Country · Africa
Uganda
Republic of Uganda
Uganda is a country in Eastern Africa. About 42.7 million people live there, in an area of 241 550 square kilometres. Its capital city is Kampala.
Picture credit: Diego Delso (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Vanmulondo (CC BY-SA 4.0) · kousek_cz (CC BY 3.0) · Micheal Kaluba (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Uganda?
Uganda lies in Eastern Africa, on the continent of Africa.
It sits in the northern half of the world, roughly 111 km from the equator.
Uganda is landlocked: it has no coast at all, so you cannot reach the sea without crossing another country.
It shares a border with 5 countries: DR Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan and Tanzania.
How big is Uganda?
Uganda covers 241 550 square kilometres.
That is about 5.9 times the size of Switzerland.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 79th largest.
Spread everybody out evenly and you get about 176.9 people on every square kilometre.
That is busier than the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in Uganda?
About 42.7 million people live in Uganda.
That is the 33rd biggest population in the world.
People here speak English and Swahili.
They pay with the Ugandan shilling (Sh).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 43 years.
The land of Uganda
Because it is landlocked, anything that comes by ship has to cross one of its 5 neighbours to get here.
It lies inside the tropics, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes Uganda different?
A dish the country is known for: Matoke.
Websites from here often end in .ug.
Uganda and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about 6 live in Uganda.
It takes up about 0.18 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Africa the country ranks 32nd of 54 by size, and 8th by population.
Uganda and its neighbours
DR Congo, its largest neighbour, is about 9.7 times bigger.
DR Congo has more people: 84.1 million against 42.7 million.
Nature and animals
Of the animals on this site, 11 live wild in Uganda: Chimpanzee, Hippopotamus, White rhinoceros, African buffalo, Pygmy chameleon, Banded mongoose and more. The highest mountain in the country is Mount Stanley, at 5 109 metres. The longest river in the country is the Nile. The largest lake in the country is Lake Victoria.
Chimpanzee
Hippopotamus
White rhinoceros
African buffalo
Pygmy chameleon
Banded mongoose
Olive baboon
Shoebill
Ball python
Serval
Nile monitor
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.
Where this country lands in the record lists
How big is Uganda compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 39 times as big as Uganda: 9 372 610 km² against 241 550 km².
- The United Kingdom and Uganda are almost the same size: 242 900 km² against 241 550 km².
Questions children ask
What is the capital of Uganda?
The capital of Uganda is Kampala. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in Uganda?
About 42.7 million people live in Uganda, which makes it the 33rd most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
Which countries border Uganda?
Uganda borders DR Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan and Tanzania — 5 neighbours in total.
How big is Uganda?
Uganda covers 241 550 square kilometres, making it the 79th largest country in the world. That is about 5.9 times the size of Switzerland.
What is the highest mountain in Uganda?
The highest mountain in Uganda is Mount Stanley, 5 109 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in Uganda?
The longest river in Uganda is the Nile. Of its 6 650 kilometres, about 690 run through the country.
What is the largest lake in Uganda?
The largest lake in Uganda is Lake Victoria. The whole lake covers about 68 800 km², and part of it belongs to neighbouring countries.
Which continent is Uganda in?
Uganda is in Africa, in the part called Eastern Africa.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
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