Uganda | Religion, Population, Language, President, & Kampala | Britannica (original) (raw)

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Uganda, landlocked country in east-central Africa. About the size of Great Britain, Uganda is populated by dozens of ethnic groups. The English language and Christianity help unite these diverse peoples, who come together in the cosmopolitan capital of Kampala, a verdant city whose plan includes dozens of small parks and public gardens and a scenic promenade along the shore of Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest freshwater lake. The Swahili language unites the country with its East African neighbours Kenya and Tanzania.

“Uganda is a fairy-tale. You climb up a railway instead of a beanstalk, and at the end there is a wonderful new world,” wrote Sir Winston Churchill, who visited the country during its years under British rule and who called it “the pearl of Africa.” Indeed, Uganda embraces many ecosystems, from the tall volcanic mountains of the eastern and western frontiers to the densely forested swamps of the Albert Nile River and the rainforests of the country’s central plateau. The land is richly fertile, and Ugandan coffee has become both a mainstay of the agricultural economy and a favourite of connoisseurs around the world.

Quick Facts

Head Of State And Government:

President: Yoweri Museveni, assisted by Prime Minister: Robinah Nabbanja

Population:

(2024 est.) 47,066,000

Form Of Government:

multiparty republic with one legislative house (Parliament [4651])

Official Languages:

English; Swahili

Official Name:

Jamhuri ya Uganda (Swahili); Republic of Uganda (English)

Total Area (Sq Km):

241,553

Total Area (Sq Mi):

93,264

Monetary Unit:

Ugandan shilling (UGX)

Population Rank:

(2023) 34

Population Projection 2030:

55,723,000

Density: Persons Per Sq Mi:

(2024) 504.7

Density: Persons Per Sq Km:

(2024) 194.8

Urban-Rural Population:

Urban: (2021) 11.4%

Rural: (2021) 88.6%

Life Expectancy At Birth:

Male: (2022) 66.7 years

Female: (2022) 71.3 years

Literacy: Percentage Of Population Age 15 And Over Literate:

Male: (2021) 84%

Female: (2021) 74%

Gni (U.S.$ ’000,000):

(2023) 47,399

Gni Per Capita (U.S.$):

(2023) 980

Uganda obtained formal independence on October 9, 1962. Its borders, drawn in an artificial and arbitrary manner in the late 19th century, encompassed two essentially different types of societies: the relatively centralized Bantu kingdoms of the south and the more decentralized Nilotic and Sudanic peoples to the north. The country’s sad record of political conflict, coupled with environmental problems and the ravages of a countrywide AIDS epidemic, hindered progress and growth for many years. Yet, even so, at the beginning of the 21st century a popularly elected civilian government ruled Uganda, which had attained political stability, had set an example for tackling the AIDS crisis that threatened to overwhelm the continent, and enjoyed one of the fastest-growing economies in Africa.