Uganda People - 2022
SOURCE: 2022 CIA WORLD FACTBOOK
Population
46,205,893 (2022 est.)
Nationality
noun: Ugandan(s)
adjective: Ugandan
Ethnic groups
Baganda 16.5%, Banyankole 9.6%, Basoga 8.8%, Bakiga 7.1%, Iteso 7%, Langi 6.3%, Bagisu 4.9%, Acholi 4.4%, Lugbara 3.3%, other 32.1% (2014 est.)
Languages
English (official language, taught in schools, used in courts of law and by most newspapers and some radio broadcasts), Ganda or Luganda (most widely used of the Niger-Congo languages and the language used most often in the capital), other Niger-Congo languages, Nilo-Saharan languages, Swahili (official), Arabic
Religions
Protestant 45.1% (Anglican 32.0%, Pentecostal/Born Again/Evangelical 11.1%, Seventh Day Adventist 1.7%, Baptist .3%), Roman Catholic 39.3%, Muslim 13.7%, other 1.6%, none 0.2% (2014 est.)
Demographic profile
Uganda has one of the youngest and most rapidly growing populations in the world; its total fertility rate is among the world’s highest at close to 5.5 children per woman. Except in urban areas, actual fertility exceeds women’s desired fertility by one or two children, which is indicative of the widespread unmet need for contraception, lack of government support for family planning, and a cultural preference for large families. High numbers of births, short birth intervals, and the early age of childbearing contribute to Uganda’s high maternal mortality rate. Gender inequities also make fertility reduction difficult; women on average are less-educated, participate less in paid employment, and often have little say in decisions over childbearing and their own reproductive health. However, even if the birth rate were significantly reduced, Uganda’s large pool of women entering reproductive age ensures rapid population growth for decades to come.
Unchecked, population increase will further strain the availability of arable land and natural resources and overwhelm the country’s limited means for providing food, employment, education, health care, housing, and basic services. The country’s north and northeast lag even further behind developmentally than the rest of the country as a result of long-term conflict (the Ugandan Bush War 1981-1986 and more than 20 years of fighting between the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and Ugandan Government forces), ongoing inter-communal violence, and periodic natural disasters.
Uganda has been both a source of refugees and migrants and a host country for refugees. In 1972, then President Idi AMIN, in his drive to return Uganda to Ugandans, expelled the South Asian population that composed a large share of the country’s business people and bankers. Since the 1970s, thousands of Ugandans have emigrated, mainly to southern Africa or the West, for security reasons, to escape poverty, to search for jobs, and for access to natural resources. The emigration of Ugandan doctors and nurses due to low wages is a particular concern given the country’s shortage of skilled health care workers. Africans escaping conflicts in neighboring states have found refuge in Uganda since the 1950s; the country currently struggles to host tens of thousands from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, and other nearby countries.
Age structure
0-14 years: 48.21% (male 10,548,913/female 10,304,876)
15-24 years: 20.25% (male 4,236,231/female 4,521,698)
25-54 years: 26.24% (male 5,202,570/female 6,147,304)
55-64 years: 2.91% (male 579,110/female 681,052)
65 years and over: 2.38% (male 442,159/female 589,053) (2020 est.)
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio: 88.2
youth dependency ratio: 85.1
elderly dependency ratio: 3.2
potential support ratio: 31.7 (2021 est.)
Median age
total: 15.7 years
male: 14.9 years
female: 16.5 years (2020 est.)
Population growth rate
3.27% (2022 est.)
Birth rate
40.94 births/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Death rate
5.02 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Net migration rate
-3.26 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Population distribution
population density is relatively high in comparison to other African nations; most of the population is concentrated in the central and southern parts of the country, particularly along the shores of Lake Victoria and Lake Albert; the northeast is least populated as shown in this population distribution map
Urbanization
urban population: 26.2% of total population (2022)
rate of urbanization: 5.41% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major urban areas - population
3.652 million KAMPALA (capital) (2022)
Sex ratio
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 0.86 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.86 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2022 est.)
Mother's mean age at first birth
19.4 years (2016 est.)
note: data represents median age at first birth among women 20-49
Maternal mortality ratio
375 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)
Infant mortality rate
total: 30.45 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 33.88 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 26.91 deaths/1,000 live births (2022 est.)
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 68.96 years
male: 66.71 years
female: 71.27 years (2022 est.)
Total fertility rate
5.36 children born/woman (2022 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate
50.2% (2021)
Drinking water source
improved: urban: 92.5% of population
rural: 80% of population
total: 83.1% of population
unimproved: urban: 7.5% of population
rural: 20% of population
total: 16.9% of population (2020 est.)
Current health expenditure
3.8% of GDP (2019)
Physicians density
0.15 physicians/1,000 population (2020)
Hospital bed density
0.5 beds/1,000 population
Sanitation facility access
improved: urban: 67.3% of population
rural: 27.5% of population
total: 37.4% of population
unimproved: urban: 32.7% of population
rural: 72.5% of population
total: 62.6% of population (2020 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate
5.4% (2020 est.)
Major infectious diseases
degree of risk: very high (2020)
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria, dengue fever, and Trypanosomiasis-Gambiense (African sleeping sickness)
water contact diseases: schistosomiasis
animal contact diseases: rabies
note: on 18 November 2022, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an updated Travel Alert for polio in Africa; Uganda is currently considered a high risk to travelers for circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPV); vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV) is a strain of the weakened poliovirus that was initially included in oral polio vaccine (OPV) and that has changed over time and behaves more like the wild or naturally occurring virus; this means it can be spread more easily to people who are unvaccinated against polio and who come in contact with the stool or respiratory secretions, such as from a sneeze, of an “infected” person who received oral polio vaccine; the CDC recommends that before any international travel, anyone unvaccinated, incompletely vaccinated, or with an unknown polio vaccination status should complete the routine polio vaccine series; before travel to any high-risk destination, the CDC recommends that adults who previously completed the full, routine polio vaccine series receive a single, lifetime booster dose of polio vaccine
note: on 15 November 2022, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an updated Level Two Travel Alert (Practice Enhanced Precautions) for Ebola virus in Uganda, currently present in the following districts: Wakiso, Kampala, Jinja, Masaka, Mubende, Kassandra, Kyegegwa, Kagadi, and Bunyangabu, and recommended that people avoid non-essential travel to these regions; this outbreak has been linked to the Sudan ebolavirus for which there are no vaccines or therapeutics approved for prevention or treatment of the Sudan ebolavirus; in addition, on 6 October 2022, the State Department issued a Level Three Travel Advisory to reconsider travel to Uganda and also announced the following "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the CDC announced entrance screening for travelers who have been in Uganda in the last 21 days. All U.S.-bound passengers who have been in Uganda at any point in the 21 days prior to their arrival will be routed to one of the following designated airports: New York (JFK), Newark (EWR), Atlanta (ATL), Chicago (ORD), or Washington (IAD), where they will undergo enhanced screening, including a health questionnaire and temperature checks. This applies to all passengers, including U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, and foreign nationals (to include Diplomatic and Official visas)."
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
5.3% (2016)
Alcohol consumption per capita
total: 6.82 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
beer: 0.85 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine: 0.01 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits: 0.5 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols: 5.46 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Tobacco use
total: 8.4% (2020 est.)
male: 13% (2020 est.)
female: 3.7% (2020 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
10.4% (2016)
Child marriage
women married by age 15: 7.3%
women married by age 18: 34%
men married by age 18: 5.5% (2016 est.)
Education expenditures
2.7% of GDP (2021 est.)
Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 76.5%
male: 82.7%
female: 70.8% (2018)
Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)
total: 5.8%
male: 5.6%
female: 5.9% (2017 est.)
NOTE: The information regarding Uganda on this page is re-published from the 2022 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Uganda 2022 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Uganda 2022 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.
This page was last modified 01 Dec 23, Copyright © 23 ITA all rights reserved.