Uganda Demographics

What is the population of Uganda?

Population 43,252,966
Population - note note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected
Population Growth Rate 3.32%
Urban Population 15.6%
Population in Major Urban Areas KAMPALA (capital) 1.659 million
Nationality Noun Ugandan(s)
Nationality Adjective Ugandan
Ethnic Groups Baganda 17%, Ankole 8%, Basoga 8%, Iteso 8%, Bakiga 7%, Langi 6%, Rwanda 6%, Bagisu 5%, Acholi 4%, Lugbara 4%, Batoro 3%, Bunyoro 3%, Alur 2%, Bagwere 2%, Bakonjo 2%, Jopodhola 2%, Karamojong 2%, Rundi 2%, non-African (European, Asian, Arab) 1%, other 8%
Languages Spoken English (official language, Ganda or Luganda , other Niger-Congo languages, Nilo-Saharan languages, Swahili, Arabic)

Uganda Health Information

What are the health conditions in Uganda?

Animal Contact Disease (s) rabies
Contraceptive Prevalence Rate - female 15-49 30%
Death Rate - deaths/1,000 population 11.26
Drinking Water Source - percent of rural population improved 71%
Drinking Water Source - percent of total population unimproved 25.2%
Drinking Water Source - percent of urban population improved 94.8%
Food or Waterborne Disease (s) bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever
Health Expenditures - percent of GDP 9.5%
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate 6.5%
HIV/Aids Deaths 63,300
Hospital Bed Density - beds/1,000 population .5
Infant Mortality Rate - female deaths/1,000 live births 52.66
Infant Mortality Rate - male deaths/1,000 live births 72
Infant Mortality Rate - total deaths/1,000 live births 62.47
Major Infectious Diseases - degree of risk very high
Maternal Mortality Rate - deaths/100,000 live births 310
Mean Age for Mother's First Birth 18.9
Obesity - adult prevalence rate 4.3%
People Living with HIV/AIDS 1,200,000
Physicians Density - physicians/1,000 population .12
Sanitation Facility Access - percent of total population unimproved 66.1%
Sanitation Facility Access - percent of urban population improved 32.8%
Sanitation Facility Access - percent of rural population improved 34.1%
Total Fertility Rate - children born/woman 6.06
Underweight - percent of children under five years 14.1%
Vectorborne Disease (s) malaria, dengue fever, and trypanosomiasis-Gambiense (African sleeping sickness)
Water contact disease (s) schistosomiasis

Uganda Life Expectancy

How long do people live in Uganda?

Life Expectancy at Birth 53 Years
Life Expectancy at Birth - female 55 Years
Life Expectancy at Birth - male 52 Years
Median Age 15 Years
Median Age - female 15 Years
Median Age - male 15 Years

Uganda Infant Mortality - per 1,000 live births

Uganda median age, birth rate and death rates

Birth Rate - births/1,000 population 45
Death Rate - deaths/1,000 population 11.26
Median Age 15 Years
Median Age - female 15 Years
Median Age - male 15 Years
Net Migration Rate - migrant(s)/1,000 population -0.01
Population Growth Rate 3.32%
Sex Ratio 0-14 Years - male/female .99
Sex Ratio 15-24 Years - male/female .99
Sex Ratio 25-54 Years - male/female 1
Sex Ratio 55-64 Years - male/female .99
Sex Ratio at Birth - male/female 1.03
Sex Ratio of Total Population - male/female .99
Sex Ratio Over 64 Years - male/female .8

Uganda Medical Information

What are the health conditions in Uganda?

Medical Facilities and Health Information

Medical facilities in Uganda, including Kampala, are limited and not equipped to handle most emergencies, especially those requiring surgery. Outside Kampala, hospitals are scarce and offer only basic services. Recently, U.S. citizens involved in automobile accidents required immediate evacuation from Uganda, as surgery could not be performed due to insufficient blood supplies at the hospital where they sought treatment. Equipment and medicines are also often in short supply or unavailable. Travelers should carry their own supplies of prescription drugs and preventive medicines.

Malaria is prevalent in Uganda. Travelers who become ill with a fever or flu-like illness while traveling in a malaria-risk area and up to one year after returning home should seek prompt medical attention and tell the physician their travel history and what antimalarials they have been taking.

In July and November 2012, Uganda experienced outbreaks of Ebola hemorrhagic fever, and in October 2012 an outbreak of Marburg hemorrhagic fever occurred. There have been recent outbreaks of pneumonic plague, meningitis, yellow fever, and other types of infectious diseases. U.S. citizens are advised to be aware of the potential for disease outbreaks in Uganda and to always follow health guidelines to minimize risk or exposure.

Due to a polio outbreak, children under the age of five crossing from endemic neighboring countries such as Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, and Kenya (as well as Nigeria, India and Pakistan where the disease is also prevalent), may be required to receive an oral polio drop vaccination upon entry if not already vaccinated.

In December 2010, as many as seven districts in northern Uganda reported occurrences of yellow fever - including two possible cases from southern Sudan. Almost all of the reported severe cases (characterized by fever, vomiting and bleeding) continue to be concentrated in three districts, namely Abim (specifically Morulem sub-county), Agago (Omiya P’Chua, Adilang and Paimoi sub-counties), and Kitgum (Orum, Namokora and Kitgum Town Council).

In light of these findings, the U.S. Mission in Kampala recommends that U.S. citizens residing and traveling in Uganda avoid travel to these areas of Northern Uganda unless they have been vaccinated against yellow fever within the past 10 years. If vaccinated recently, do not travel to Northern Uganda for at least 10 days after receiving the vaccination. (Yellow fever vaccinations do not take effect for 10 days.) U.S. government officials who have not been vaccinated for yellow fever are not permitted to travel to the affected areas.

Tuberculosis is an increasingly serious health concern in Uganda.

Uganda Education

What is school like in Uganda?

Education Expenditures - percent of GDP 3.3%
Literacy - female 60.4%
Literacy - male 79.5%
Literacy - total population 66.8%
Literacy Definition age 15 and over can read and write
School Life Expectancy - female 11 Years
School Life Expectancy - male 11 Years
Total School Life Expectancy - (primary to tertiary) 11 Years

Uganda Literacy

Can people in Uganda read?

Literacy - female 60.4%
Literacy - male 79.5%
Literacy - total population 66.8%
Literacy Definition age 15 and over can read and write
Predominant Language English (official language, Ganda or Luganda , other Niger-Congo languages, Nilo-Saharan languages, Swahili, Arabic)

Uganda Crime

Is Uganda a safe place to visit?

Crime Information

Crimes such as pick pocketing, purse snatching, and thefts from hotels and parked vehicles or vehicles stalled in traffic jams are common. The Embassy receives frequent reports of theft of items from locked vehicles, even when the stolen items were secured out of sight and the vehicle was parked in an area patrolled by uniformed security personnel. Pick pocketing and the theft of purses and bags is also very common on public transportation. Armed robberies of pedestrians also occur, sometimes during daylight hours and in public places. Although infrequent, the Embassy has received reports of armed carjackings and highway robbery. In May 2007, two U.S. citizens reported an attempted robbery when they were traveling near the town of Bugiri in eastern Uganda. They reported that a second vehicle with at least one armed assailant tried to stop their vehicle by forcing it off the road. This incident occurred during daylight hours. On June 27, 2007, two U.S. citizens were robbed and held at gunpoint when the vehicle transporting them to Entebbe Airport was stopped by a group of armed men. This incident occurred during the early morning hours on Entebbe Road. Although some of these attacks are violent, victims are generally injured only if they resist. U.S. Embassy employees are prohibited from driving during hours of darkness on roads outside the limits of cities and large towns. Home burglaries also occur and sometimes turn violent. In April 2008, the Ugandan police reported an increase in armed robberies in the Kampala neighborhoods of Bukoto, Kisaasi, Kiwatule, Naalya, Najera, and Ntinda. Several of these robberies occurred as the victims were arriving at their residences after nightfall and the assailants struck as they were entering their residential compounds.

Women traveling alone are particularly susceptible to crime. In November 2009, there were two reported violent sexual assaults against expatriate females. The victims were single passengers on one of the common modes of public transport known as "boda boda" motorcycle taxis. Due to inherent traffic and crime risks associated with boda bodas, U.S. Mission employees and their dependents are strongly discouraged from using them during daylight hours and prohibited from doing so after dark. If you are the victim of a sexual assault, seek medical assistance and counseling immediately regarding prophylactic treatment to help prevent the transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. A list of local medical providers can be found on the U.S. Embassy website.

In addition, patrons of bars, casinos, nightclubs, and other entertainment centers should never leave their drink or food unattended. When visiting such establishments, it is advisable to remain with a group of friends, as single individuals are more likely to be targeted. Victims have included female patrons who reported they were drugged, and taken to another location and sexually assaulted. Robberies have been facilitated on public transportation under similar circumstances. In 2006, a U.S. citizen traveling by bus from Kenya to Uganda was incapacitated and robbed on the bus when the passenger accepted a sealed beverage from a fellow traveler. Expatriates traveling by bus to the popular tourist destination of Bwindi Impenetrable National Forest in southwest Uganda were also incapacitated and robbed when they accepted snacks from fellow bus passengers.

There has been a recent, marked increase in financial crime, including fraud involving wire transfers, credit cards, ATM machines, checks, and advance fee fraud perpetrated via email. The U.S. Embassy recommends using money orders for all fund transfers and protecting all bank account and personally identifiable information such as social security numbers and other types of information.

An increasing number of U.S. exporters (primarily vendors of expensive consumer goods such as computers, stereo equipment, and electronics) have been targeted by a sophisticated check fraud scheme. A fictitious company in Uganda locates a vendor on the Internet, makes e-mail contact to order goods, and pays with a third-party check. The checks, written on U.S. accounts and made out to entities in Uganda for small amounts, are intercepted, chemically "washed," and presented for payment of the goods with the U.S. vendor as payee and an altered amount. If the goods are shipped before the check clears, the U.S. shipper will have little recourse, as the goods are picked up at the airport and the company cannot be traced. U.S. companies receiving orders from Uganda are encouraged to check with the Embassy’s Political - Economic Section to verify the legitimacy of the company. The Embassy strongly cautions U.S. vendors against accepting third-party checks as payment for any goods to be shipped to Uganda.

Uganda Penalties for Crime

Criminal Penalties

While you are traveling in Uganda, you are subject to its laws even if you are a U.S. citizen. Foreign laws and legal systems can be vastly different than our own. Persons violating Ugandan laws, even unknowingly, may be expelled, arrested, or imprisoned.In Uganda, you may be taken in for questioning if you don’t have your passport, or a copy of it, together with your Ugandan visa. Penalties for possessing, using, or trafficking in illegal drugs in Uganda are severe, and convicted offenders can expect long jail sentences and heavy fines. Photography in tourist locations is permitted, however, taking pictures of military/police installations or personnel is prohibited. Military and police officers have detained tourists for taking photographs of Entebbe Airport and of the area around Owen Falls Dam, near Jinja, although the prohibition on taking photographs is not publicly displayed on signs. In Uganda, driving under the influence could land you immediately in jail. There are also some things that might be legal in Uganda, but still illegal in the United States, and you can be prosecuted under U.S. law if you buy pirated goods. Engaging in sexual conduct with children or using or disseminating child pornography in a foreign country is a crime prosecutable in the United States. If you break local laws in Uganda, your U.S. passport won’t help you avoid arrest or prosecution. It’s very important to know what’s legal and what’s not wherever you go.

While some countries will automatically notify the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate if a U.S. citizen is detained or arrested in a foreign country, that might not always be the case. To ensure that the United States is aware of your circumstances, request that the police and prison officials notify the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate as soon as you are arrested or detained overseas.

Uganda Population Comparison

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