Factbook dossier
Background
An ancient crossroads for various migrations, Uganda has as many as 65 ethnic groups that speak languages from three of Africa s four major linguistic families. As early as 1200, fertile soils and regular rainfall in the south fostered the formation of several large, centralized kingdoms, including Buganda, from which the country derives its name. Muslim traders from Egypt reached northern Uganda in the 1820s, and Swahili merchants from the Indian Ocean coast arrived in the south by the 1840s. The area attracted the attention of British explorers seeking the source of the Nile River in the 1860s, and this influence expanded in subsequent decades with the arrival of Christian missionaries and trade agreements; Uganda was declared a British protectorate in 1894. Buganda and other southern kingdoms negotiated agreements with Britain to secure privileges and a level of autonomy that were rare during the colonial period in Africa. Uganda's colonial boundaries grouped together a wide range of ethnic groups with different political systems and cultures, and the disparities between how Britain governed southern and northern areas compounded these differences, complicating efforts to establish a cohesive independent country. Uganda gained independence in 1962 with one of the more developed economies and one of the strongest education systems in Sub-Saharan Africa, but it descended within a few years into political turmoil and internal conflict that lasted more than two decades. In 1966, Prime Minister Milton OBOTE suspended the constitution and violently deposed President Edward MUT…
Location
East-Central Africa, west of Kenya, east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Area
total : 241,038 sq km land: 197,100 sq km water: 43,938 sq km
Natural resources
copper, cobalt, hydropower, limestone, salt, arable land, gold
Natural hazards
droughts; floods; earthquakes; landslides; hailstorms
Population
total: 50,863,850 (2025 est.) male: 24,835,513 female: 26,028,337
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), 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.)
Environmental issues
draining of wetlands for agricultural use; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; water pollution from industrial discharge and water hyacinth infestation in Lake Victoria; widespread poaching
Government type
presidential republic
Capital
name: Kampala geographic coordinates: 0 19 N, 32 33 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) etymology: the name is said to come from an African antelope, the impala
Executive branch
chief of state: President Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI (since 26 January 1986) head of government: Prime Minister Robinah NABBANJA (since 14 June 2021) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among elected members of Parliament or persons who qualify to be elected as members of Parliament election/appointment process: president directly elected by absolute-majority popular vote in 2 rounds, if needed, for a 5-year term (no term limits) most recent election date: 14 January 2021 election results: 2021: Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI reelected president in the first round; percent of vote - Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI (NRM) 58.6%, Robert Kyagulanyi SSENTAMU (aka Bobi WINE) (NUP) 34.8%, Patrick Oboi AMURIAT (FDC) 3.2%, other 3.4% expected date of next election: 2026
Legislative branch
legislature name: Parliament legislative structure: unicameral number of seats: 529 (499 directly elected; 30 indirectly elected) electoral system: plurality/majority scope of elections: full renewal term in office: 5 years most recent election date: 1/14/2021 to 1/18/2021 parties elected and seats per party: National Resistance Movement (NRM) (336); National Unity Platform (NUP) (57); Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) (32); Independents (74); Other (30) percentage of women in chamber: 34.1% expected date of next election: January 2026
Real GDP (purchasing power parity)
$144.137 billion (2024 est.) $135.803 billion (2023 est.) $128.923 billion (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars
Real GDP per capita
$2,900 (2024 est.) $2,800 (2023 est.) $2,700 (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
3.3% (2024 est.) 5.4% (2023 est.) 7.2% (2022 est.) note: annual % change based on consumer prices
Exports - partners
India 21%, UAE 16%, Hong Kong 10%, South Sudan 8%, Kenya 6% (2023) note: top five export partners based on percentage share of exports
Imports - partners
China 19%, UAE 12%, Tanzania 11%, India 10%, Kenya 7% (2023) note: top five import partners based on percentage share of imports
Military and security forces
Uganda People's Defense Force (UPDF): Land Force (includes marines), Air Force, Special Forces Command, Reserve Force Ministry of Internal Affairs: Uganda Police Force (2025) note 1: the Special Forces Command is a separate branch within the UPDF; it evolved from the former Presidential Guard Brigade and has continued to retain presidential protection duties in addition to its traditional missions, such as counterinsurgency note 2: the Uganda Police Force includes air, field, territorial, and marine units, as well as a presidential guard force note 3: in 2018, President MUSEVENI created a volunteer force of Local Defense Units under the military to beef up local security in designated parts of the country
Military expenditures
2% of GDP (2023 est.) 2.2% of GDP (2022 est.) 2.5% of GDP (2021 est.) 2.5% of GDP (2020 est.) 1.7% of GDP (2019 est.)