Editorial Team/Staff Writers
🔴 Claim
While visiting Kalangala island in June, Nakasongola MP Ivan Kyeyune told residents on the island (in Luganda) that President Yoweri Museveni’s government of 40 years had done little or nothing to develop the area. He also claimed that while Kalangala had the same area size as the tiny city-state on the French Riviera, Monaco, it is far behind the city-state in terms of the economy, with GDP* greater than that of the entire African continent. (The audio below is loosely translated.)
Despite the beauty of this island and the fact that someone has led Uganda for 40 years, I am surprised at the level of its poverty. Monaco is a city-state with the same area size as Kalangala and has GDP greater than Africa’s.
🔴 Background
Mr Kyeyune is a member of the National Unity Platform, the opposition party with the largest number of MPs in Parliament. The party had fielded a candidate, Irene Nampala, to contest a by-election following the death of Helen Nakimuli in April. Ms Nakimuli had won re-election in the January 15 elections. Mr Kyeyune, who has previously worked with NTV, made the comments while touring the constituency. He did not make a distinction between GDP and GDP per person. His video was shared 117 times.
🔴 What OJ-UGANDA checked
- The GDP of Africa and the city-state of Monaco
- The area size of Kalangala and Monaco
🔴 What we found
- Monaco’s GDP reached $11 billion in 2024, crossing that threshold for the first time after four years of sustained recovery, according to Monaco Tribune. The city-state has only about 38,000 residents. GDP per person stands at around $288,000—among the highest in the world.
- The African continent generates $3.5tn in nominal GDP (meaning measured at today’s prices—with no adjustment for inflation) across 54 national economies and a population of 1.47bn.
- The difference means Africa’s economy is roughly 318 times larger than Monaco’s.
- Monaco covers just 2 km². Kalangala District’s total land area (excluding the surrounding Lake Victoria water) is about 468 km², spread across 84 islands in the northwestern part of Lake Victoria. The biggest of these, Bugala Island alone, covers 296 km².
- So Kalangala’s land area is roughly 234 times larger than Monaco. Even Bugala Island on its own is about 148 times the size of Monaco. The whole of Monaco could fit comfortably inside Bugala Island and still leave room to spare.
🔴 Verdict
- The claim is false.
🔴 Conclusion
Mr Kyeyune was probably referring to Monaco’s GDP per person, which is far greater than Africa’s GDP per person per year: $288,000. Africa’s GDP per person is (average)~$2,955. His claim about GDP and Kalangala being the same size as Monaco are both completely false.
* GDP, or Gross Domestic Product, is the total value of everything a country produces or earns in a year.
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