Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has provoked online outrage from Ugandans after allegations emerged that he compared his country's economic state to that of Uganda's in a text message to his finance minister.

As the finance minister headed into bailout negotiations with eurozone officials, Rajoy reportedly texted: "We're the number four power in Europe, Spain is not Uganda", in an effort to encourage him to stay strong in securing a bailout package.

The comment sparked a flurry of tweets from Ugandans who saw the remarks as offensive. Spain's El Mundo newspaper picked up the story, running with the quote "Spain is not Uganda" in its headline.