Uganda
Name
| Official name | The Republic of Uganda — the constitution of 8 October 1995 (the fourth after those of 1962, 1966–67 and the military years); independent on 9 October 1962 as a Commonwealth realm with Queen Elizabeth II the head of state and Milton Obote the Prime Minister, a republic within the Commonwealth on 9 October 1963 with Kabaka Mutesa II of Buganda the ceremonial President; the UN's member since 25 October 1962, the African Union's (the OAU's founding member of 1963), the East African Community's (the founder of 1967 and of 2000), the Commonwealth's, the OIC's (1974), the IGAD's, the Non-Aligned Movement's (the chair of 2024–27 after the Kampala summit of January 2024) |
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| Former names | The Uganda Protectorate (1894–1962; the British protectorate over the Kingdom of Buganda of 1894, extended to Bunyoro, Toro, Ankole, Busoga and the north and east by 1914), the Imperial British East Africa Company's sphere of 1888–93 (Lugard's treaty with Kabaka Mwanga of 26 December 1890), the kingdoms before it — Buganda, Bunyoro-Kitara (the empire of Kitara of the legends), Toro, Ankole (Nkore), Busoga's chiefdoms, Rwenzururu; the Sovereign State of Uganda of 1962–63 and the Republic since 1963 ('the Second Republic' of Amin's years by the usual line) |
| Demonym | Ugandan — the citizens of about 56 indigenous communities named in the constitution's Third Schedule (65 by the amendment of 2005): the Bantu peoples of the south and the west (the Baganda about 15–17%, the Banyankole about 9–10%, the Basoga about 8–9%, the Bakiga about 6–7%, the Bagisu, the Banyoro, the Batoro, the Bakonzo), the Nilotic and the Central Sudanic peoples of the north and the east (the Iteso about 7%, the Langi about 6%, the Acholi, the Lugbara, the Alur, the Karimojong, the Madi), the Asian Ugandans (the returnees after the 1972 expulsion); the Ugandans abroad in Kenya, South Sudan, the UK, the US, the Gulf (the labor migrants) and South Africa |
| Meaning of the name | 'Uganda' — the Swahili form of 'Buganda', the land of the Ganda people (the prefix bu- the land, ba- the people, mu- the person, lu- the language: Buganda, Baganda, Muganda, Luganda), used by the Zanzibari traders of the 1840s and the British for the whole protectorate; 'Kampala' from the impala (empala) of the Kabaka's hunting hill — 'the hill of the impala'; 'Entebbe' 'the seat' (of the chief); 'Jinja' 'the stones' of the Nile's falls; 'Rwenzori' 'the rainmaker' or 'the hill of the rain' by the Bakonzo; 'Kyoga', 'Kidepo' and 'Bwindi' ('the impenetrable') by the local tongues; 'Pearl of Africa' Winston Churchill's phrase of 1908 ('My African Journey') the country's tourism slogan |
| Motto | 'For God and My Country' — the motto on the coat of arms of 1962 and the national oath; 'the Pearl of Africa' the tourism slogan from Churchill's 1908 book; the NRM's 'Securing your future' and 'Protecting the gains' of the campaigns (2021, 2026), the opposition's 'People Power, Our Power' of the NUP (2018–); the national anthem's 'Oh Uganda, land of beauty' and the 'Pearl of Africa' of the hymns |
Quick facts
| Capital | Kampala — on the hills by Lake Victoria's Murchison Bay at about 1,190 m, about 1.8 million in the Kampala Capital City Authority's 189 km² by the 2024 census and several million in the Greater Kampala area (Wakiso's about 3.5 million and Mukono's by the 2023 estimates); the capital since independence (Entebbe, 35 km south, the protectorate's capital of 1894–1962 and the State House's and the airport's town); the seven hills of the old city — Mengo (the Kabaka's Lubiri), Rubaga (the Catholic cathedral), Namirembe (the Anglican cathedral), Kibuli (the mosque), Nakasero, Kololo (the independence grounds), Old Kampala (the Gaddafi National Mosque of 2006) and Makerere (the university of 1922); the Parliament, the Bulange of the Buganda kingdom, the Kasubi tombs; the boda-boda motorcycles of the traffic; the Kiteezi landfill disaster of 10 August 2024 (about 35 dead) |
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| Largest cities | Kampala (about 1.8 million at the 2024 census), the Greater Kampala municipalities of Wakiso and Mukono districts (Nansana, Kira, Makindye-Ssabagabo, Mukono — each several hundred thousand by the census), then the regional cities of the 2020 reform (1 July 2020): Gulu (the north's hub), Mbarara (the west's), Mbale (the east's at Mount Elgon), Jinja (the Nile's source and the old industry), Lira, Arua, Masaka, Fort Portal (the tourism city of the Rwenzori), Soroti, Hoima (the oil city of the Albertine); Entebbe (the airport); about a quarter to a third of the people urban by the census's lines |
| Official language | English and Swahili — English the language of the government, the courts, the schools from the upper primary and the media (the official language since independence), Swahili the second official language by the constitutional amendment of 2005 (the East African Community's lingua franca, the army's and the police's; the schools' compulsory subject of the 2020s' policy); about 40 local languages — Luganda the most widely spoken (the Baganda's and the Kampala region's lingua franca), Runyankole-Rukiga, Lusoga, Ateso, Lango, Acholi, Lugbara, Lumasaba, Runyoro-Rutooro, Karimojong, Alur, Kumam; the Bantu languages of the south and the west, the Nilotic of the north and the east, the Central Sudanic of the northwest |
| Currency | The Uganda shilling (UGX; USh) — no subdivision in use; about 3,500–3,700 shillings to the U.S. dollar and about 37–39 shillings to the Indian rupee by the 2025–26 market range; the Bank of Uganda (15 August 1966; Governor Michael Atingi-Ego after Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile's two decades of 2001–22) — the floating rate since the 1990s, the inflation-targeting frame of 2011 (the central bank rate); the first shilling of August 1966 at par with the East African shilling, the new shilling of May 1987 at 100 old to 1 (the Museveni government's currency reform); the notes of 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, 10,000, 20,000 and 50,000 (the 2010 series with the SPARK feature — Africa's first) and the coins of 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1,000; the mobile money of MTN MoMo and Airtel Money (the 2009 start; most adults' payment by the regulators' counts) |
| Time zone | UTC+3 the year round (East Africa Time, EAT; no daylight saving) — the same clock as Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Somalia and Saudi Arabia, two and a half hours behind India; on the equator (the 12 hours of the day the year round; the equator line's monuments at Kayabwe on the Masaka road); the week of Monday to Friday; the dates in day/month/year (05/10/2026) |
| Calling code, internet and ISO codes | +256 (the nine-digit numbers; MTN Uganda the largest network, Airtel Uganda, the state's Uganda Telecom revived as UTL; the mobile subscriptions of about 40 million and more by the Uganda Communications Commission's counts); internet .ug; the internet shut down from 13 January 2026 (the mobile internet suspended for the election; partly restored on 18 January with the social media still blocked) as in January 2021 — the state's 'misinformation and incitement' and the rights groups' 'censorship' both stated (LAW 2); the 'social media tax' of 2018–21; ISO 3166 UG, UGA, 800; the vehicle code UG; the IOC and FIFA code UGA; the aircraft registration 5X-; the plugs of Type G at 240 V and 50 Hz |
| Area | 241,038 km² (93,065 sq mi) — about 200,500 km² of land and about 37,000 km² (15.39%) of water: the Ugandan share of Lake Victoria (about 31,000 km² of its 68,800 — about 45%), Lake Kyoga, Lake Albert, Lake Edward and Lake George; the 79th country of the world by area, about 7% of India's 3.29 million km², about the size of Uttar Pradesh (240,928 km²); landlocked; on the equator, the East African plateau at 900–1,500 m between the two arms of the Great Rift Valley (the Albertine Rift of the west); the borders about 2,700 km — the DR Congo about 875 km, South Sudan about 475, Kenya about 815, Tanzania about 390 (with the lake), Rwanda about 170 by the usual counts |
| Population | 45,905,417 at the census of 10 May 2024 by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics' final count (45,935,046 by the preliminary of June 2024 — both stated) — about the 30th of the world and Africa's ninth or tenth by the rankings; 34.6 million at the census of 2014, 24.2 million at 2002's, 16.7 million at 1991's; the growth of 2.79% a year in 2014–24; about 48% under 15 by the estimates; the women a little more than half; the refugees about 1.95 million (October 2025; South Sudan's, the DR Congo's, Sudan's, Somalia's, Burundi's, Rwanda's) — the largest refugee population in Africa, settled under the 'open door' policy of the 2006 Refugees Act (the land plots, the work rights) — the 'model' of the UNHCR's line and the 'strained settlements' of the aid cuts of 2025 both stated (LAW 2) |
| Density | About 190 people per km² on the land and about 157 on the whole area — among Africa's more crowded states; the fertile south and west the densest (Kampala's about 9,500 per km², Wakiso's, the Kigezi highlands' of Kabale and Kisoro, the Mount Elgon slopes of the Bagisu at 500–1,000 per km² — the Bududa landslides' human cost), the semi-arid northeast of Karamoja and the national parks the emptiest (about 30–50 per km² in Kotido, Moroto, Kaabong); the 2.79% growth that doubles the people in about 25 years |
| Religion | Christianity about 82% by the 2024 census (the Roman Catholics about 40–42% — the Archdiocese of Kampala, the Uganda Martyrs' shrine of Namugongo; the Anglicans of the Church of Uganda about 30% — the Province of 1961, Namirembe; the Pentecostals and the 'Born Again' churches about 10% and rising; the Seventh-day Adventists, the Orthodox), Islam about 13% (the Sunni majority under the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council, Kibuli and the Gaddafi mosques; the Ahmadiyya, the Shia), the traditional religions, the Bahá'í Faith (the Mother Temple of Africa at Kikaaya hill, 1961), the Hindus and the Sikhs of the Asian community, the irreligious few; the Uganda Martyrs (22 Catholic and 23 Anglican converts killed by Kabaka Mwanga's order in 1885–87, the 3 June 1886 burning at Namugongo; the Catholic saints of 18 October 1964 — Martyrs' Day of 3 June, the millions of pilgrims); the Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2023 and the churches' backing of it — the state's 'the family values' and the rights groups' 'persecution' both stated (LAW 2) |
| Government type | Unitary presidential republic under the constitution of 8 October 1995 (amended in 2005 — the term limit removed and the multiparty system restored by the referendum of 28 July 2005 — and in December 2017 — the age limit of 75 removed) — the President the head of state and of the government elected for five years without a term or age limit, the Vice President and the Prime Minister (the leader of the government business) appointed by him, the Cabinet from the Parliament and outside it, the Parliament of 529 elected for five years (with the army's 10 seats), the courts; the constitutional kingdoms and the cultural institutions restored in 1993 (Buganda, Bunyoro, Toro, Busoga, Rwenzururu and the others; no political role by the constitution); the National Resistance Movement's rule since 1986 — the Freedom House 'Not Free' (about 34 of 100), the Economist's 'authoritarian' index and the government's 'peace, stability and the elections every five years' both stated (LAW 2) |
| Head of state | President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni (since 29 January 1986; born 15 September 1944 at Ntungamo; the University of Dar es Salaam's political science graduate of 1970, the FRONASA fighter against Amin, the Defense Minister of 1979–80, the leader of the Popular Resistance Army and the National Resistance Army in the Bush War of 1981–86; elected in 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016, 2021 and 2026) — the seventh elected term won on 15 January 2026 with 71.65% (7,946,772 votes; the Electoral Commission's declaration of 17 January; turnout 52.50% of 21,649,067 registered) against Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu (Bobi Wine, NUP) 24.72%, Nandala Mafabi (FDC) 1.88% and Mugisha Muntu (ANT) 0.53%; sworn in on 12 May 2026 for 2026–31; the Commander-in-Chief of the Uganda People's Defence Force; the chairman of the National Resistance Movement; the observers' and the opposition's verdicts on the vote (the AU's 'intimidation, arrest and abductions', HRW's 'marred by abuses', the opposition's 'fraud') and the Commission's 'free and fair' both stated (LAW 2) |
| Head of government | The President leads the government; Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja (since 21 June 2021; reappointed in the Cabinet of 26 May 2026) the leader of the government business in the Parliament, Vice President Jessica Rose Epel Alupo (since 21 June 2021); the Cabinet of 26 May 2026 — the First Deputy Prime Minister Rebecca Kadaga, the Second Chrispus Kiyonga, the Third Lukia Nakadama; Finance, Planning and Economic Development Henry Musasizi (the budget of 11 June 2026 — the 10.2% growth projected for FY2026/27 on the first oil), Foreign Affairs Adonia Ayebare (the UN ambassador of the 2010s–20s), Defense Kiryowa Kiwanuka, Health Chris Baryomunsi, Education and Sports Janet Museveni (the First Lady; in the post since 2016), Justice and Constitutional Affairs Norbert Mao (the Democratic Party's president), Energy and Mineral Development Monica Musenero Musanza, the Attorney General Sam Mayanja; the State House the center of the decisions by the usual line |
| Legislature | The Parliament of Uganda — 529 members for five years (the 12th Parliament of 2026–31): 353 constituency members, 146 district women representatives and 30 special-interest members (the army's 10 — the UPDF's, the youth's, the workers', the persons with disabilities', the older persons'); the election of 15 January 2026 — the NRM 372 seats, the National Unity Platform 49 (the main opposition; Joel Ssenyonyi the Leader of the Opposition since 9 January 2024), the Uganda People's Congress 12, the Forum for Democratic Change 9, the Democratic Party 6, the People's Front for Freedom 2, the Alliance for National Transformation 1, the independents 68 (most of them NRM-leaning by the usual line), the UPDF 10; Speaker Jacob Oboth-Oboth (25 May 2026; 441 votes — the former Defense Minister) after Anita Among (2022–26), Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa (457 votes); the Government Chief Whip Justine Lumumba Kasule; the laws of 2025–26 — the UPDF Act of 2025 (the military trials of the civilians reinstated, 16 June 2025), the Protection of Sovereignty Act (18 May 2026); the next election due on or about 15 January 2031 |
| National Day | 9 October — Independence Day (1962; the 64th anniversary of 2026 four days ahead); 26 January — Liberation Day (the NRA's taking of Kampala, 1986); 16 February — Archbishop Janani Luwum Day (the Anglican archbishop killed under Amin on 16 February 1977); 8 March — Women's Day; 1 May — Labor Day; 3 June — Martyrs' Day (Namugongo); 9 June — Heroes' Day; Christmas, Boxing Day, Good Friday and Easter Monday, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha by the lunar calendar; the kingdoms' coronation days (the Kabaka's of 31 July) |
| Driving side and HDI | Left (the British rule; the boda-boda motorcycle taxis — about a million by the counts, the Kampala traffic's heart and its accidents; the 14-seat 'taxis' (minibuses); the highway crashes of 2025–26 — the 46 dead of the Kampala–Gulu collision of 22 October 2025, the 21 of the Kapchorwa school bus of 16 July 2026); Human Development Index 0.582 (2023), 157th of 193, 'medium' by the UNDP; the Gini 42.0 (2016); life expectancy about 64–69 years by the UN's and the other estimates (both stated); the GDP a head about US$1,340 (2025; about US$3,900 by purchasing power); the poverty 20.3% by the national line (2019–20) and higher by the international — both stated; Freedom House 'Not Free' |
Flag & national symbols
| National flag | The flag of 9 October 1962 — six equal horizontal stripes of black, yellow and red repeated (black, yellow, red, black, yellow, red from the top), a white disc at the center bearing the gray crowned crane (the national bird) facing the hoist with its raised leg, the proportion 2:3: the black the African people, the yellow the sunshine, the red the brotherhood (the blood that unites all Africans), the crane the gentle nature of the people and the bird's raised leg the country moving forward by the official readings; designed by the Justice Minister Grace Ibingira from the UPC's black, yellow and red (the Democratic Party's blue-green-blue design of 1961–62 dropped with the government's change); the Independence Day of 9 OctoberFlag of Uganda |
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| Coat of arms | The arms of 1962 — a shield and two crossed spears (the defense of the country), the shield bearing the waves of Lake Victoria and Lake Albert at the top, the sun at the center and the traditional drum of the summoning below; the Uganda kob (the antelope of the plains) on the left and the gray crowned crane on the right, standing on a green mound with the Nile running through it and the cash crops of coffee and cotton on either side; the motto 'For God and My Country' on the scroll; the arms of the President's standard, the Parliament, the passports, the shilling notes |
| National anthem | 'Oh Uganda, Land of Beauty' — the words and the music by George Wilberforce Kakoma (1922–2012), adopted at independence on 9 October 1962 after the competition of 1962 (one verse sung at the ceremonies — the prayer for the land, the peace and the freedom); among the shortest anthems of the world by the usual line; the East African Community's anthem (2010) sung with it at the regional events; the royal anthems of the kingdoms (Buganda's 'Ekitiibwa kya Buganda') |
| National motto | 'For God and My Country' — on the coat of arms since 1962 and in the national oath and the pledge of the schools; the 'Pearl of Africa' of Churchill's 1908 phrase on the tourism and the national branding; the 'Uganda Gifted by Nature' tourism slogan of the 2010s |
| National colors | Black, yellow and red — the black of the people, the yellow of the sun and the red of the brotherhood of the flag of 1962 (the Uganda People's Congress's colors at independence); the national teams' yellow, red and black (the Uganda Cranes of football, the Rugby Cranes, the She Cranes of netball); the NRM's yellow of the campaigns and the NUP's red berets of the opposition (the red beret classified as the army's uniform by the 2019 gazette — the opposition's 'symbol' and the state's 'military attire' both stated, LAW 2) |
| National animal | The gray crowned crane (Balearica regulorum gibbericeps; the 'Crested Crane' of the flag and the arms — the national bird, endangered by the IUCN since 2012, its wetlands' loss); the Uganda kob of the arms (the antelope of the Queen Elizabeth and Murchison Falls parks — the Kidepo, the Semliki); the mountain gorilla of Bwindi and Mgahinga (about half of the world's about 1,060 by the 2018–19 census — the tourism's flagship), the chimpanzees of Kibale (about 1,500), the tree-climbing lions of Ishasha, the shoebill of the Mabamba swamp, the Rothschild's giraffe of Murchison Falls, the southern white rhino reintroduced at Kidepo on 17 March 2026 (the Ziwa sanctuary's breeding since 2005) |
| National flower and tree | None by law — the coffee plant (the robusta of Uganda's own origin and the arabica of Mount Elgon and the Rwenzori — the economy's crop), the matooke banana (the East African highland banana of the staple), the barkcloth fig (Ficus natalensis — the barkcloth of the Baganda on UNESCO's list), the mvule and the mahogany of the forests, the papyrus of the swamps and the Nile, the giant lobelias and the groundsels of the Rwenzori; the national tree-planting days of the government's campaigns |
| National dish | None by law — the matooke (the steamed green bananas mashed in banana leaves — the national staple of the south) with the groundnut sauce (ebinyebwa), the beans, the beef or the chicken stews, the luwombo (the meat or the fish steamed in the banana leaves — the Kabaka's dish of the 1880s by the tradition), the posho (the maize meal), the millet bread (kalo), the cassava, the sweet potatoes, the tilapia and the Nile perch of the lakes, the rolex (the chapati rolled with the omelet — Kampala's street food), the muchomo (the roast meat), the malewa of the Bagisu, the waragi (the gin of the bananas and the millet; the Uganda Waragi of 1965) |
| National sport | None by law — football the mass game (the Uganda Cranes; coach Paul Put; the FIFA rank 89 of July 2026; the Africa Cup of Nations runners-up of 1978 at Accra, the group stage of 2017, the round of 16 of 2019, the group stage of 2025 in Morocco; the co-host of the 2027 Africa Cup with Kenya and Tanzania — the 'Pamoja' bid — and of the African Nations Championship of August 2025, the quarterfinal its best), athletics the glory (FIVE OLYMPIC GOLDS — John Akii-Bua's 400 m hurdles world record of Munich 1972, Stephen Kiprotich's marathon of London 2012, Joshua Cheptegei's 5,000 m and Peruth Chemutai's steeplechase of Tokyo 2020, Cheptegei's 10,000 m of Paris 2024 (the Olympic record of 26:43.14); 13 Olympic medals in all (5-5-3); Jacob Kiplimo's half-marathon world record of 57:20 on 8 March 2026), the boxing (Eridadi Mukwanga's silver of 1968 the first medal; the 'Bombers'), the netball of the She Cranes, the rugby of the Cranes (the Rugby Africa Cup hosted at Kampala in July 2025), the cricket (the 2024 T20 World Cup's debut), the cycling and the boda racing |
| Heritage listings | Three World Heritage properties by UNESCO's list — Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (1994; natural — the mountain gorillas, the 331 km² of the montane forest), Rwenzori Mountains National Park (1994; natural — the glaciers, the alpine flora; on the danger list of 1999–2004), the Tombs of Buganda Kings at Kasubi (2001; cultural — the thatched Muzibu Azaala Mpanga of 1882 of the four Kabakas, burned on 16 March 2010 and rebuilt; on the danger list of 2010–2023); the tentative list of eight (Bigo bya Mugenyi and Ntusi of 1997, the Nyero rock art of 1997, Mgahinga of 2007, the Mount Elgon ecosystem and the Lake Victoria rock art of 2024, the Kibiro salt village and the Palabek landscapes of 2025); the intangible heritage — the barkcloth making (2005/2008), the Empaako naming of the Batooro, the Banyoro, the Batuku, the Batagwenda and the Banyabindi (2013 urgent), the Bigwala gourd trumpets of Busoga (2012 urgent), the Lango male-child cleansing (2014 urgent), the Koogere oral tradition of the Basongora, Banyabindi and Batooro (2015 urgent), the Ma'di bowl lyre (2016 urgent) by the usual relay; the Namugongo martyrs' shrine and the Kabaka's Lubiri |
| Symbol status | The flag, the arms and the anthem by the National Flag and Armorial Ensigns Act (1962; Chapter 7 of the laws) and the constitution's Article 8 (the national symbols and seals; the motto); the national holidays by the Public Holidays Act; the kingdoms' regalia and the cultural institutions by the constitution's Article 246 (the traditional leaders without the political power); no national flower, tree, dish or sport by law — the crane by the flag and the arms, the matooke and the football by custom; the red beret of the NUP gazetted as the military attire (2019) — the symbols' politics (both stated, LAW 2) |
Geography
| Location | East Africa's interior on the equator between 4°14′ N and 1°29′ S and 29°34′ and 35°02′ E — landlocked, bordered by South Sudan to the north, Kenya to the east, Tanzania and Rwanda to the south (Lake Victoria shared with Kenya and Tanzania) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west (the Albertine Rift, Lakes Albert and Edward, the Rwenzori); on the East African plateau between the two arms of the Great Rift Valley; the Northern Corridor to the Kenyan port of Mombasa (about 1,150 km from Kampala) and the Central Corridor to Dar es Salaam (via the lake and Tanzania's rail) the sea's roads; Kampala at 0°19′ N, 32°35′ E |
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| Regions | Four regions — Central (the Buganda kingdom's land; Kampala, Wakiso, Mukono, Masaka, Mubende), Eastern (Busoga, Bugisu, Teso, Bukedi; Jinja, Mbale, Soroti), Northern (Acholi, Lango, West Nile, Karamoja; Gulu, Lira, Arua, Moroto) and Western (Bunyoro, Toro, Ankole, Kigezi, Rwenzori; Mbarara, Fort Portal, Hoima, Kabale) — and 135 districts plus the capital city by the count of 1 July 2020 (more created since by the Parliament's later acts — both counts stated), the 10 regional cities of 1 July 2020 and their later additions, the counties, the sub-counties, the parishes and the villages (LC I to LC V councils); the kingdoms and the cultural institutions on the same lands (Buganda, Bunyoro-Kitara, Toro, Busoga, Rwenzururu, Teso's Iteso Cultural Union, Acholi's Ker Kal Kwaro) |
| Highest point | Margherita Peak of Mount Stanley, the Rwenzori Mountains — 5,109 m (16,762 ft) on the DR Congo border, the third-highest summit of Africa (after Kilimanjaro's 5,895 and Mount Kenya's 5,199), the Rwenzori's six glaciated massifs (Stanley, Speke, Baker, Emin, Gessi, Luigi di Savoia) — the 'Mountains of the Moon' of the ancient tradition, first climbed by the Duke of the Abruzzi's expedition of 1906; the glaciers down from about 6.5 km² in 1906 to under 1 km² by the 2020s, gone by about 2030–40 by the scientists' projection; Mount Elgon's Wagagai (4,321 m; the caldera of the extinct volcano on the Kenyan border), Mount Moroto (3,083 m) and the Virunga volcanoes of the southwest (Muhabura 4,127 m on the Rwanda border) |
| Lowest point | Lake Albert's surface at about 620 m above sea level (the Albertine Rift's floor on the DR Congo border; the oil fields of its eastern shore — Tilenga and Kingfisher) — the Nile's lowest stretch in Uganda below Murchison Falls; Lake Victoria's surface at about 1,134 m at Jinja, Lake Kyoga's at about 1,033 m, Lake Edward's at about 912 m; the plateau's average 1,100–1,300 m |
| Longest river | The Nile — the Victoria Nile from Lake Victoria at Jinja (the 'source of the Nile' of John Hanning Speke's 28 July 1862; the Ripon Falls drowned by the Owen Falls Dam of 1954), through Lake Kyoga to the Karuma Falls and the Murchison Falls (the river through a 7 m gap, 43 m down) into Lake Albert, then the Albert Nile north to Nimule and South Sudan — about 500 km of the river's 6,650 km in Uganda by the usual count; the Kagera feeding the lake from the southwest, the Katonga, the Kafu, the Aswa, the Pager, the Semliki (the Rwenzori's river to Lake Albert), the Mpanga, the Kazinga Channel (the 32 km between Lakes George and Edward); the dams of the Nile — Nalubaale (1954), Kiira (2000), Bujagali (2012), Isimba (2019), Karuma (600 MW; 2024) |
| Largest lake | Lake Victoria — Africa's largest lake (about 68,800 km²; the world's largest tropical lake), about 45% of it in Uganda (about 31,000 km²), shared with Kenya and Tanzania; the Nile perch and the tilapia of the fisheries, the Ssese Islands, the water hyacinth's plague of the 1990s, the level's high of 2020 (the floods of the shores); then Lake Kyoga (about 1,720 km²; the shallow papyrus lake of the Nile), Lake Albert (about 5,300 km²; shared with the DR Congo; the oil), Lake Edward (about 2,325 km²; shared), Lake George (about 250 km²), Lake Bunyonyi (the 'lake of the little birds' of Kabale; among Africa's deepest at about 900 m by the local claim — about 40 m by the surveys; both stated), Lakes Mburo, Wamala, Bisina, Opeta |
| Largest island | Bugala — the largest of the 84 Ssese Islands of Lake Victoria (about 275 km²; Kalangala, the district's seat; the palm-oil plantations of the 2000s), then the lake's Buvuma (the second), the Lolwe and the Sigulu islands of the east; the Nile's islands at Jinja; the islands of Lake Bunyonyi (Akampene — 'the punishment island' of the old custom); the Migingo island's fishing dispute with Kenya (the tiny rock of the 2009 quarrel — the sovereignty claimed by both) |
| Climate | Tropical, tempered by the altitude — the savanna (Aw) of the plateau, the tropical rainforest (Af) of the lake's shore and the Albertine forests, the semi-arid (BSh) of Karamoja's northeast; Kampala's 17–27 °C the year round and about 1,200–1,300 mm of rain in the two wet seasons (March–May and September–November) of the south; the north's single season (April–October); the Rwenzori and Elgon's snow and frost; the droughts of Karamoja (the starvation deaths of at least 16 reported in July 2026), the floods and the landslides of the Elgon slopes, the shrinking glaciers, the lake's high of 2020; the climate's change on the coffee — the arabica's belt moving uphill by the scientists' projection |
| Natural hazards | The landslides of the Mount Elgon slopes — Bududa's Nametsi of 1 March 2010 (about 100 dead), the 2012 and 2018 slides, the Eastern Region's of 3 November 2025 (at least 18 dead and 20 missing); the floods (the Kasese floods of the Nyamwamba, 2013 and 2020; the Mbale flash floods of 30 July 2022, about 30 dead); the droughts of Karamoja (2026); the earthquakes of the Albertine Rift (Toro's of 20 March 1966, M6.8, about 160 dead); the lightning (among the world's highest strike rates around Lake Victoria); the epidemics — the Ebola outbreaks (Gulu 2000, 425 cases and 224 deaths; the Sudan virus of 2022, 142 confirmed and 55 deaths; 2025's 14 cases and 4 deaths; the Bundibugyo virus of 15 May – 26 August 2026, 20 cases and 2 deaths), the Marburg, the mpox, the malaria (the leading killer), the sleeping sickness of 1900–05 (about 250,000 dead around the lake); the Kiteezi landfill collapse of 10 August 2024 (about 35 dead) |
| Nearby countries | Kenya (east; about 815 km; the Northern Corridor to Mombasa, the Malaba and Busia gates, the Migingo island's dispute, the EAC partner), South Sudan (north; about 475 km; the Nimule–Elegu gate, the refugees, the UPDF's deployments of 2013–15, the border clash of 28 July 2025), the DR Congo (west; about 875 km; Lakes Albert and Edward, the Mpondwe and Goli gates, the UPDF's Operation Shujaa against the ADF since November 2021 with the Congolese army, the border closed for four weeks from 27 May 2026 over the Ebola, the M23's war of the east), Rwanda (southwest; about 170 km; the Katuna/Gatuna gate closed in 2019–22 by the quarrel and reopened), Tanzania (south; about 390 km with the lake; the Mutukula gate, the EACOP's route to Tanga, the 1978–79 war); the East African Community's common market and the 2027 Africa Cup with Kenya and Tanzania |
| Minerals and resources | Oil — about 6.5 billion barrels in place in the Albertine Graben by the government's count (about 1.4 billion recoverable — both lines stated), the Tilenga (TotalEnergies; Buliisa and Nwoya; about 400 wells, partly in Murchison Falls National Park) and Kingfisher (CNOOC; Lake Albert's eastern shore; discovered 2006) fields, the 1,443 km East African Crude Oil Pipeline to Tanga (79% built by December 2025; the first oil planned for the second half of 2026) and the planned Hoima refinery of 60,000 barrels a day; gold (the largest export by value since 2020 — the Wagagai mine of Busia of 2024, the artisanal mines of Karamoja and Mubende, the refining of the imported gold by the critics' line), copper and cobalt of Kilembe (the colonial mine of 1956–82), the iron ore of Kabale and Muko, the phosphates of Sukulu (Tororo), the tin, the tungsten, the rare earths of Makuutu (the 2020s' project), the limestone and the cement, the vermiculite; the hydropower of the Nile (about 2,000 MW of capacity with Karuma), the fertile soils, the fisheries of the lakes, the forests (about 10% of the land, from about 24% in 1990 — the losses) |
| Protected areas | Ten national parks of the Uganda Wildlife Authority — Murchison Falls (the largest at 3,893 km²; 1952; the falls, the giraffe, the oil), Queen Elizabeth (1,978 km²; 1952; the Kazinga Channel, the tree-climbing lions of Ishasha), Kidepo Valley (1,442 km²; the remote northeast; the white rhinos' return of 17 March 2026), Bwindi Impenetrable (331 km²; UNESCO 1994; the gorillas), Mgahinga Gorilla (34 km²; the Virungas), Rwenzori Mountains (996 km²; UNESCO 1994), Kibale (766–795 km² by the two counts; the chimpanzees), Lake Mburo (about 260 km²; the zebra and the impala), Mount Elgon (1,121 km²), Semuliki (220 km²; the Congo basin's forest and hot springs); the wildlife reserves (Pian-Upe, Bugungu, Kabwoya, Katonga, Toro-Semliki), the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, the forest reserves (Mabira — the 2007 giveaway protests, Budongo), the Ramsar wetlands (Mabamba Bay, Lake George, the Nabajjuzi); about 16% of the land protected by the counts |
| Extreme points | North: the South Sudan border near Kidepo's north (about 4°14′ N); South: the Tanzania border in Lake Victoria (about 1°29′ S); West: the Semliki valley at the DR Congo border (about 29°34′ E); East: the Kenya border at Mount Elgon's east and Karamoja (about 35°02′ E); the highest Margherita Peak (5,109 m) and the lowest Lake Albert (about 620 m); the equator crossing at Kayabwe on the Kampala–Masaka road; the Nile's exit from Lake Victoria at Jinja; the remotest district Kaabong of Karamoja |
| Land and water | 241,038 km² — about 200,500 km² of land and about 37,000 km² of water (15.39%; the lakes, the swamps of Kyoga, the rivers) — about 34% arable by the World Bank's lines and among Africa's most fertile (the volcanic soils of Elgon and the Rwenzori, the lake crescent's red soils), the permanent crops (the coffee, the bananas, the tea, the sugar cane) about 11%, the pastures of the cattle corridor (Ankole to Karamoja), the forests about 10% (down from about 24% in 1990 by the counts — the charcoal, the farms, the refugees' fuel), the wetlands about 13% (the papyrus, the encroachment of Kampala's), the national parks and the reserves; the renewable water about 60 billion m³ a year, the Nile Basin Initiative's and the 1929 and 1959 treaties' quarrels with Egypt (Uganda's signature of the 2010 Entebbe framework); the land tenure of the four systems (the customary, the mailo of Buganda's 1900 agreement, the freehold, the leasehold) — the evictions and the land conflicts the politics' constant (both readings stated, LAW 2) |
| Islands and coasts | No sea coast — the lakeshores instead: Lake Victoria's Ugandan shore of about 550 km with Entebbe's peninsula, Kampala's Murchison Bay, Jinja's Napoleon Gulf, the Ssese archipelago of 84 islands (Bugala, Bukasa, Bubeke), the Buvuma islands, the landing sites of the fishers (about 600 by the counts; the Nile perch's boom and bust); Lake Albert's eastern shore of the oil (Kaiso-Tonya, Buliisa) and the fishing villages; Lake Kyoga's papyrus shores; Lake Bunyonyi's 29 islands; the Port Bell and Jinja piers of the lake's ferries and wagon ferries (the rail ferries to Mwanza and Kisumu revived in the 2020s); the Bukasa port planned |
| The country | The Pearl of Africa in five pictures — the green hills of Buganda around Kampala with the matooke gardens, the boda-bodas and the cathedrals; the Nile from its source at Jinja through the Murchison Falls to the north's savanna; the western rift of the snowy Rwenzori, the gorillas of Bwindi, the crater lakes of Fort Portal and the oil wells by Lake Albert; the north of the Acholi and Lango rebuilt after the LRA's war (1987–2006) and the Karamoja plains of the cattle and the droughts; the coffee of Elgon and the plateau, the gold and the coming oil; the youngest population of the world's large states, the 1.9 million refugees, Museveni's 40 years from 1986 and the seventh term of 2026 — the 'steady progress' of the NRM and the 'repression' of the opposition both stated (LAW 2) |
People
| Population | 45,905,417 at the census of 10 May 2024 by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics' final count (45,935,046 by the preliminary — both stated): 34,634,650 in 2014, 24,227,297 in 2002, 16,671,705 in 1991, 12,636,179 in 1980, 9,535,051 in 1969 by the censuses — the fivefold growth since independence; the growth of 2.79% a year in 2014–24 (3.0% in 2002–14); the Central Region the most peopled (Kampala, Wakiso — about 3.5 million, Mukono), the Eastern, Western and Northern after it; the refugees about 1.95 million (October 2025) beside the citizens; the UN's projection of about 60 million by 2035 and over 100 million by 2070 by its line |
|---|---|
| Growth rate | 2.79% a year in 2014–24 by the census (3.03% in 2002–14 and 3.2% in 1991–2002) — among the world's fastest of the large states; the births about 1.8 million a year and the deaths about 0.3 million by the UN's lines; the fertility's fall from about 7 in 1991 to about 4.5 (2024 estimate) the slowing's cause; the refugees' arrivals (the South Sudanese of 2016–17, the Congolese of 2022–26, the Sudanese of 2023–25) beside it; the labor emigration to the Gulf (the domestic workers' bans and their lifting) small against the growth |
| Fertility rate | About 4.5 children per woman by the 2024 estimate (5.4 by the Demographic and Health Survey of 2016; about 7 in the 1990s) — the rural women's about 5 and Kampala's about 3; the teenage pregnancies (about a quarter of the girls of 15–19 by the 2016 survey; the school closures of 2020–22 their rise), the family planning's unmet need, the polygamy of the customs; the 'large family' line of the President's and the planners' 'demographic dividend' line both stated (LAW 2) |
| Life expectancy | About 64–69 years at birth by the estimates — about 69 (66.7 for men, 71.3 for women) by the 2024 estimate and about 63–64 by the UN's and the World Bank's older lines (both stated); the HIV/AIDS's toll of the 1980s–90s (the prevalence from about 18% in 1992 to about 5% by the 2020s — the 'ABC' campaign's success story), the malaria (the leading cause of the illness and the deaths; among the world's highest burdens), the tuberculosis, the maternal mortality about 189 per 100,000 (2022 by the survey), the infant mortality about 36 per 1,000; the Ebola outbreaks of 2025 and 2026 |
| Age structure | 0–14 years about 48%, 15–64 about 50%, 65 and over about 2% by the estimates — the median age about 16, among the world's youngest; the 'youth bulge' of the jobs, the schools and the politics (the NUP's young voters of 2021 and 2026, the 'People Power' of the ghettos); the working-age's informal jobs (about 90% by the 2021 count); the older persons' grant (SAGE; the 80-plus and then the 65-plus of the districts) |
| Urbanization | About 25–30% urban by the census's lines (the rise from about 7% in 1980; the 2020–23 city reforms that classed more places urban — both lines stated) — Kampala's about 1.8 million and the Greater Kampala metropolitan area of Wakiso and Mukono (about 5–6 million by the estimates), the regional cities of 2020 (Gulu, Mbarara, Mbale, Jinja, Lira, Arua, Masaka, Fort Portal, Soroti, Hoima), the towns of the trading centers; the informal settlements of Kampala (Kisenyi, Katanga, Bwaise), the Kiteezi landfill's disaster of 2024, the boda-boda economy, the floods of the city's wetlands; the Kampala Capital City Authority of 2011 under the Minister for Kampala and the elected Lord Mayor (Erias Lukwago the Lord Mayor of the 2011, 2016 and 2021 elections — arrested by soldiers on 15 June 2026 — the state's 'security' and the opposition's 'persecution' both stated, LAW 2) |
| Ethnic groups | About 56 indigenous communities by the constitution's schedule (65 since the 2005 amendment) — the Baganda 15.3%, the Banyankole 9.1%, the Basoga 8.1%, the Iteso 6.8%, the Bakiga 6.4%, the Langi 5.9% by the 2024 census (16.5%, 9.8%, 8.8%, 7.0%, 7.1%, 6.3% by the 2014 — both counts stated), then the Bagisu, the Acholi, the Lugbara, the Batoro, the Banyoro, the Alur, the Bagwere, the Bakonzo, the Jopadhola, the Karimojong, the Rwandese, the Basamia, the Kumam, the Madi, the Bafumbira and the others (about 37% together); the Bantu south and west, the Nilotic and the Central Sudanic north and east — the 'north–south divide' of the politics since independence; the Asian Ugandans (about 30,000–50,000 by the estimates; about 80,000 expelled by Amin in 1972, the returns since 1992) |
| Languages | English and Swahili official — English the schools', the courts' and the government's; Swahili the army's and the region's (the official language of 2005; the compulsory subject's policy); Luganda the most widely spoken (the first language of about 16% and the second of millions — Kampala's and the Central's lingua franca), Runyankole-Rukiga (about 15%), Lusoga, Ateso, Lango, Acholi, Lugbara, Lumasaba, Runyoro-Rutooro, Karimojong, Alur, Lugwere, Lusamia, Kumam, Lukonzo, Madi — about 40 living languages by the counts, the Bantu of the south and west, the Nilotic of the north and east, the Central Sudanic of West Nile; the 'mother tongue' teaching of the lower primary (P1–P3) by the 2007 curriculum; the literacy about 74% of the adults by the 2024 census line |
| Religion | Christianity about 82% by the 2024 census — the Roman Catholics about 40–42% (the Archdiocese of Kampala, the 19 dioceses, the Uganda Martyrs of 1886 — the saints of 1964, the Namugongo shrine's pilgrims of every 3 June — the popes' visits of 1969 (Paul VI, the first papal visit to Africa south of the Sahara), 1993 and 2015), the Anglicans of the Church of Uganda about 29–32% (the Province of 1961; Archbishop Stephen Kaziimba Mugalu), the Pentecostals and the 'Born Again' about 10–12% and rising, the Seventh-day Adventists, the Orthodox; Islam about 13% (the Sunni majority; the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council; the Gaddafi National Mosque of 2006 at Old Kampala), the Bahá'í Faith (the Mother Temple of Africa at Kikaaya, 1961), the Hindus and the Sikhs, the traditional religions; the bombing attempt on the Munyonyo Catholic shrine of 3 June 2025 (two suspects killed); the Anti-Homosexuality Act of 29 May 2023 and the churches' support — the state's 'family values' and the rights groups' 'persecution' both stated (LAW 2) |
| Health | The Ministry of Health (Minister Chris Baryomunsi since 26 May 2026) — the Mulago National Referral Hospital (1913; the Makerere medical school's), the regional referral hospitals, the health centers II to IV of the districts, the Catholic and Protestant mission hospitals (Lacor of Gulu, Mengo of 1897 — the oldest), the Uganda Virus Research Institute of Entebbe (1936; the Zika virus named for the Zika forest of 1947); the HIV/AIDS response of the 1980s–90s (the prevalence from about 18% to about 5%), the malaria (the bed nets, the indoor spraying), the Ebola responses (2000, 2012, 2022, 2025, 2026 — the 'handshakes and hugs' ban of 19 May 2026), the US aid cuts of 2025 on the HIV programs; the doctors about 0.1–0.2 per 1,000; the health spending about 7% of the budget against the Abuja target of 15%; the life expectancy about 64–69 by the two lines |
| Education | Universal Primary Education since 1997 (the seven-year primary; the enrollment's leap from about 3 million to over 5 million) and Universal Secondary Education since 2007 (the 'O' and 'A' levels of the British system — the Uganda National Examinations Board's PLE, UCE and UACE), the new lower-secondary curriculum of 2020; Makerere University (1922; the colonial East Africa's university college of 1949; 'the Harvard of Africa' of the old line), Kyambogo, Mbarara (MUST), Gulu, Busitema, Muni, Kabale, Lira, Soroti — the public universities, the private ones (Uganda Christian University, Kampala International University, Uganda Martyrs); the Minister of Education and Sports Janet Museveni (since 2016); the literacy about 74%; the school fees and the 'free' schools' levies the families' burden by the surveys (both lines stated, LAW 2); the teachers' strikes over the pay of the arts and the sciences (2022–24) |
| Migrants and diaspora | The Ugandans abroad — about 1–2 million by the estimates in Kenya, South Sudan, the UK (the exiles of the Amin and Obote years, the doctors and the nurses), the US, Canada, South Africa, the Gulf (the domestic and the security workers of Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar — about 200,000 by the labor ministry's counts; the remittances about US$1.3–1.5 billion a year); the Asian Ugandans of the 1972 expulsion (about 80,000 given 90 days by Amin's order of 4–5 August 1972 — 27,000 to the UK; the returns and the property restorations since 1992); the refugees hosted — about 1.95 million (October 2025) from South Sudan, the DR Congo, Sudan, Somalia, Burundi, Rwanda and Eritrea, in the settlements of Bidibidi (among the world's largest), Nakivale (the oldest, 1958), Kyaka, Kyangwali, Rhino, Palabek, Kiryandongo (the clashes of 10 July 2025) — the 'open door' of the 2006 Act and the UNHCR's 'model' and the 2025–26 ration cuts both stated (LAW 2); the US deportees' agreement of 21 August 2025; the dual citizenship of 2005 (the Sudanese and Rwandan applications suspended on 14 July 2025); the visa-free entry for 40 countries of 11 March 2026 |
| Social indicators | HDI 0.582 (2023; 157th of 193, 'medium'); the Gini 42.0 (2016); the poverty 20.3% by the national line (2019–20; the north and Karamoja far higher — about 65% in Karamoja) and about 42% under the international US$2.15 line by the World Bank's older count (both stated); the informal jobs about 90% (2021), the youth's unemployment and the 'Parish Development Model' of 2022 (UGX 100 million a parish a year — the government's flagship and the critics' 'patronage' both stated, LAW 2); the mobile money of most adults; the electricity's access about 50% by the counts; the women's 34% of the Parliament (the women's seats); the Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2023 (the death penalty for 'aggravated homosexuality'; the World Bank's loan ban of August 2023 lifted on 5 June 2025); the Freedom House 'Not Free'; the press — the Daily Monitor and NTV ordered shut by the Chief of Defence Forces on 28 June 2026 (the military at the outlets) — the state's 'security' and the press groups' 'censorship' both stated |
| Cities and provinces | Kampala (about 1.8 million; the capital city's five divisions — Central, Kawempe, Makindye, Nakawa, Rubaga), the Greater Kampala of Wakiso district (about 3.5 million by the 2023 estimate; Nansana, Kira, Makindye-Ssabagabo, Entebbe) and Mukono (about 0.76 million); the regional cities of 1 July 2020 — Gulu (the Acholi's; the LRA war's rebuilt hub), Lira, Arua (the West Nile's), Mbale (the Bugisu's), Jinja (the Nile's), Soroti (the Teso's), Mbarara (the Ankole's), Fort Portal (the Toro's), Masaka, Hoima (the Bunyoro's oil city) — and the cities added after; the four regions, the 135-plus districts and the kingdoms (Buganda of Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II since 31 July 1993, Bunyoro-Kitara of Omukama Solomon Gafabusa Iguru I, Toro of Omukama Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV — the boy king of 1995, Busoga of Kyabazinga William Gabula Nadiope IV, Rwenzururu) |
| Names and customs | The names — the clan names of the Baganda (Ssemakula, Nakato, Kato, Babirye and Wasswa — the twins' names — Mukasa, Namubiru), the Banyankole's Bayaruhanga, the Acholi's Okello and Akello, the Langi's and Iteso's O- and A- names (Odongo, Achieng), with the Christian and Muslim given names (the surname first by the official usage: Museveni Yoweri); the customs — the Buganda kingdom's 52 clans with their totems (the lion, the leopard, the grasshopper), the Kabaka's Lukiiko, the kwanjula introduction ceremony and the bride price (the dowry's constitutionality upheld with the refund's ban by the Supreme Court of 2015), the kneeling greeting of the Baganda women, the Imbalu circumcision of the Bagisu (every even year; the boys of 16–18), the Empaako names of the Batoro and Banyoro (UNESCO 2013), the barkcloth (UNESCO 2008), the Kiganda drums and the royal drums, the kiganda dance and the bakisimba, the Acholi's larakaraka, the Karimojong's cattle culture; the gomesi and the kanzu dress |
| Media and sport culture | The state's Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC TV and the radios) and the New Vision (1986; the state-majority daily), the private Daily Monitor (1992; the Nation Media Group's) and NTV Uganda — both ordered shut by the Chief of Defence Forces on 28 June 2026 — the Observer, the Independent, the Nile Post, the hundreds of FM radios (the Luganda talk shows; the 'ebimeeza' open-air debates banned in 2009), the social media (Facebook blocked since January 2021; the internet shutdowns of the elections of 2021 and 2026), the RSF's ranking (about 140th–145th of 180 by the 2025–26 lines); the sport — the Uganda Cranes' football (the Uganda Premier League — Vipers, KCCA FC, SC Villa's 16 titles), the athletics of Kapchorwa (Cheptegei, Chemutai, Kiplimo, Kiprotich — the Sebei highlands' runners), the boxing, the netball of the She Cranes (the Netball World Cup regulars), the rugby, the cricket, the Kabaka's football tournament of the counties (Masaza Cup), the boat racing of the Ssese islands |
Government
| System | Unitary presidential republic under the constitution of 8 October 1995 (the Constituent Assembly's of 1994–95; Uganda's fourth) — the amendments of 2005 (the multiparty system restored after the 'Movement' no-party years of 1986–2005 by the referendum of 28 July 2005, the two-term limit removed) and of December 2017 (the age limit of 75 for the President removed; the Supreme Court's upholding of 18 April 2019) — the President elected for five years by the absolute majority, the Vice President and the Prime Minister appointed with the Parliament's approval, the Cabinet, the Parliament of 529, the courts, the local councils of the decentralization (LC I to LC V), the kingdoms and the cultural institutions (Article 246; no politics); the National Resistance Movement's government since 26 January 1986 — the 'fundamental change' and the 'steady progress' of the NRM's line and Freedom House's 'Not Free', the Economist's 'authoritarian' and the opposition's 'military dictatorship' both stated (LAW 2) |
|---|---|
| Head of state | President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni (since 29 January 1986) — born 15 September 1944 at Ntungamo in Ankole (the Banyankole's Bahima); the University of Dar es Salaam's graduate (1970), the FRONASA founder (1971–79) against Amin, the Defense Minister of 1979–80, the Bush War's leader (6 February 1981 – 26 January 1986), elected in 1996 (74.33%), 2001 (69.33%), 2006 (59.26%), 2011 (68.38%), 2016 (60.62%), 2021 (58.38%) and 15 January 2026 (71.65%) by the Commission's counts — the seventh term from 12 May 2026 to 2031, the longest-serving head of state of East Africa; the Commander-in-Chief (the 'General'; the Kyankwanzi retreats of the NRM), the NRM's chairman; his family in the state (his wife Janet Museveni the Education Minister, his son General Muhoozi Kainerugaba the Chief of Defence Forces, his brother General Salim Saleh the senior presidential adviser) — the 'family rule' of the critics and the 'merit' of the NRM's line both stated (LAW 2); the succession's question at 82 |
| Head of government | The President leads the executive; Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja (since 21 June 2021; the Kakumiro woman MP; reappointed on 26 May 2026) the leader of the government business; Vice President Jessica Rose Epel Alupo (since 21 June 2021; the former Education Minister and army officer); the Cabinet of 26 May 2026 for 2026–31 — the Deputy Prime Ministers Rebecca Kadaga (the Speaker of 2011–21), Chrispus Kiyonga (the former Defense Minister and ambassador to China) and Lukia Nakadama; Finance Henry Musasizi (the budget of 11 June 2026), Foreign Affairs Adonia Ayebare, Defense Kiryowa Kiwanuka (the Attorney General of 2021–26), Health Chris Baryomunsi, Education and Sports Janet Museveni, Justice and Constitutional Affairs Norbert Mao (the DP's president — the 'cooperation agreement' of 2022 with the NRM), Energy Monica Musenero Musanza, the Attorney General Sam Mayanja; the State Ministers (Internal Affairs: David Muhoozi, the former Chief of Defence Forces); the Cabinet's large size (about 80 ministers with the state ministers by the usual count) |
| Legislature | The Parliament of Uganda (unicameral; the 12th Parliament of 2026–31) — 529 members: 353 directly elected constituency members, 146 district women representatives and 30 special-interest members (the UPDF's 10, the youth's 5, the workers' 5, the persons with disabilities' 5, the older persons' 5), plus the ex-officio ministers without votes; the 15 January 2026 result — the NRM 372, the National Unity Platform 49, the UPC 12, the FDC 9, the DP 6, the People's Front for Freedom 2, the ANT 1, the independents 68, the UPDF 10; Speaker Jacob Oboth-Oboth (elected on 25 May 2026 with 441 votes) after Anita Among (21 March 2022 – May 2026; the UK and US sanctions of 2024 over the corruption allegations — her denials both stated, LAW 2) and Jacob Oulanyah (2021–22; died in office 20 March 2022); Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa (457 votes); the Leader of the Opposition Joel Ssenyonyi (NUP; since 9 January 2024); the Government Chief Whip Justine Lumumba Kasule; the laws of 2023–26 — the Anti-Homosexuality Act (29 May 2023), the UPDF (Amendment) Act (16 June 2025; the military courts for civilians reinstated after the Supreme Court's ruling of 31 January 2025), the Protection of Sovereignty Act (18 May 2026) |
| Parties | The multiparty system since 2005 (the Political Parties and Organisations Act) — the National Resistance Movement (NRM; the ruling party; Chairman Museveni; the Secretary General; 372 seats), the National Unity Platform (NUP; the People Power movement's party of 2020 under Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu — Bobi Wine; 49 seats; the main opposition since 2021; Kyagulanyi abroad since his announcement of 14 March 2026), the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC; 2004; Kizza Besigye's party of the 2006–16 elections; split in 2023 — the Katonga faction of Besigye and Erias Lukwago against the Najjanankumbi of Patrick Amuriat and Nandala Mafabi; 9 seats), the People's Front for Freedom (PFF; launched by Besigye from detention on 8 July 2025; 2 seats), the Uganda People's Congress (UPC; 1960; Obote's party; 12 seats — the 'working arrangement' with the NRM), the Democratic Party (DP; 1954; Norbert Mao's in the Cabinet; 6 seats), the Alliance for National Transformation (ANT; 2019; Mugisha Muntu; 1 seat), the Justice Forum (JEEMA), the Conservative Party; the NRM's 'big tent' and the opposition's 'co-option and repression' both stated (LAW 2) |
| Judiciary | The Supreme Court (the Chief Justice and the justices; the final appeal and the presidential election petitions — the 2001, 2006 and 2016 petitions dismissed; the ruling of 31 January 2025 that the military trials of civilians were unconstitutional), the Court of Appeal (sitting also as the Constitutional Court — the Anti-Homosexuality Act upheld in April 2024 with four sections struck), the High Court and its divisions (the International Crimes Division of 2008 — Thomas Kwoyelo's conviction of 2024), the Chief Magistrates' and the Magistrates' courts, the local council courts, the Qadhi courts of the Muslim personal law; the military courts (the General Court Martial — the civilians' trials, Kizza Besigye's case of November 2024 – 2025, reinstated by the UPDF Act of 2025 — the state's 'national security' and the bar's 'unconstitutional' both stated, LAW 2); the death penalty kept (the mandatory sentence struck in 2009 — the Kigula ruling; the death sentence of 30 April 2026 for the school stabbing of 2 April 2026); the ICC's trial of Joseph Kony in absentia (the confirmation hearing of 9 September 2025; the charges confirmed on 6 November 2025) and Dominic Ongwen's conviction of 4 February 2021 (25 years) |
| Administrative divisions | Four regions (Central, Eastern, Northern, Western), 135 districts plus the capital city by the count of 1 July 2020 (more created by the later acts — both counts stated), the 10 regional cities of 1 July 2020 (Arua, Gulu, Jinja, Fort Portal, Mbarara, Mbale, Masaka, Lira, Soroti, Hoima) and the later ones, the counties and the municipalities, the sub-counties and the town councils, the parishes (the Parish Development Model's units of 2022) and the villages; the local councils of the decentralization (the LC V district chairpersons elected, the Resident District Commissioners appointed by the President — the 'eyes of the President'); the Kampala Capital City Authority (2011; the Executive Director appointed, the Lord Mayor elected; the Minister for Kampala); the kingdoms and the cultural institutions (Buganda's 18 counties — the Kabaka's Mengo government and the Lukiiko — Bunyoro, Toro, Busoga, Rwenzururu, the Iteso, the Acholi, the Lango's) without the political powers; the federo (federalism) demand of Buganda the old quarrel |
| Constitution and rights | The constitution of 1995 — Chapter Four's rights (the life, the liberty, the equality, the speech and the press, the assembly, the association, the religion, the culture, the property, the fair trial) and the Uganda Human Rights Commission (1995); the practice by the indexes — Freedom House's 'Not Free' (about 34 of 100), the RSF's ranking in the 140s, the HRW's 'marred by human rights abuses' of the 2026 election (the internet shutdown of 13 January, the about 2,000 opposition supporters detained, the killings of 15–16 January — at least 7 in Butambala and at least 10 at the MP Muwanga Kivumbi's home by the reports), the abductions of the opposition's supporters (the 'drone' vans of 2020–26), the military trials of the civilians (the UPDF Act of 2025), the Protection of Sovereignty Act (18 May 2026), the Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2023 (the death penalty for 'aggravated homosexuality'; the arrests of February 2026 at Arua), the closing of the Daily Monitor and NTV ordered on 28 June 2026, the arrest of Erias Lukwago by the soldiers (15 June 2026); the government's 'law and order, the sovereignty and the values' and the rights groups' 'repression' both stated (LAW 2); the death penalty kept with the moratorium on the executions since 2005 by the usual line |
| Military | The Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF; 1995 — the National Resistance Army of 1981–95 renamed) — about 45,000 active by the IISS's lines plus the reserves and the Local Defence Units; the Commander-in-Chief the President, the Chief of Defence Forces General Muhoozi Kainerugaba (since 21 March 2024; the President's son; the Special Forces Command's commander of the 2010s; the social-media posts against the opposition and the foreign states — 'in my basement' of May 2025, the threats to Bobi Wine of January 2026, the order to close the Daily Monitor and NTV of 28 June 2026 — the critics' 'heir apparent' and the army's 'disciplined leadership' both stated, LAW 2), the Defense Minister Kiryowa Kiwanuka; the deployments — Somalia since March 2007 (AMISOM, ATMIS, AUSSOM; the largest contingent; the El Baraf base attack of 26 May 2023, 54 dead), the DR Congo's Operation Shujaa against the ADF since 30 November 2021, South Sudan (2013–15; the deployment of March 2025 to support President Kiir), the Gaza International Stabilization Force authorized on 6 August 2026; the 10 seats in the Parliament; the Su-30 fighters, the Mi-24s, the T-90 tanks; the UPDF Act of 2025's military courts |
| Foreign relations | The UN (25 October 1962), the African Union (the OAU's founder of 1963; the Peace and Security Council's member), the East African Community (the founder of 1967, the treaty of 1999, the common market of 2010; the EACOP and the Northern Corridor), the Non-Aligned Movement (the chair since the Kampala summit of January 2024) and the G77 and China (the third South Summit at Kampala, January 2024), the Commonwealth, the OIC, the IGAD, the ICGLR; Kenya (the trade's first partner, the port), Tanzania (the EACOP to Tanga), the DR Congo (the ADF's war; the gold), Rwanda (the 2019–22 quarrel and the reconciliation), South Sudan (the refugees; the March 2025 deployment), Sudan; China (the largest lender — the Karuma and the Isimba dams, the Entebbe airport's expansion, the Kampala–Entebbe Expressway; the CNOOC's Kingfisher), the United States (the PEPFAR's HIV aid and the 2025 cuts, the sanctions on the officials of 2023–24, the visa restrictions after the 2026 election, the agreement of 21 August 2025 to take the US deportees), the European Union (the high-risk list removal of 10 June 2025), the World Bank (the loans suspended over the Anti-Homosexuality Act in August 2023 and resumed on 5 June 2025), the UK (the colonial tie; the UK High Court's EACOP case filed on 7 July 2026), Israel (the Entebbe raid of 4 July 1976; the Yonatan Netanyahu statue unveiled at Entebbe on 2 August 2026), Russia (the 2023 Lavrov visit), Türkiye, India (the Asian Ugandans; the Indian community's business; the trade), the UAE (the gold's buyer) |
| Police and security | The Uganda Police Force (the Inspector General of Police Abas Byakagaba since 2024; about 50,000 officers by the counts), the Special Forces Command (the presidential guard), the Internal Security Organisation, the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI), the Joint Anti-Terrorism Task Force, the Local Defence Units; the Allied Democratic Forces' (ADF; the Islamic State's Central Africa Province) attacks — the Kampala suicide bombings of 16 November 2021, the Mpondwe Lhubiriha school massacre of 16 June 2023 (42 dead), the Munyonyo shrine's bombing attempt of 3 June 2025; the Lord's Resistance Army's war in the north (1987–2006; about 100,000 dead and 1.8 million displaced; Joseph Kony's ICC trial in absentia); the al-Shabaab's Kampala bombings of 11 July 2010 (74 dead at the World Cup final screenings); the Karamoja's cattle raids and the disarmament; the election's security of January 2026 (the about 2,000 detained, the killings at Butambala); the 231 foreign nationals of the scam centers detained (28 April 2026); the 'security' of the state's line and the 'impunity' of the rights groups' both stated (LAW 2) |
| Elections | The vote at 18 by the Electoral Commission (Chairman Justice Simon Mugenyi Byabakama since 2016); the presidential and the parliamentary elections every five years on the same day — 9 May 1996 (Museveni 74.33%), 12 March 2001 (69.33%; Besigye 27.82%), 23 February 2006 (59.26%; Besigye 37.39% — the first multiparty), 18 February 2011 (68.38%; Besigye 26.01%), 18 February 2016 (60.62%; Besigye 35.61%), 14 January 2021 (58.38%; Kyagulanyi 35.08% — the internet shutdown, the November 2020 riots' 54 dead), 15 JANUARY 2026 (Museveni 71.65% — 7,946,772 votes; Kyagulanyi 24.72% — 2,741,238; Mafabi 1.88%; Muntu 0.53%; four others below 0.5%; turnout 52.50% of 21,649,067 registered; the declaration of 17 January) — the AU observers' 'no ballot stuffing' with 'intimidation, arrest and abductions', HRW's 'marred by human rights abuses', the opposition's 'fraud' and the Commission's result all stated (LAW 2); the biometric voter verification of 2026 and its failures; the referendums of 2000 (the Movement system kept) and 2005 (the multiparty system); the next general election due on or about 15 January 2031 |
| The politics of 2024–26 in dates | 9 January 2024 — Joel Ssenyonyi the Leader of the Opposition; January 2024 — the NAM and G77 summits at Kampala; 21 March 2024 — Muhoozi Kainerugaba the Chief of Defence Forces; 3 April 2024 — the Anti-Homosexuality Act upheld by the Constitutional Court; April–May 2024 — the UK and US sanctions on Speaker Among; 10 May 2024 — the census; 10 August 2024 — the Kiteezi landfill collapse; 16 November 2024 — KIZZA BESIGYE ABDUCTED IN NAIROBI and charged before the military court (20 November); 31 January 2025 — the Supreme Court's ban on the civilians' military trials; 11–18 February 2025 — Besigye's hunger strike; 13 March 2025 — the Kawempe North by-election; 2 May 2025 — Muhoozi's 'in my basement' post on Eddie Mutwe; 20 May – 16 June 2025 — the UPDF Act's military courts restored; 5 June 2025 — the World Bank's loans resumed; 8 July 2025 — Besigye's People's Front for Freedom launched; 21 August 2025 — the US deportees' deal; 23–24 September 2025 — the eight presidential candidates nominated; 6 December 2025 — Kyagulanyi beaten at Gulu by the security forces; 13 January 2026 — the internet shut down; 15 JANUARY 2026 — THE GENERAL ELECTION; 15–16 January — the killings at Butambala; 17 January — Museveni declared the winner (71.65%); 19 January — Muhoozi's 48-hour ultimatum to Kyagulanyi; 22 January — the MP Muwanga Kivumbi arrested; 14 March 2026 — Kyagulanyi abroad; 12 MAY 2026 — THE SEVENTH INAUGURATION; 18 May — the Protection of Sovereignty Act; 25 May — Speaker Oboth-Oboth; 26 May — the Cabinet; 11 June — the budget (10.2% growth projected); 15 June — Lukwago arrested by soldiers; 28 June — the Daily Monitor and NTV ordered shut; 6 August — the Gaza force authorized |
| Current issues | The succession at 82 — the President's seventh term to 2031 and the Chief of Defence Forces' rise (the 'Muhoozi Project' of 2022 turned the Patriotic League of Uganda in February 2024) — the 'transition' debate both ways (LAW 2); the opposition after the 2026 vote — Kyagulanyi abroad since March 2026, Besigye's detention and trial, the NUP's detained supporters, the Lukwago arrest, the press closures of June 2026, the internet's blocked social media; the oil's first production due in the second half of 2026 (EACOP 79% built by December 2025; the Tilenga and Kingfisher wells; the UK High Court's case of 7 July 2026 by the farmers, the climate activists' arrests of 2021–25) — the government's 'the oil for the development' and the activists' 'the displacement and the emissions' both stated; the debt (about half of GDP by the counts; the interest's third of the revenue by the critics' line) and the corruption (the 'Parliament exposé' of 2024, the iron-sheets scandal of 2023); the refugees' 1.95 million and the aid cuts of 2025–26; the Ebola of May–August 2026; the Karamoja drought's deaths (July 2026); the road crashes; the youth's jobs; the 2027 Africa Cup's stadiums (the Hoima and Akii-Bua stadiums) and the Pamoja hosting |
Economy
| GDP (nominal) | About US$64.3 billion for 2025 by the IMF's relayed lines (about US$1,340 a head) — East Africa's third economy after Kenya and Tanzania (and Ethiopia beyond the EAC), about 1.5% of India's GDP; the Uganda Bureau of Statistics' fiscal-year accounts (July–June) on its own rebased series — the government's 'the US$100 billion economy by 2030' target and the IMF's line both stated (LAW 2); the services about 42–45% of GDP, the industry about 27% (the construction, the manufacturing, the mining), the agriculture about 24% by the official structure; the 'lower-middle income' threshold of the World Bank's not yet crossed by the usual line |
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| GDP (PPP) | About US$187.1 billion by purchasing power for 2025 by the IMF's relayed lines — about US$3,900 a head, about a third of India's purchasing-power income a head; the food prices of the matooke, the maize and the beans low by the regional comparison, the fuel and the imports dear (the landlocked costs of the Mombasa route); the subsistence farming of most households counted by the estimates |
| Growth and inflation | Growth 6.3% for 2024 and about 6.1% for 2025 by the IMF's relayed series, about 7.6% forecast for 2026 (the oil's start), and 10.2% projected for FY2026/27 by the Finance Minister's budget speech of 11 June 2026 ('the fastest projected growth in decades' on the commercial oil production and the tourism) — the government's and the IMF's lines both stated (LAW 2); the inflation low by the 2024–25 lines (about 3–4% by the Bureau's monthly counts against the Bank of Uganda's 5% target), the 10.7% peak of October 2022 (the war's fuel and food), the 30% of 2011 (the 'walk to work' protests' year), the hyperinflation of the 1980s (over 200%); the coffee's and the gold's export boom of 2024–26 the growth's other engines |
| Monetary policy and the shilling | The Bank of Uganda (15 August 1966; Governor Michael Atingi-Ego) — the inflation-targeting frame since July 2011 (the central bank rate; about 9.75–10% through 2025 by the Bank's decisions), the floating shilling (about 3,500–3,700 to the U.S. dollar and about 37–39 to the Indian rupee by the 2025–26 market range — the shilling's relative strength of 2025 on the coffee and the gold dollars), the foreign reserves of about four months of imports by the Bank's line; the Bank's 2023 gold-purchase program (the artisanal gold for the reserves); the banking supervision — the closure of Crane Bank (2016) and its sale to DFCU (the Parliament's inquiry of 2018–19); the mobile money's oversight (the National Payment Systems Act of 2020); the shilling of 1966 and the new shilling of 1987 (100 to 1) |
| Public finances | The FY2025/26 budget of about UGX 72 trillion (about US$20 billion; the debt service's largest line), the FY2026/27 budget read at Kololo on 11 June 2026 by the Finance Minister Henry Musasizi (the 10.2% growth projection; the oil revenues' first year — the Petroleum Fund of 2015 and the Uganda National Oil Company's share); the revenue of the Uganda Revenue Authority (about 13–14% of GDP; the VAT 18%, the income tax, the excise, the mobile-money levy), the public debt about half of GDP by the counts (about US$25 billion in 2023 — US$11.7 billion domestic — and higher since; China's, the World Bank's and the Eurobond-free borrowing; the interest about a third of the revenue by the critics' line — both stated, LAW 2); the supplementary budgets of the State House and the security; the Parish Development Model (UGX 100 million a parish a year since 2022); the Auditor General's reports of the 'ghost' payrolls; the IMF's Extended Credit Facility of 2021–24 |
| Structure and labor | The services about 42–45% of GDP (the trade, the telecoms and the mobile money, the finance, the tourism, the public administration), the industry about 27% (the construction, the manufacturing of the food, the beverages, the cement, the steel and the plastics, the mining of the gold), the agriculture about 24% with about 65–70% of the workers (the smallholder farms of the coffee, the matooke, the maize, the cassava, the beans, the cattle); the informal jobs about 90% (2021), the labor force about 17–20 million by the counts, the youth's unemployment and underemployment the politics' issue; the minimum wage of 1984 (UGX 6,000 a month — never revised; the 2019 Minimum Wages Act's board without a new figure by the usual line — the workers' and the government's lines both stated, LAW 2); the labor export to the Gulf (about 200,000 by the counts); the women's farm labor |
| Trade | Exports about US$8–10 billion a year by the 2024–26 counts — the gold first by value (about US$3 billion and more a year; the UAE the buyer; the refining of the imported ore from the DR Congo and Tanzania by the critics' line — both stated), the coffee second (above US$2 billion in FY2024/25 — a record — on about 8 million 60-kg bags by the official count; Africa's second producer after Ethiopia and the largest robusta exporter of Africa; Italy, Germany, India, Sudan, Spain the buyers), the fish (the Nile perch to the EU), the tea, the tobacco, the sugar, the cocoa, the maize, the cement, the flowers, the electricity to Kenya and Tanzania; imports about US$10–12 billion (the fuel, the vehicles, the machinery, the pharmaceuticals, the steel; China, India, the UAE and Kenya the suppliers — about 17%, 13%, 12% and 8% by the 2017 shares); the EAC's common market and customs union, the COMESA, the AfCFTA (2018), the AGOA's suspension for Uganda from 1 January 2024 (the Anti-Homosexuality Act) |
| Agriculture | About 24% of GDP and about 65–70% of the jobs — the coffee (the robusta of the Lake Victoria crescent — Uganda its native home; the arabica of the Elgon (Bugisu) and the Rwenzori; about 1.8 million households by the counts; the record exports of FY2024/25; the Uganda Coffee Development Authority folded into the Agriculture Ministry by the rationalization act of 2024 — the government's 'efficiency' and the farmers' worries both stated, LAW 2), the matooke bananas (among the world's largest consumers per head), the maize, the cassava, the beans, the sweet potatoes, the millet and the sorghum of the north, the tea of the west (Kasese, Kyenjojo), the sugar cane (Kakira, Lugazi, Kinyara), the cotton of the north and the east, the tobacco of West Nile, the cocoa of Bundibugyo, the vanilla, the flowers of Entebbe's greenhouses; the cattle of the corridor (the Ankole's long-horned cattle; about 15 million cattle by the counts), the Karamoja's pastoralists; the fisheries of the lakes (the Nile perch, the tilapia, the silver fish); the Operation Wealth Creation (2013) and the Parish Development Model of the inputs |
| Industry | About 27% of GDP — the construction (the roads, the dams, the oil's camps), the food processing (the sugar, the beer — Nile Breweries of 1951 and Uganda Breweries, the Uganda Waragi, the dairies), the cement (Tororo Cement, Hima, Kampala Cement), the steel (the Roofings and the scrap mills), the plastics, the textiles (the Southern Range Nyanza mill of Jinja; the 'Buy Uganda Build Uganda' policy), the Kiira Motors' Kayoola electric buses (the state company of 2014; the Jinja plant of 2024), the pharmaceuticals (Cipla Quality Chemicals of Luzira), the gold refining (the African Gold Refinery of Entebbe), the oil's coming refinery (Hoima; 60,000 barrels a day), the industrial parks (Namanve, Kapeeka, the Chinese-run Mbale and Sino-Uganda parks); the Jinja's colonial industries of the Owen Falls power (1954) the old base |
| Tourism | About 1.3 million international arrivals in 2024 by the Tourism Ministry's count (about 1.5 million before the pandemic of 2019) and about US$1 billion of the receipts a year by its line — the mountain gorillas of Bwindi and Mgahinga (the trekking permits of US$800 for the foreigners by the 2024–26 rates; about half of the world's mountain gorillas), the chimpanzees of Kibale, the Murchison Falls and Queen Elizabeth parks' savanna, the source of the Nile and the white-water rafting of Jinja, the Rwenzori's climbs, the Sipi Falls of Elgon, the Ssese Islands, Lake Bunyonyi, the Namugongo pilgrimage of 3 June (about 2–4 million pilgrims by the counts), the Kasubi tombs; the 'Pearl of Africa' brand; the visa-free entry for the nationals of 40 countries of 11 March 2026; the Uganda Airlines' routes; the Ebola's and the election's travel warnings of 2026 (Canada's 21-day isolation of 26 May 2026) the shocks |
| Energy | The electricity about 2,000 MW of installed capacity (mostly the hydropower of the Nile — Nalubaale (1954) and Kiira (2000) at Jinja, Bujagali (250 MW; 2012), Isimba (183 MW; 2019), KARUMA (600 MW; the Chinese-built plant commissioned in 2024 — the largest), the small hydros of the west, the solar farms of Soroti and Tororo (2016–19), the bagasse of the sugar mills, the thermal reserves), the access about 50–57% of the households by the counts (the rural far lower), the exports to Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and the DR Congo, the Umeme concession of 2005–25 ended and the distribution handed to the state's Uganda Electricity Distribution Company on 1 April 2025; the charcoal and the firewood about 90% of the energy used by the households; THE OIL — the Albertine Graben's about 6.5 billion barrels in place (about 1.4 billion recoverable), the Tilenga and Kingfisher projects (the final investment decision of 1 February 2022; about US$10 billion with the pipeline), the EACOP's 1,443 km to Tanga (216,000 barrels a day; the world's longest heated crude pipeline; 79% built by December 2025; the pipes all delivered by April 2026), the first oil planned for the second half of 2026 — the government's 'oil for development' and the activists' 'the climate bomb' both stated (LAW 2); the nuclear plan of Buyende (2030s by the ministry's line) |
| Banks and markets | The Bank of Uganda and about 25 commercial banks — Stanbic Bank Uganda (the largest; the Standard Bank group's; the EACOP's lender), Absa, Centenary Bank (the Catholic church's microfinance-born bank — the largest local), dfcu, Equity, KCB (the EACOP's other lender), Housing Finance, the state's Post Bank and the Uganda Development Bank; the Uganda Securities Exchange (1997; about 18 listings — MTN Uganda's IPO of 2021, the cross-listings of Kenya's), the Capital Markets Authority; the National Social Security Fund (NSSF; about UGX 20 trillion of assets by its count — the largest pool of savings; the 2022 amendment's midterm access), the mobile money of MTN and Airtel (most adults' accounts), the SACCOs of the Parish Development Model; the sovereign ratings in the single-B range by the three agencies' lines of the 2020s; the interest rates of the commercial loans about 17–20% |
| Infrastructure projects | The Standard Gauge Railway's Malaba–Kampala line (about 273 km; the Turkish Yapı Merkezi's contract of 2023 at about US$2.7 billion; the works from 2024 — the link to Kenya's SGR at Malaba), the metre-gauge rail's revival (the Tororo–Gulu line's rehabilitation, the Kampala–Malaba freight), the Kampala–Entebbe Expressway (51 km; opened in June 2018; the Chinese loan), the Kampala–Jinja Expressway (planned), the Kampala Flyover of the city center, the Kampala Northern Bypass, the Karuma (600 MW; 2024) and Isimba dams, the Entebbe International Airport's expansion (the Chinese loan of 2015; the Entebbe clause dispute of 2021 — both lines stated, LAW 2), the Kabaale International Airport of Hoima (the oil's airport; the first flights of 2024–25), the EACOP, the Hoima refinery, the Bukasa port on Lake Victoria (planned), the Kiira Motors' plant, the national ICT backbone, the stadiums for the 2027 Africa Cup (the Hoima City Stadium, the Akii-Bua Stadium of Lira, the Mandela National Stadium of Namboole's refurbishment) |
| Poverty and inequality | The poverty 20.3% by the national line (2019–20; 21.4% in 2016–17) — the Northern Region's about 35%, Karamoja's about 65%, Kampala's under 3% by the Uganda National Household Survey; about 42% under the international US$2.15 line by the World Bank's older line (both stated); the Gini 42.0 (2016); the land's inequality and the evictions; the youth's jobs; the subsistence's 'missed' households (about 39% outside the money economy by the 2020 count — the Parish Development Model's target); the social protection — the older persons' grant (SAGE), the Youth Livelihood Programme, the Emyooga (2019) and the PDM; the HDI 0.582 (2023); the refugees' rations' cuts of 2025–26; the Karamoja's starvation of July 2026 (at least 16 dead by the reports) — the government's 'the wealth creation' and the critics' 'the poor left behind' both stated (LAW 2) |
| Economic history in brief | The kingdoms' trade of the ivory, the salt (Kibiro's), the iron and the barkcloth; the protectorate's cotton (1904) and coffee, the Uganda Railway's link to Mombasa (Kisumu 1901, Kampala 1931), the Asian traders and the ginneries, the Owen Falls Dam (1954) and the Jinja industries, the copper of Kilembe (1956); independence's growth of the 1960s, Obote's 'Move to the Left' and the nationalizations (1969–70), AMIN'S 'ECONOMIC WAR' — the 1972 expulsion of the Asians and the seizure of their businesses, the collapse of the 1970s and the 1980s (the inflation over 200%, the coffee smuggling, the war); the NRM's recovery from 1987 — the new shilling, the Economic Recovery Programme with the IMF and the World Bank, the liberalization and the privatization of the 1990s, the Asian properties' return (1992), the debt relief of the HIPC (1998, 2000) and the MDRI (2006), the oil's discovery (2006), the growth of 6–7% a year of the 1990s–2000s, the 2011 inflation, the COVID-19 lockdowns of 2020–21 (among the world's longest school closures — about 83 weeks), the AGOA's suspension (2024), the coffee and gold boom of 2024–26 and the first oil of 2026 |
Transport
| Roads | About 21,000 km of national roads under the Uganda National Roads Authority (folded into the Works Ministry by the 2024 rationalization), about 6,000–7,000 km of them paved, and about 140,000 km of the district, the urban and the community roads; the Northern Corridor (Malaba/Busia–Jinja–Kampala–Mbarara–Katuna and Kampala–Gulu–Nimule), the Kampala–Entebbe Expressway (51 km; June 2018), the Kampala Northern Bypass; the boda-boda motorcycle taxis (about a million by the counts; the SafeBoda and the Uber Boda apps — Uber's exit announced on 3 September 2026), the 14-seat minibus 'taxis'; the left-hand traffic; the road deaths about 4,000–5,000 a year by the police's counts (the Kampala–Gulu collision of 22 October 2025, 46 dead; the Kampala–Gulu crash of 10 March 2026, 5 dead; the Kapchorwa school bus of 16 July 2026, 21 dead; the Kalungu crash of 3 August 2026, 14 dead; the minivan and the elephant at Murchison Falls, 24 May 2026, 3 dead) |
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| Rail | The metre-gauge railway of about 1,266 km (the Uganda Railway's extension of 1931 to Kampala, the western line to Kasese of 1956, the northern line to Gulu and Pakwach of 1964) under the Uganda Railways Corporation — the freight of the Kampala–Malaba–Mombasa link, the Tororo–Gulu line's rehabilitation of the 2020s, the Kampala commuter trains (Kampala–Namanve, Kampala–Kyengera; the 2015 revival), the wagon ferries of Lake Victoria (the MV Kaawa's return of the 2020s to Mwanza and Kisumu); the Standard Gauge Railway's Malaba–Kampala line under construction (about 273 km; the Turkish Yapı Merkezi; the link to Kenya's SGR at Malaba and the plan to Kasese, Gulu and Nimule) |
| Kampala transit | No metro or light rail — the boda-bodas (the motorcycle taxis; the city's 'bodas' in the hundreds of thousands; the 'boda-free' central zone's plans), the 14-seat minibus taxis of the Old and New Taxi Parks (the 'taxi' of the city's slang), the Kiira Motors' Kayoola electric buses (the Tondeka Metro's planned 1,000 buses of the 2020s — the delays by the press's line), the commuter trains of the Uganda Railways (Namanve, Kyengera), the ride-hailing apps (Uber's exit of 3 September 2026; Bolt, SafeBoda, Faras), the traffic jams of the city's roads (among Africa's worst by the surveys), the Kampala Flyover and the Northern Bypass; the planned Kampala bus rapid transit and the cable car (the 2010s–20s' plans) |
| Air | Entebbe International Airport (EBB; 35 km south of Kampala on Lake Victoria; the old airport of the Entebbe raid of 4 July 1976; the new terminal and the cargo center of the Chinese-funded expansion of 2015–25; about 2 million passengers a year by the counts) — Uganda Airlines (the state's airline relaunched on 28 August 2019 after the old Uganda Airlines' end of 2001; the Airbus A330-800neo and the Bombardier CRJ900 fleet; the routes to Dubai, Johannesburg, Lagos, Mumbai, London Gatwick (2024), Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, Kinshasa), the Kenya Airways, Emirates, Qatar, Turkish, KLM, Brussels, Ethiopian flights; the Kabaale International Airport of Hoima (the oil airport; 2024–25), the domestic airfields (Gulu, Arua, Kasese, Kisoro, Kidepo, Pakuba of Murchison); the Yonatan Netanyahu statue at Entebbe (2 August 2026); the aircraft registration 5X- |
| Ports and waterways | No seaport — the landlocked trade through the Kenyan port of Mombasa (about 80% by the Northern Corridor) and Tanzania's Dar es Salaam (the Central Corridor via the lake's ferries from Port Bell and Jinja to Mwanza and the rail), the EACOP's oil terminal at Tanga (Tanzania); the Lake Victoria ports — Port Bell (Kampala), Jinja, Entebbe, Bukasa (planned), the MV Kalangala ferry to the Ssese Islands, the wagon ferries; the Nile's navigation of the Albert Nile (Pakwach to Nimule), Lake Albert's ferries (the Wanseko–Panyamur) and the Kazinga Channel's boats; the dry ports of Mukono and Tororo; the Mpondwe, Malaba and Busia inland customs; the lake's tragedies (the MV Templar of 24 November 2018, 32 dead; the Bukasa ferries) |
| Energy and utilities | The electricity of the state's Uganda Electricity Generation, Transmission and Distribution companies (the Umeme concession of 2005–25 ended on 1 April 2025 — the state's takeover of the distribution) — about 2,000 MW with Karuma's 600 MW (2024), Isimba (183), Bujagali (250), Nalubaale and Kiira at Jinja; the access about 50–57% of the households (the rural far lower), the tariffs, the power cuts of the 2025 handover's months by the press's reports; the water of the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (the cities; the Kampala's Katosi plant of 2021), the boreholes and the protected springs of the villages; the telecoms — MTN Uganda (the largest; the IPO of 2021), Airtel Uganda, the state's UTL, the national fiber backbone; the internet shutdowns of the elections (13–18 January 2026; the social media's longer block); the mobile money (MTN MoMo, Airtel Money) the payment system of the country; the cooking's charcoal and firewood |
| Border crossings and bridges | With Kenya (about 815 km): Malaba and Busia (the Northern Corridor's busiest gates; the one-stop border posts of 2018), Suam, Lwakhakha; with South Sudan (about 475 km): Elegu–Nimule (the Juba road), Oraba–Kaya; with the DR Congo (about 875 km): Mpondwe–Kasindi, Bunagana (the M23's 2022 capture of the Congolese side), Goli–Mahagi, Vurra–Aru (the border closed from 27 May 2026 for four weeks over the Ebola); with Rwanda (about 170 km): Katuna–Gatuna (closed 2019–22), Cyanika, Mirama Hills; with Tanzania: Mutukula, the lake's ports; the bridges of the Nile — the Source of the Nile Bridge at Jinja (the cable-stayed bridge of 2018; 525 m; the Japanese-funded), the Owen Falls Dam's road, the Karuma Bridge (1963; the Kampala–Gulu road over the Nile), the Pakwach Bridge, the Masindi Port, the Nalubaale; the Kazinga Channel's bridge; the visa-free entry for 40 countries (11 March 2026) and the East African Tourist Visa (2014) |
History in dates
| c. 3000 BCE – 1000 CE | The hunter-gatherers of the Stone Age (the Batwa's forest ancestors; the Nyero geometric rock art of Kumi on the tentative list), the Central Sudanic and the Cushitic herders, THE BANTU-SPEAKING FARMERS' ARRIVAL from the west in the last millennium BCE (the iron working of the Lake Victoria region from about 500 BCE — the Urewe pottery; the bananas from Asia by the first millennium CE), the cattle and the cereals of the north and the east by the Nilotic and the Central Sudanic peoples; the lake's fishers; the Kibiro salt works of Lake Albert's shore (the 1,000-year salt village on the tentative list of 2025) |
|---|---|
| 1000 – 1500 | THE KITARA OF THE LEGENDS — the Batembuzi and the Bachwezi kings of the western grasslands (the semi-divine Bachwezi of the oral traditions, Wamara and Ndahura), the earthworks of Bigo bya Mugenyi (about 10 km of ditches of the 14th–16th centuries) and the Ntusi mounds and basin (the 11th–15th centuries' settlement of the cattle and the grain) — both on the tentative list of 1997; the Bahima pastoralists and the Bairu cultivators of Ankole's later order; the royal drums and the regalia of the kingdoms to come |
| 1500 – 1844 | THE KINGDOMS — the Luo migration from the north founded the Babiito dynasty of Bunyoro-Kitara (about 1500; the empire of the Omukama — the largest of the lakes' kingdoms in the 16th–17th centuries), Buganda's Kabakas from Kintu and Kimera (the founding of about the 14th–15th centuries; the rise under Kabaka Mawanda of the 18th century and Ssuuna II of the 1830s–56 — the lake's canoe fleets, the chiefs appointed, the expansion at Bunyoro's cost), Ankole (Nkore) of the Bahinda, Toro's break from Bunyoro (about 1830; Kaboyo Olimi I), the Busoga's chiefdoms, the Acholi's chiefdoms (the rwodi), the Langi, the Iteso's migrations, the Karimojong's cattle; the slaves' and the ivory's trade of the north |
| 1844 – 1877 | THE TRADERS AND THE EXPLORERS — the Zanzibari Arab and Swahili traders at the Kabaka's court from 1844 (the guns, the cloth, Islam — Kabaka Muteesa I's Ramadan of the 1860s), JOHN HANNING SPEKE at the Ripon Falls on 28 July 1862 ('the source of the Nile'; with James Grant; the first Europeans at Muteesa's court), Samuel and Florence Baker at Lake Albert (14 March 1864) and their Egyptian Equatoria campaign against Bunyoro's Kabalega (the Masindi battle of 1872), the Egyptian Khedive's ambitions on the north (Emin Pasha's Equatoria), Henry Morton Stanley's visit of 1875 and his letter to the Daily Telegraph inviting the missionaries |
| 1877 – 1894 | THE MISSIONS, THE MARTYRS AND THE COMPANY — the Church Missionary Society's Anglicans (Alexander Mackay; 30 June 1877) and the White Fathers' Catholics (Lourdel; 17 February 1879) at Muteesa's court, Kabaka Mwanga II's killing of Bishop James Hannington (29 October 1885) and of the Christian converts — THE UGANDA MARTYRS (22 Catholic and 23 Anglican pages and court officials, 1885–87; the burning at Namugongo on 3 June 1886; the Catholic saints of 18 October 1964), the religious wars of 1888–92 (the Muslims', the Protestants' and the Catholics' factions; Mwanga deposed and restored), the Imperial British East Africa Company's Frederick Lugard (the treaty of 26 December 1890; the Maxim gun at the battle of Mengo of 24 January 1892), the company's withdrawal (1893) |
| 1894 – 1900 | THE PROTECTORATE — the British protectorate over Buganda declared in June–August 1894 (the Foreign Office's decision and the proclamation at Mengo), the war against Bunyoro's Omukama Kabalega (1894–99) and Mwanga's revolt (1897), the Sudanese mutiny of 1897, the capture of Kabalega and Mwanga in Lango (9 April 1899) and their exile to the Seychelles, Kabaka Daudi Chwa II the infant king (1897) under the regents (Apolo Kagwa), the Uganda Railway begun from Mombasa (1896; the 'Lunatic Express'), THE BUGANDA AGREEMENT of 10 March 1900 (Sir Harry Johnston; the mailo land of the chiefs — the 9,000 square miles to the Kabaka, the chiefs and the notables; the Lukiiko's powers; the hut tax) |
| 1900 – 1914 | The protectorate's making — the Toro (1900) and Ankole (1901) agreements, the Baganda agents (Semei Kakungulu) extending the rule to the east and the north, the railway at Kisumu on Lake Victoria (December 1901; the steamers to Entebbe and Port Bell), THE SLEEPING SICKNESS EPIDEMIC of 1900–05 around the lake (about 250,000 dead by the counts; the shores and the Ssese islands evacuated), the cotton introduced by the British Cotton Growing Association (1904) and the Indian ginners, the Entebbe capital, the Namirembe and Rubaga cathedrals, the King's College Budo (1906), Mengo Hospital (1897), the boundaries with the Congo Free State and German East Africa (1910–14) |
| 1914 – 1945 | The wars and the cash crops — the First World War's East African campaign (the King's African Rifles, the carrier corps' deaths; the lake's naval battles with the Germans), the coffee of the 1920s, Makerere College (1922; the technical school that became East Africa's university college of 1949), the railway to Kampala (1931), the Asian traders' dukas in every town, the Bataka movement of Buganda's clan heads against the mailo chiefs (1920s), Kabaka Edward Mutesa II's accession (1939; the boy king), the Second World War's King's African Rifles in Burma and Ethiopia, the wartime controls of the cotton and the coffee prices (the farmers' grievance) |
| 1945 – 1955 | The protest and the crisis — the 1945 and 1949 riots of Buganda (the Bataka Party, the Uganda African Farmers' Union; the cotton and coffee marketing grievances), the Owen Falls Dam at Jinja (opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 29 April 1954 — the Ripon Falls drowned), the Kilembe copper (1956), Governor Sir Andrew Cohen's reforms, THE KABAKA CRISIS — Mutesa II's refusal of the 'East African federation' and the Buganda separation demand, his deportation to London on 30 November 1953 and his triumphant return on 17 October 1955 (the Namirembe Agreement of 1955), the Democratic Party's founding (1954; the Catholics' party), the Uganda National Congress (1952) |
| 1955 – 1962 | THE ROAD TO INDEPENDENCE — the Legislative Council's elected members (1958), the Uganda People's Congress (1960; Milton Obote's), the Kabaka Yekka (1961; 'the King Only' — Buganda's royalist party), the elections of March 1961 (the Democratic Party's Benedicto Kiwanuka the Chief Minister and the first Prime Minister of 1 March 1962 under the internal self-government), the London constitutional conferences (1961–62; Buganda's federal status), the UPC–Kabaka Yekka alliance's victory of April 1962 — Milton Obote the Prime Minister (30 April 1962), INDEPENDENCE ON 9 OCTOBER 1962 (the Duke of Kent for the Queen at Kololo; the flag of the crane raised) |
| 1962 – 1971 | Obote's years — the republic of 9 October 1963 (Kabaka Mutesa II the President), the 'lost counties' referendum of 4 November 1964 (Buyaga and Bugangaizi returned to Bunyoro from Buganda), the gold scandal of 1966 (Idi Amin and the Congo rebels' gold — the Parliament's motion), Obote's suspension of the constitution (22 February 1966) and THE MENGO CRISIS — the army under Idi Amin stormed the Kabaka's Lubiri palace on 24 May 1966 (Mutesa II's escape to London; his death there on 21 November 1969), the 'pigeonhole' constitution of 1966 and the republican constitution of 8 September 1967 (the kingdoms abolished), the attempt on Obote's life of 19 December 1969, the 'Move to the Left' and the Common Man's Charter (1969–70), the nationalizations of 1 May 1970 |
| 1971 – 1979 | IDI AMIN — the coup of 25 January 1971 while Obote was at the Singapore Commonwealth summit (the crowds' welcome in Kampala), the purges of the Acholi and Langi soldiers (the thousands killed), THE EXPULSION OF THE ASIANS — announced on 4–5 August 1972, about 80,000 given 90 days to leave (about 27,000 to Britain; the businesses seized for the 'Economic War'), the failed invasion of the exiles from Tanzania (September 1972), the break with Israel and Britain, the Libyan and Soviet ties, THE ENTEBBE RAID of 4 July 1976 (the Israeli commandos freed the hijacked Air France passengers; Yonatan Netanyahu the one commando killed; about 45 Ugandan soldiers killed), Archbishop Janani Luwum's murder (16 February 1977), the deaths of the regime about 100,000–500,000 by the estimates (both stated), the invasion of Tanzania's Kagera Salient (October–November 1978) and THE UGANDA–TANZANIA WAR — Kampala taken by the Tanzanian army and the Uganda National Liberation Army on 11 April 1979, Amin's flight to Libya and Saudi Arabia (died at Jeddah on 16 August 2003) |
| 1979 – 1986 | The chaos and the Bush War — Yusuf Lule's 68 days (April–June 1979), Godfrey Binaisa (1979–80), the Military Commission of Paulo Muwanga (1980), the disputed election of 10 December 1980 (the UPC's 'victory'; the Commonwealth observers' line) and OBOTE'S SECOND GOVERNMENT (1980–85); THE BUSH WAR — Yoweri Museveni's Popular Resistance Army attack on Kabamba barracks on 6 February 1981 (the 27 guns; the National Resistance Army of 1982), the Luweero Triangle's massacres by the government's army (about 100,000–300,000 dead by the estimates — both stated), the ten-point program, the Okello coup of 27 July 1985 (Tito Okello the head of state), the Nairobi peace talks (December 1985), THE NRA'S CAPTURE OF KAMPALA on 26 January 1986 (Liberation Day) and Museveni's swearing-in of 29 January 1986 ('not a mere change of guard but a fundamental change') |
| 1986 – 1995 | The NRM's first decade — the Resistance Councils (the local councils), the 'Movement' no-party system, the new shilling of May 1987 and the Economic Recovery Programme (the IMF and the World Bank), THE NORTHERN WAR — Alice Lakwena's Holy Spirit Movement (1986–87; defeated near Jinja in November 1987) and Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army (1987–2006; the abducted children — about 30,000–60,000 by the counts; the camps of 1.8 million), the HIV/AIDS's open response (the 'zero grazing' and the ABC campaign — the prevalence from about 18% in 1992 down), the Rwandan Patriotic Front's invasion of Rwanda from Uganda (1 October 1990), THE KINGDOMS RESTORED (the Traditional Rulers Act of 1993; Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II crowned the 36th Kabaka on 31 July 1993), the Constituent Assembly (1994–95) and THE CONSTITUTION OF 8 OCTOBER 1995 |
| 1996 – 2005 | The elections and the wars abroad — Museveni elected on 9 May 1996 (74.33%), Universal Primary Education (1997), the Congo wars (the Ugandan army in the DR Congo of 1998–2003; the Kisangani clashes with Rwanda of 1999–2000; the ICJ's judgment of 19 December 2005 against Uganda for the plunder — the reparations of US$325 million of 2022), the Kanungu cult massacre of 17 March 2000 (the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments; about 778 dead), the Gulu Ebola of 2000 (224 dead), the 2000 referendum (the Movement kept), the 2001 election (69.33%; Kizza Besigye's first challenge and exile), the HIPC debt relief (1998, 2000), the LRA's massacres (Barlonyo, 21 February 2004; about 300 dead), the referendum of 28 July 2005 (the multiparty system back) and the term-limit removal of 2005, Besigye's arrest on his return (November 2005) |
| 2006 – 2011 | The multiparty era — the elections of 23 February 2006 (59.26%; the first multiparty since 1980), the Juba peace talks with the LRA (2006–08; Kony's no-show; the LRA's exit to the Congo and the CAR), the oil's discovery in the Albertine Graben (2006; Tullow and Heritage), the Mabira forest giveaway protests (April 2007), the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting at Kampala (November 2007; Queen Elizabeth II's visit), the Buganda riots of 10–11 September 2009 (the Kabaka's Kayunga visit blocked; about 27 dead), the Kasubi tombs' fire (16 March 2010), THE AL-SHABAAB BOMBINGS of 11 July 2010 (74 dead at the World Cup final's screenings in Kampala — the revenge for the AMISOM deployment), the 2011 election (68.38%), the 'Walk to Work' protests of April 2011 (the 30% inflation; Besigye's arrests) |
| 2012 – 2016 | The golden jubilee of independence (9 October 2012), Stephen Kiprotich's marathon gold at London (12 August 2012 — the first Olympic gold since Akii-Bua's 40 years before), the Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2014 (signed 24 February 2014; annulled by the Constitutional Court on 1 August 2014 for the lack of the quorum), the South Sudan deployment (December 2013 – 2015), Pope Francis's visit (27–29 November 2015; Namugongo), the election of 18 February 2016 (60.62%; Besigye's 35.61% and his house arrest; the Supreme Court's dismissal of Amama Mbabazi's petition), the Kasese clashes of 26–27 November 2016 (the army's assault on the Rwenzururu palace; about 100 dead by the reports — the state's 'militia' and the rights groups' 'massacre' both stated, LAW 2) |
| 2017 – 2020 | THE AGE LIMIT REMOVED — the Constitution (Amendment) Act of December 2017 (the 'Togikwatako' protests; the fights in the Parliament of September 2017; the Supreme Court's upholding of 18 April 2019), BOBI WINE — Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu the musician elected the MP for Kyadondo East (29 June 2017), the Arua by-election's violence of 13 August 2018 (his driver shot dead; his torture by the soldiers — the army's 'self-defense' and his 'assault' both stated), the 'People Power' movement and the NUP of July 2020, the social media tax of July 2018, the Kampala–Entebbe Expressway (June 2018), the Isimba dam (2019), Uganda Airlines relaunched (28 August 2019), the COVID-19 lockdown of March 2020 (among the world's strictest), the November 2020 protests over Kyagulanyi's arrest (18–19 November; 54 dead) |
| 2021 | The election of 14 January 2021 (Museveni 58.38%, Kyagulanyi 35.08%; the internet shutdown of five days; the NUP's 57 seats — the main opposition), the ICC's conviction of Dominic Ongwen (4 February 2021; 25 years), the Kampala suicide bombings of the ADF (16 November 2021; three bombers and four others dead), Operation Shujaa in the DR Congo (30 November 2021); the Kyagulanyi petition withdrawn (February 2021); the NUP the main opposition in the 11th Parliament |
| 2022 | 1 February — the oil's final investment decision (the US$10 billion of TotalEnergies and CNOOC), the Speaker Jacob Oulanyah's death (20 March 2022) and Anita Among's election (25 March 2022), the Mbale floods (30 July 2022), the Sudan Ebola outbreak (20 September 2022 – 11 January 2023; 142 confirmed cases, 55 deaths), the inflation's 10.7% peak (October 2022), Muhoozi's tweets and the 'MK' rallies of 2022 |
| 2023 | THE ANTI-HOMOSEXUALITY ACT signed on 29 May 2023 (the death penalty for 'aggravated homosexuality'; the US visa bans and the World Bank's loans suspended in August 2023; the AGOA's exclusion from 1 January 2024 — the state's 'the African values' and the West's 'discrimination' both stated, LAW 2); the El Baraf base attack in Somalia (26 May 2023; 54 Ugandan soldiers dead); THE MPONDWE LHUBIRIHA SCHOOL MASSACRE by the ADF (16 June 2023; 42 dead, mostly students); the iron-sheets scandal of the Karamoja relief (the ministers charged); the FDC's split (the Katonga and the Najjanankumbi factions); the Kasubi tombs off the danger list; the census's preparations |
| 2024 | January — the NAM and the G77 summits at Kampala (Uganda the NAM chair to 2027); 9 January — Joel Ssenyonyi the Leader of the Opposition; 21 MARCH — MUHOOZI KAINERUGABA THE CHIEF OF DEFENCE FORCES; 3 April — the Anti-Homosexuality Act upheld by the Constitutional Court (four sections struck); April–May — the UK and US sanctions on Speaker Among and the ministers of the iron-sheets case; 10 MAY — THE NATIONAL CENSUS (45,905,417 by the final count); the Uganda Airlines' London route (May); 2 August — Joshua Cheptegei's 10,000 m gold at Paris (the Olympic record of 26:43.14) and 6 August — Peruth Chemutai's steeplechase silver; 10 August — the Kiteezi landfill collapse (about 35 dead); 5 September — the Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei's death after the attack by her partner in Kenya; the Karuma dam's 600 MW; 16 NOVEMBER — KIZZA BESIGYE ABDUCTED IN NAIROBI (the military court of 20 November) |
| 2025 (January – June) | 30 January — the Sudan Ebola's first death at Mulago (the outbreak of 14 cases and 4 deaths declared over on 26 April); 31 JANUARY — THE SUPREME COURT'S BAN ON THE CIVILIANS' MILITARY TRIALS; 11–18 February — Besigye's hunger strike; 13 March — the Kawempe North by-election; 14 March — the High Court judge Lydia Mugambe convicted in the UK; March — the UPDF's deployment to South Sudan; the EACOP's financing's first tranche; 1 April — the electricity distribution back to the state (the Umeme concession's end); April — the 20 EACOP activists arrested at the banks; 2 May — Muhoozi's 'in my basement' post; 20 May – 16 JUNE — THE UPDF ACT'S MILITARY COURTS RESTORED; 3 June — the Munyonyo shrine's bombing attempt (two suspects killed); 5 June — the World Bank's loans resumed; 10 June — the EU's high-risk list removal; the FY2025/26 budget of about UGX 72 trillion |
| 2025 (July – December) | 8 July — Besigye's People's Front for Freedom launched from detention; 8–19 July — the Rugby Africa Cup at Kampala; 10 July — the Kiryandongo refugee clashes (18 injured); 14 July — the Sudanese and Rwandan dual-citizenship applications suspended; 28 July — the South Sudan border clash (four South Sudanese soldiers dead); 2–30 August — the African Nations Championship co-hosted (the quarterfinal); 21 August — the US deportees' deal; 9 September — Joseph Kony's ICC confirmation hearing in absentia (the charges confirmed on 6 November); 23–24 SEPTEMBER — THE EIGHT PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES NOMINATED; 22 October — the Kampala–Gulu bus collision (at least 46 dead); 3 November — the Eastern Region's landslides (at least 18 dead, 20 missing); 6 December — Kyagulanyi beaten at Gulu; 3 December — the priest Deusdedit Ssekabira in the military's custody; December — the EACOP 79% built |
| 2026 (January – March) | 5 January — the ban on the live broadcasts of the 'riots'; 13 January — THE INTERNET SHUT DOWN; 15 JANUARY — THE GENERAL ELECTION (Museveni 71.65%, Kyagulanyi 24.72%; turnout 52.50%; the NRM's 372 seats); 15–16 January — the killings (at least 7 in Butambala, at least 10 at the MP Muwanga Kivumbi's home by the reports; about 2,000 detained); 17 January — Museveni declared the winner; 18 January — the internet partly back; 19 January — Muhoozi's 48-hour ultimatum to Kyagulanyi (the raid on his home, his wife's hospitalization by his account); 22 January — Muwanga Kivumbi arrested; 18 February — the Arua arrests under the Anti-Homosexuality Act; 8 MARCH — JACOB KIPLIMO'S HALF-MARATHON WORLD RECORD (57:20); 10 March — the Kampala–Gulu crash (5 dead); 11 March — the visa-free entry for 40 countries; 14 MARCH — KYAGULANYI ANNOUNCES HIS DEPARTURE FROM UGANDA; 17 March — the southern white rhinos returned to Kidepo |
| 2026 (April – June) | 2 April — the Kampala school stabbing (four children dead; the death sentence of 30 April); April — the EACOP's pipes all delivered; 28 April — the 231 foreign nationals of the scam centers detained; 12 MAY — MUSEVENI'S SEVENTH INAUGURATION (to 2031); 15 MAY — THE BUNDIBUGYO EBOLA OUTBREAK CONFIRMED; 18 May — the Protection of Sovereignty Act signed; 19 May — the ban on the handshakes and the hugs; 24 May — the minivan and the elephant at Murchison Falls (3 dead); 25 MAY — JACOB OBOTH-OBOTH THE SPEAKER (441 votes), Thomas Tayebwa the Deputy; 26 MAY — THE CABINET (Nabbanja the Prime Minister again; Musasizi at Finance, Ayebare at Foreign Affairs, Kiwanuka at Defense); 26 May — Canada's 21-day isolation rule; 27 May — the DR Congo border closed for four weeks; 11 JUNE — THE FY2026/27 BUDGET (10.2% growth projected on the first oil); 15 June — Erias Lukwago arrested by soldiers; 28 JUNE — THE DAILY MONITOR AND NTV ORDERED SHUT by the Chief of Defence Forces |
| 2026 (July – October) | 7 July — the Ugandan farmers' case against the EACOP filed in the UK High Court; 11 July — at least 16 starvation deaths in Karamoja's drought; 16 July — the Kapchorwa school bus crash (21 dead); 20 July — the FIFA rank 89; 2 August — the Yonatan Netanyahu statue at Entebbe airport; 3 August — the Kalungu crash (14 dead); 6 AUGUST — THE TROOPS AUTHORIZED FOR THE GAZA INTERNATIONAL STABILIZATION FORCE; 26 AUGUST — THE WHO DECLARES THE BUNDIBUGYO EBOLA OVER (20 cases, 2 deaths); 3 September — Uber's exit announced; the EACOP's first oil awaited in the second half of 2026; THE STATE AS OF 5 OCTOBER 2026 — President Yoweri Museveni in the seventh term (since 12 May 2026), Vice President Jessica Alupo, Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja, Speaker Jacob Oboth-Oboth, the Chief of Defence Forces General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Robert Kyagulanyi abroad and Kizza Besigye in detention, the Independence Day's 64th anniversary on 9 October 2026 the next date, the general election due in January 2031 |
| The presidents and the prime ministers | The heads of state — Queen Elizabeth II (9 October 1962 – 9 October 1963; Governor-General Sir Walter Coutts), Sir Edward Mutesa II (the Kabaka; President 1963–66), Milton Obote (1966–71), Idi Amin (1971–79), Yusuf Lule (April–June 1979), Godfrey Binaisa (1979–80), Paulo Muwanga (the Military Commission's chairman, 1980), Milton Obote (1980–85), Bazilio Olara-Okello (27–29 July 1985), Tito Okello (1985–86), YOWERI MUSEVENI (since 29 January 1986); the prime ministers — Benedicto Kiwanuka (1 March – 30 April 1962), Milton Obote (1962–66), Otema Allimadi (1980–85), Paulo Muwanga (1985), Abraham Waligo (1985–86), Samson Kisekka (1986–91), George Cosmas Adyebo (1991–94), Kintu Musoke (1994–99), Apolo Nsibambi (1999–2011), Amama Mbabazi (2011–14), Ruhakana Rugunda (2014–21), ROBINAH NABBANJA (since 21 June 2021); the vice presidents of the Museveni years — Samson Kisekka, Specioza Kazibwe (1994–2003; Africa's first woman vice president), Gilbert Bukenya, Edward Ssekandi, JESSICA ALUPO (since 2021); the Kabakas of Buganda — Mutesa II (1939–69) and Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II (since 31 July 1993) |
| The coups, the wars and the elections in dates | 24 May 1966 — the Mengo crisis (the Lubiri stormed); 25 January 1971 — Amin's coup; 4–5 August 1972 — the Asians' expulsion; 4 July 1976 — the Entebbe raid; October 1978 – 11 April 1979 — the war with Tanzania and Amin's fall; 10 December 1980 — the disputed election; 6 February 1981 – 26 January 1986 — the Bush War; 27 July 1985 — the Okellos' coup; 1987–2006 — the LRA's war of the north; 1998–2003 — the Congo wars; 2007– — the Somalia mission; 11 July 2010 — the Kampala bombings; 2013–15 — South Sudan; 16 November 2021 — the ADF's Kampala bombings; 30 November 2021 — Operation Shujaa; 16 June 2023 — Mpondwe; THE ELECTIONS — 1962 (the UPC–KY), 1980 (the UPC), 1996 (Museveni 74.33%), 2001 (69.33%), 2006 (59.26%), 2011 (68.38%), 2016 (60.62%), 2021 (58.38%), 15 January 2026 (71.65%) — the next on or about 15 January 2031 |
Records
| The source of the Nile | THE NILE leaves Lake Victoria at Jinja — the 'source' John Hanning Speke reached on 28 July 1862 (the Ripon Falls drowned by the Owen Falls Dam of 1954; the Source of the Nile monument and the Speke obelisk; the Kagera of Rwanda and Burundi the farthest headstream by the hydrologists' line — both stated), about 500 km of the river's 6,650 km in Uganda through Lake Kyoga, the Karuma Falls and the MURCHISON FALLS (the whole river through a gap of about 7 m and 43 m down — the most powerful waterfall of its kind by the usual line) to Lake Albert; Lake Victoria Africa's largest lake (68,800 km²; about 45% in Uganda); the white-water rafting of Jinja's grade-5 rapids (the Bujagali and the Isimba dams drowned many); the Nile's dams — Nalubaale, Kiira, Bujagali, Isimba, Karuma |
|---|---|
| The Mountains of the Moon | THE RWENZORI — Margherita Peak of Mount Stanley at 5,109 m, the third-highest summit of Africa; the 'Mountains of the Moon' of Ptolemy's tradition, first seen by the Europeans in 1888 (Stanley) and climbed by the Duke of the Abruzzi's expedition of 1906 (the six massifs' peaks named); the glaciers down from about 6.5–7.5 km² (1906) to under 1 km² (2020s) — among the few equatorial glaciers of the world; the giant groundsels and lobelias of the afro-alpine zone; the Rwenzori Mountains National Park on UNESCO's list (1994); Mount Elgon's caldera (about 40 km across — among the largest volcanic calderas of the world by the usual line) and the Sipi Falls; the Virunga volcanoes of Mgahinga |
| The gorillas and the wildlife | About half of the world's mountain gorillas (1,063 by the 2018–19 census) in Bwindi Impenetrable (UNESCO 1994) and Mgahinga; the chimpanzees of Kibale (about 1,500 — the highest density of the primates in East Africa) and the 13 primate species of Kibale; the tree-climbing lions of Ishasha (Queen Elizabeth); the shoebill of the Mabamba swamp; the Rothschild's giraffe of Murchison Falls; the Uganda kob of the arms; the southern white rhino reintroduced at Kidepo (17 March 2026; the rhinos extinct in Uganda by 1983 and bred at Ziwa since 2005); about 1,000-plus bird species (among Africa's richest for a country of its size by the counts); the gray crowned crane of the flag |
| The firsts of the state | Speke's 'source of the Nile' (1862); Uganda's martyrs the first sub-Saharan African saints of the modern era (18 October 1964) and Pope Paul VI's visit (31 July – 2 August 1969) the first by a pope to sub-Saharan Africa; Specioza Kazibwe Africa's first woman vice president (1994–2003); the first African country with the SPARK note feature (2010); John Akii-Bua the first Ugandan Olympic champion (the 400 m hurdles world record of 47.82 at Munich, 2 September 1972); the first African country to fight HIV/AIDS with an open national campaign (the late 1980s) by the usual line; the Zika virus named for Uganda's Zika forest (1947); the first state to host the NAM and the G77 summits in the same month (January 2024) by the government's line; the Kiira Motors' first African-made electric bus (the Kayoola of 2016) by the company's line; the world's longest heated crude pipeline (EACOP; 1,443 km) by the project's line |
| The kingdoms and the martyrs | BUGANDA — the kingdom of the 36th Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II (since 31 July 1993), the 52 clans and their totems, the Lukiiko of Mengo, the Bulange (1958), the Kasubi tombs of the four kings (UNESCO 2001; the fire of 2010 and the rebuilding), the royal drums (the Mujaguzo), the Kabaka's Lubiri; BUNYORO-KITARA (the Omukama; Kabalega's resistance of 1869–99 the national hero's), TORO (Omukama Oyo, crowned in 1995 at three — among the world's youngest monarchs then), BUSOGA, Rwenzururu, Ankole (not restored); THE UGANDA MARTYRS — 45 Christian converts killed in 1885–87 (the Namugongo burning of 3 June 1886), the 22 Catholic saints canonized on 18 October 1964, the Namugongo basilica (1975) and the Anglican shrine, the pilgrimage of 3 June (about 2–4 million by the counts, many walking from Kenya, Tanzania and beyond) |
| The sporting firsts | FIVE OLYMPIC GOLDS and 13 medals in all (5-5-3) — John Akii-Bua's 400 m hurdles (Munich 1972; the world record), Stephen Kiprotich's marathon (London 2012), Joshua Cheptegei's 5,000 m and Peruth Chemutai's 3,000 m steeplechase (Tokyo 2020; Chemutai the first Ugandan woman Olympic champion), Cheptegei's 10,000 m (Paris 2024; the Olympic record) — the first medal Eridadi Mukwanga's bantamweight boxing silver of Mexico City 1968; Cheptegei's world records of 5,000 m (12:35.36) and 10,000 m (26:11.00) of 2020; Jacob Kiplimo's half-marathon world record of 57:20 (8 March 2026); the Uganda Cranes' Africa Cup final of 1978, the AFCON 2027 co-hosting; the Little League team of Lugazi at the World Series of 2012; the cricket's T20 World Cup debut (2024); the netball She Cranes' World Cup regularity; the boxer Justin Juuko and the Kassim Ouma's IBF title (2004) |
| The letters and the screen | The writers — Okot p'Bitek's 'Song of Lawino' (1966; the Acholi poem of the East African canon), David Rubadiri, Taban lo Liyong, Moses Isegawa's 'Abyssinian Chronicles' (2000), Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi's 'Kintu' (2014) and the Windham-Campbell Prize (2018), Mahmood Mamdani's 'Citizen and Subject' (1996), Kakwenza Rukirabashaija's 'The Greedy Barbarian' (2020; his torture and exile — the state's 'insult' charge and the writers' 'persecution' both stated, LAW 2); the screen — 'The Last King of Scotland' (2006; Forest Whitaker's Amin, the Oscar), 'Queen of Katwe' (2016; the chess prodigy Phiona Mutesi of Katwe), Wakaliwood's action films of Isaac Nabwana ('Who Killed Captain Alex?', 2010), 'Bobi Wine: The People's President' (2022; the documentary's Oscar nomination of 2025); the music — Bobi Wine, Jose Chameleone, Eddy Kenzo (the BET award of 2015 — the first Ugandan), Sheebah Karungi, the kadongo kamu and the kidandali |
| The faiths' marks | The Uganda Martyrs' shrines of Namugongo (the Catholic basilica of 1975 on the burning site and the Anglican shrine and museum; the 3 June pilgrimage of the millions), Rubaga Cathedral (the Catholic; 1925) and Namirembe Cathedral (the Anglican; 1919 in its brick form), the Gaddafi National Mosque of Old Kampala (2006; about 15,000 worshippers; Libya's gift — the Uganda National Mosque since 2013), Kibuli Mosque (1941), the Bahá'í Mother Temple of Africa at Kikaaya hill (1961; the only one of the continent), the Hindu temples of the Asian community, the Abayudaya Jews of Mbale (the community of the 1919 conversion under Semei Kakungulu — about 2,000), the papal visits (1969, 1993, 2015), Bishop Hannington's martyrdom (1885), Archbishop Janani Luwum's murder (1977; his statue at Westminster Abbey), the Kanungu cult's massacre of 2000 |
| The economic records | The coffee — Africa's second producer after Ethiopia and the largest robusta exporter of Africa, the record exports above US$2 billion of FY2024/25 (about 8 million 60-kg bags by the official count); the gold — the first export by value since 2020 (about US$3 billion-plus a year); the oil — about 6.5 billion barrels in place in the Albertine Graben (about 1.4 billion recoverable) and the EACOP of 1,443 km (about US$5 billion; the world's longest heated crude pipeline by the project's line); the Karuma dam's 600 MW (2024); the mobile money of most adults; the minimum wage of UGX 6,000 a month unrevised since 1984; the hyperinflation of the 1980s and the new shilling of 1987 (100 to 1); the Asians' expulsion of 1972 and the property restorations from 1992; the 10.2% growth projected for FY2026/27 (the 'fastest in decades' by the Finance Minister's line) |
| The lakes and the islands | Lake Victoria (the 68,800 km² — Africa's largest; about 45% in Uganda), Lake Albert (about 5,300 km²; the oil and the rift), Lake Kyoga (the shallow papyrus lake of the Nile), Lake Edward and Lake George joined by the 32 km Kazinga Channel (the hippos' highest density by the usual line), Lake Bunyonyi (the 29 islands; the 'deepest' of the local claim — about 40 m by the surveys; both stated), the Ssese Islands' 84 (Bugala the largest), the crater lakes of Fort Portal (about 50), Lake Mburo, the Migingo rock of the Kenya dispute; the Nile perch's introduction of the 1950s and the native cichlids' extinctions (about 200 species lost by the scientists' count — 'Darwin's Nightmare' of the 2004 film's lake), the water hyacinth of the 1990s |
| The wildlife's records | The mountain gorilla (about half of the world's in Bwindi and Mgahinga), the chimpanzee (Kibale's about 1,500 and Budongo's), the golden monkey of Mgahinga, the shoebill of the swamps (Mabamba, Murchison's delta), the gray crowned crane (the national bird; endangered since 2012), the Uganda kob, the Rothschild's giraffe, the tree-climbing lions, the African elephant (about 7,000–8,000 by the 2020s' counts from about 2,000 in the 1980s), the hippopotamus of the Kazinga Channel, the Nile crocodile, the southern white rhino's return (2026), the about 1,000-plus bird species, the Rwenzori turaco and the Rwenzori's endemic plants; the poaching of the 1970s–80s and the recovery since the 1990s by the Uganda Wildlife Authority's counts |
| The small and the strange | The country on the equator with snow (the Rwenzori's glaciers); the Kayabwe equator line's tourist bowls; the boda-bodas by the million; the rolex (the 'rolled eggs' chapati) a street food with its own festival (2016); the Imbalu circumcision of the even years; the Empaako names; the punishment island of Lake Bunyonyi (Akampene); Wakaliwood's 'supa action' films of the Kampala slum; the Migingo rock quarrel with Kenya; the 'Social media tax' of 2018; the minimum wage of 1984; the ban on the handshakes and the hugs (19 May 2026) in the Ebola; the Yonatan Netanyahu statue at Entebbe (2026); the Little League team of Lugazi at the Williamsport World Series; the 'Pearl of Africa' of Churchill (1908); Idi Amin's self-awarded titles ('Conqueror of the British Empire') |
| The disasters' marks | The sleeping sickness of 1900–05 (about 250,000 dead); the Amin years' killings (about 100,000–500,000 by the estimates — both stated); the Luweero Triangle (1981–86; about 100,000–300,000 by the estimates); the LRA's war (1987–2006; about 100,000 dead, the abducted children, the 1.8 million in the camps); the HIV/AIDS epidemic (about a million dead by the 2000s); the Kanungu cult massacre (17 March 2000; about 778); the Ebola outbreaks (Gulu 2000 — 224 dead; 2022 — 55 confirmed deaths; 2025; 2026); the Bududa landslides (1 March 2010; about 100); the Kampala bombings (11 July 2010; 74); the MV Templar (24 November 2018; 32); the Mpondwe school massacre (16 June 2023; 42); the Kiteezi landfill (10 August 2024; about 35); the Kampala–Gulu bus collision (22 October 2025; at least 46); the Karamoja famine deaths (July 2026); the November 2020 protests (54) and the January 2026 election's killings |
| The empires and the powers | The Kitara of the legends and the Babiito's Bunyoro empire (the 16th–17th centuries), Buganda's rise (the 18th–19th centuries), the Egyptian Khedive's Equatoria (the 1870s; Baker and Emin Pasha), the Zanzibari traders (from 1844), the Imperial British East Africa Company (1888–93), THE BRITISH PROTECTORATE (1894–1962) with Buganda its partner (the 1900 Agreement), the independent state of the Commonwealth (1962), the Amin dictatorship's Libyan and Soviet ties (1971–79), the Tanzanian army's liberation (1979), the NRM's 40 years (1986–2026) and the regional power of the UPDF (Somalia, the DR Congo, South Sudan, the Gaza force of 2026), China's loans and the Western aid — the 'Pearl of Africa' between the powers |
| The census and the counts | 45,905,417 at the census of 10 May 2024 by the final count (45,935,046 by the preliminary — both stated); 34,634,650 (2014), 24,227,297 (2002), 16,671,705 (1991), 12,636,179 (1980), 9,535,051 (1969); the growth 2.79% a year (2014–24); the Baganda 15.3%, the Banyankole 9.1%, the Basoga 8.1%, the Iteso 6.8%, the Bakiga 6.4%, the Langi 5.9% (2024) against the 16.5/9.8/8.8/7.0/7.1/6.3 of 2014 — both stated; the Christians about 82% and the Muslims about 13%; the refugees about 1.95 million (October 2025); the registered voters 21,649,067 (2026) and the turnout 52.50%; the Museveni votes 7,946,772 and the Kyagulanyi 2,741,238; the Parliament's 529; the area 241,038 km² (15.39% water); the GDP about US$64.3 billion (2025) and about US$1,340 a head; the HDI 0.582; the Olympic medals 5-5-3; the mountain gorillas 1,063 (2018–19) |
| The last and the next | THE LAST — the general election of 15 January 2026, the seventh inauguration of 12 May 2026, the Speaker's election of 25 May 2026, the Cabinet of 26 May 2026, the budget of 11 June 2026, the census of 10 May 2024, the Ebola's end of 26 August 2026, the Olympic gold of 2 August 2024, the half-marathon world record of 8 March 2026, the white rhinos' return of 17 March 2026, the Gaza force's authorization of 6 August 2026; THE NEXT — the 64th Independence Day of 9 October 2026, the EACOP's first oil (the second half of 2026 by the plan) and the oil revenues of FY2026/27, the Hoima refinery, the Standard Gauge Railway's Malaba–Kampala line, the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations with Kenya and Tanzania (the 'Pamoja'), the Besigye trial's outcome, the 2028 Olympics at Los Angeles, the general election on or about 15 January 2031, the NAM chair's handover (2027); THE STATE AS OF 5 OCTOBER 2026 as tabled above |
Frequently asked questions
What is the official name of Uganda?
The Republic of Uganda — the name of the constitution of 8 October 1995 (the Uganda Protectorate of the British of 1894–1962 before it, named for Buganda, the kingdom of the Baganda — 'Uganda' the Swahili form the coastal traders and the British used); independent on 9 October 1962 as a Commonwealth realm with Milton Obote the Prime Minister, a republic since 9 October 1963 (Kabaka Mutesa II of Buganda its first President); the demonym Ugandan; the motto 'For God and My Country'; the UN's member of 25 October 1962, the African Union's, the East African Community's (the founder of 1967 and of the revived community of 2000), the Commonwealth's, the OIC's, the IGAD's and the Non-Aligned Movement's.
What is the capital of Uganda?
Kampala — the city of the hills on the northern shore of Lake Victoria, about 1.8 million people in the Kampala Capital City Authority's area by the 2024 census (about 1,766,500 by the 2023 estimate) and several million in the Greater Kampala metropolitan area with Wakiso (about 3.5 million) and Mukono; the capital since independence (Entebbe the colonial capital of 1894–1962, its airport the country's gateway); the Mengo hill of the Kabaka's Lubiri palace and the Bulange of the Buganda kingdom's parliament, the Kasubi tombs of the kings (UNESCO 2001), Namirembe and Rubaga cathedrals, Kibuli and the Gaddafi national mosques, Makerere University (1922), the Parliament, the Nakasero State House and the Kampala Central Business District; the Namugongo shrine of the martyrs on its edge.
How big is Uganda, and how many people live there?
241,038 km² (93,065 sq mi), about 15% of it water (Lake Victoria's Ugandan share, Kyoga, Albert, Edward, George) — about 7% of India's area, about the size of Uttar Pradesh; landlocked between Kenya, South Sudan, the DR Congo, Rwanda and Tanzania; 45,905,417 people at the census of 10 May 2024 by the final count (45,935,046 by the preliminary — both stated), growing 2.79% a year from the 34.6 million of 2014 — about 190 per km² on the land and about 157 on the whole area; among the youngest populations of the world (about 48% under 15 by the estimates), the fertility about 4.5 children per woman; about 1.9–2 million refugees hosted (October 2025), the largest number in Africa.
What are the highest and lowest points of Uganda?
Margherita Peak of Mount Stanley in the Rwenzori Mountains — 5,109 m (16,762 ft) on the DR Congo border, the third-highest summit of Africa after Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya, its glaciers shrinking fast (the 'Mountains of the Moon' of Ptolemy's tradition; the Rwenzori Mountains National Park on UNESCO's list since 1994); Mount Elgon's Wagagai at 4,321 m on the Kenyan border the other great height; the lowest point Lake Albert's surface at about 620 m in the Albertine Rift on the DR Congo border; the Nile leaves Lake Victoria at Jinja at about 1,134 m and crosses the country through Lake Kyoga, the Karuma and the Murchison Falls to Lake Albert and the north.
What currency does Uganda use?
The Uganda shilling (UGX; USh), with no subdivision in use — about 3,500–3,700 shillings to the U.S. dollar and about 37–39 shillings to the Indian rupee by the 2025–26 market range, issued by the Bank of Uganda (1966; Governor Michael Atingi-Ego); the first shilling of 1966 replaced the East African shilling at par, the new shilling of May 1987 at 100 old to 1 after the 1980s' inflation; the notes of 1,000 to 50,000 shillings (the first African notes with the SPARK security feature, 2010) and the coins of 50 to 1,000; the floating rate of the 1990s' liberalization; the mobile money of MTN and Airtel the everyday payment of most Ugandans.
Who governs Uganda?
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni — born 15 September 1944, the leader of the National Resistance Army that took Kampala on 26 January 1986, in power since 29 January 1986; re-elected on 15 January 2026 with 71.65% (7,946,772 votes) against Robert Kyagulanyi (Bobi Wine) of the National Unity Platform's 24.72% by the Electoral Commission's count of 17 January (turnout 52.50%) — the opposition's 'fraud' and the AU observers' 'intimidation, arrest and abductions' beside the Commission's result (both stated, LAW 2); sworn in for the seventh term on 12 May 2026 (to 2031); Vice President Jessica Alupo, Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja and the Cabinet of 26 May 2026; the Parliament of 529 (the NRM 372 seats) with Speaker Jacob Oboth-Oboth (25 May 2026); the Chief of Defence Forces General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the President's son (since 21 March 2024).
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