likely to increase the prevalence of land-related conflicts in the future. Digital transformation can unlock Uganda’s land sector by accelerating systematic demarcation, enabling maintenance of the land registry and helping to establish supporting systems for data transparency and informed decision-making. This note offers key recommendations to update the legal and policy framework for the land sector; standardize, digitalize, and scale the registration of land rights, and; advance establishment of National Spatial Data Infrastructure.