Uganda
The Country of the Week
Quick Facts
- Capital
- Kampala
- Population
- 50,863,850 (2025 est.)
- Area
- 241,038 sq km
- Government
- presidential republic
- 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.)
- 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.)
- Currency
- Ugandan shillings (UGX)
- Life Expectancy
- 69.7 years (2024 est.)
- Internet Domain
- .ug
- Climate
- tropical; generally rainy with two dry seasons (December to February, June to August); semiarid in northeast
- Terrain
- mostly plateau with rim of mountains
- Natural Resources
- copper, cobalt, hydropower, limestone, salt, arable land, gold
- Major Exports
- gold, coffee, fish, refined petroleum, tobacco (2023)
Source: CIA World Factbook (public domain)
Overview
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.