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Districts of Uganda

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Updates: 

FIPS Publication Change Notice No. 9, affecting FIPS PUB 10-4, was issued on 2004-10-01. It assigns FIPS codes to the eleven new districts. It also changes the FIPS codes of the old districts from which the new ones were formed. Details are below under Primary subdivisions and Change history.

Appendix 1 of Uganda's 2002 census Provisional Summary tables gives district populations that seem to be more official than the 2002 data formerly shown on this page, since they are described as "provisional" rather than "preliminary". The table below now shows population figures from this appendix. The data for 1980 and 1991 have been revised to reflect the current set of districts, rather than the districts as they stood at the census dates.

ISO 3166-2 Newsletter number I-5, dated 2003-09-05, adds eleven new districts to Uganda, and changes all ISO codes for districts. The Uganda Bureau of Statistics is cited as the source for the list of districts and the codes. All of the district names from the old list are still there, except that Kibale appears as Kibaale in the newsletter (and also on the UBoS page). Google finds a lot more hits for Kibale than Kibaale, so I stick with the old spelling.

Country overview: 

Short name UGANDA
ISO code UG
FIPS code UG
Language English (en)
Time zone +3
Capital Kampala

 

Uganda was a British protectorate at the beginning of the 20th century. On 1962-10-09 it became an independent member of the British Commonwealth.

Other names of country: 

  1. Danish: Uganda
  2. Dutch: Oeganda, Republiek Oeganda (formal)
  3. English: Republic of Uganda (formal)
  4. Finnish: Uganda
  5. French: Ouganda m
  6. German: Uganda n
  7. Icelandic: Úganda
  8. Italian: Uganda f
  9. Norwegian: Uganda, Republikken Uganda (formal)
  10. Portuguese: Uganda, República f do Uganda m (formal)
  11. Spanish: Uganda, República f de Uganda (formal)
  12. Swedish: Uganda

Origin of name: 

Swahili for land of the Ganda, ethnic name

Primary subdivisions: 

Uganda is divided into 56 districts.

District HASC ISO FIPS Pop-2002 Pop-1991 Pop-1980 Reg
Adjumani UG.AD 301 UG65 201,493 96,264 48,789 N
Apac UG.AP 302 UG26 676,244 454,504 313,333 N
Arua UG.AA 303 UG77 855,055 538,147 394,303 N
Bugiri UG.BG 201 UG66 426,522 239,307 155,513 E
Bundibugyo UG.BN 401 UG28 212,884 116,566 112,216 W
Bushenyi UG.BS 402 UG29 723,427 579,137 408,663 W
Busia UG.BU 202 UG67 228,181 163,597 126,184 E
Gulu UG.GU 304 UG30 468,407 338,427 270,085 N
Hoima UG.HO 403 UG31 349,204 197,851 142,247 W
Iganga UG.IA 203 UG78 716,311 489,627 360,312 E
Jinja UG.JI 204 UG33 413,937 289,476 228,520 E
Kabale UG.KA 404 UG34 471,783 417,218 328,757 W
Kabarole UG.BR 405 UG79 359,180 299,573 224,638 W
Kaberamaido UG.KD 213 UG80 122,924 81,535 79,344 E
Kalangala UG.KN 101 UG36 36,661 16,371 8,575 C
Kampala UG.KM 102 UG37 1,208,544 774,241 458,503 C
Kamuli UG.KL 205 UG38 712,079 485,214 349,549 E
Kamwenge UG.KE 413 UG81 295,313 201,654 129,022 W
Kanungu UG.UU 414 UG82 205,095 160,708 118,658 W
Kapchorwa UG.KC 206 UG39 193,510 116,702 73,967 E
Kasese UG.KS 406 UG40 532,993 343,601 277,697 W
Katakwi UG.KW 207 UG69 307,032 144,597 177,447 E
Kayunga UG.KY 112 UG83 297,081 236,177 194,793 C
Kibale UG.KI 407 UG41 413,353 220,261 152,054 W
Kiboga UG.KG 103 UG42 231,718 141,607 138,676 C
Kisoro UG.KR 408 UG43 219,427 186,681 126,664 W
Kitgum UG.TG 305 UG84 286,122 175,587 145,821 N
Kotido UG.KO 306 UG45 596,130 196,006 161,445 N
Kumi UG.KU 208 UG46 388,015 236,694 239,539 E
Kyenjojo UG.KJ 415 UG85 380,362 245,573 166,161 W
Lira UG.LI 307 UG47 757,763 500,965 370,252 N
Luwero UG.LU 104 UG70 474,627 349,194 338,508 C
Masaka UG.MA 105 UG71 767,759 694,697 520,312 C
Masindi UG.MS 409 UG50 469,865 260,796 223,230 W
Mayuge UG.MG 214 UG86 326,567 216,849 128,056 E
Mbale UG.MB 209 UG87 720,925 498,675 372,169 E
Mbarara UG.MR 410 UG52 1,089,051 782,797 590,998 W
Moroto UG.MT 308 UG88 170,506 96,833 95,863 N
Moyo UG.MY 309 UG72 199,912 79,381 57,703 N
Mpigi UG.MI 106 UG89 414,757 350,980 271,775 C
Mubende UG.MU 107 UG56 706,256 500,976 371,584 C
Mukono UG.MN 108 UG90 807,923 588,427 439,482 C
Nakapiripirit UG.NP 311 UG91 153,862 77,584 92,778 N
Nakasongola UG.NA 109 UG73 125,297 100,497 73,966 C
Nebbi UG.NE 310 UG58 433,466 316,866 233,000 N
Ntungamo UG.NT 411 UG59 386,816 305,199 213,161 W
Pader UG.PD 312 UG92 293,679 181,597 162,890 N
Pallisa UG.PA 210 UG60 522,254 357,656 261,183 E
Rakai UG.RA 110 UG61 471,806 383,501 274,558 C
Rukungiri UG.RK 412 UG93 308,696 230,072 177,901 W
Sembabule UG.SE 111 UG74 184,178 144,039 102,269 C
Sironko UG.SI 215 UG94 291,906 212,305 184,772 E
Soroti UG.SR 211 UG95 371,986 204,258 219,838 E
Tororo UG.TO 212 UG76 559,528 391,977 281,043 E
Wakiso UG.WA 113 UG96 957,280 562,887 389,433 C
Yumbe UG.YU 313 UG97 253,325 99,794 77,980 N
56 districts 24,748,977 16,671,705 12,636,179
  • HASC: Hierarchical administrative subdivision codes.
  • ISO: Codes from ISO 3166-2.
  • Pop-2002: 2002-09-13 census.
  • Pop-1991: 1991-01-12 census.
  • Pop-1980: 1980-01-18 census.
  • Reg: Region to which the district belongs: C = Central,
    E = Eastern, N = Northern, W = Western.

Further subdivisions:

The districts are divided into counties, which are subdivided into sub-counties. The old regions are still referred to, but no longer have any administrative status.

Territorial extent: 

  1. Iganga includes the islands of Sigulu, Lolui, Dagusi, Sagitu, and others in Lake Victoria.
  2. Kalangala consists of the Sese Islands in Lake Victoria. The largest ones are Bugala and Bukasa.
  3. Mukono includes the islands of Buvuma, Kome, Damba, Bugaia, and others in Lake Victoria.

Change history: 

  1. The sources for some entries below are Geographic Note GE-29 and Geographic Note GE-40, both published by the Office of the Geographer, U.S. State Department.
  2. 1926: Significant border adjustments made between Uganda and its neighboring countries.
  3. From 1945 or earlier until after independence, Uganda was divided into four provinces. During at least part of this period, the provinces were subdivided into districts. This table gives the populations of the provinces according to the censuses of 1948, 1959, and 1969.
Province 1948 1959 1969 Area(km.²) Capital
Buganda 1,317,705 1,881,149 2,667,332 61,609 Kampala
Eastern 1,514,428 1,902,697 2,817,066 63,018 Jinja
Northern 945,104 1,249,310 1,631,899 57,320 Gulu
Western 1,177,939 1,503,375 2,432,550 54,913 Masindi
4 provinces 4,955,176 6,536,531 9,548,847 236,860
  1. ~1960: Status of provinces changed to regions, with no administrative function. Districts became the primary divisions. (This is a conjecture to try to explain the observed facts.)
  2. 1962: Mbale territory, with an area of 25 km.², was created from territory disputed between Bugisu and Bukedi districts. The city of Mbale was the capital of both districts. (GE-29)
  3. 1962-10-09: Uganda became an independent member of the British Commonwealth.
  4. 1966-05-28: Status of Busoga changed from territory to district. (GE-29)
  5. 1966-06-10: Buganda kingdom split into four districts: Bombo, Masaka, Mpigi, and Mubende. At this date, Uganda was divided into 15 districts, three kingdoms, and one territory, as listed in the following table. These were further subdivided into sazas (counties), which were subdivided into gombolas (sub-counties), which were subdivided into mirukas (parishes). (GE-29)
Division Type Capital
Acholi d Gulu
Ankole k Mbarara
Bombo d Bombo
Bugisu d Mbale
Bukedi d Mbale
Bunyoro k Hoima
Busoga d Jinja
Karamoja d Moroto
Kigezi d Kabale
Lango d Lira
Madi d Moyo
Masaka d Masaka
Mbale t Mbale
Mpigi d Mpigi
Mubende d Mubende
Sebei d Kapchorwa
Teso d Soroti
Toro k Fort Portal
West Nile d Arua
  • Type: district (d), kingdom
    (k), or territory (t).

 

Atlas of Uganda (1967) has a table of districts with populations from the 1959 census. This list differs from the previous one in that Bombo, Mpigi, and Sebei disappear, to be replaced by Mengo. I'm not sure how to reconcile this with the information from the Geographic Notes. Based on the change reported in GE-40, Mengo represents the union of Bombo and Mpigi, but I don't know what happened to Sebei.

District Population
Acholi 286,846
Ankole 531,335
Bugisu 353,411
Bukedi 400,432
Bunyoro 128,198
Busoga 677,410
Karamoja 172,397
Kigezi 494,488
Lango 354,311
Madi 50,737
Masaka 443,877
Mbale Town 13,569
Mengo 1,337,895
Mubende 99,377
Teso 457,875
Toro 349,354
West Nile 385,019
17 districts 6,536,531
  • Population: 1959 census.
    Population of Karamoja
    includes Karasuk, which
    is part of Kenya.
  1. 1967-09-08: New constitution approved. Status of kingdoms changed to districts. Mbale territory merged with Bugisu district. Capital of Bukedi moved to Tororo. Name of Bombo district changed to East Mengo. Name of Mpigi district changed to West Mengo. (GE-40)
  2. 1971-04: Acholi district split into East Acholi (FIPS code UG06) and West Acholi (UG17); Karamoja district split into North Karamoja and South Karamoja. "Geopolitical Data Elements and Related Features", published by the Defense Intelligence Agency on 1972-09-29, has this list of divisions of Uganda. As you see, it reflects the partition of Acholi but not that of Karamoja.
District FIPS Population Area(km.²) Reg Capital
East Acholi UG06 463,844 27,853 N Gulu
West Acholi UG17 N
Ankole UG01 861,145 16,182 W Mbarara
Bugisu UG02 421,433 2,546 E Mbale
Bukedi UG03 527,090 4,553 E Tororo
Bunyoro UG04 351,903 19,609 W Hoima
Busoga UG05 949,384 14,047 E Jinja
East Mengo UG07 851,583 23,440 B Bombo
Karamoja UG08 284,067 27,213 E Moroto
Kigezi UG09 647,988 5,218 W Kabale
Lango UG10 504,315 13,740 N Lira
Madi UG11 89,978 5,006 N Moyo
Masaka UG12 640,596 21,300 B Masaka
Mubende UG13 330,955 10,310 B Mubende
Sebei UG14 64,464 1,738 E Kapchorwa
Teso UG15 570,628 12,921 E Soroti
Toro UG16 571,514 13,904 W Fort Portal
West Mengo UG18 844,198 6,559 B Mpigi
West Nile UG19 573,762 10,721 N Arua
19 districts 9,548,847 236,860
  • FIPS: Codes from the Defense Intelligence Agency.
  • Population: 1969 census.
  • Reg: Region to which the district belonged: Buganda
    (B), Eastern (E), Northern (N), or Western (W).
  1. ~1976: Uganda reorganized from districts into provinces, as listed:
Province FIPS Population Area(km.²) Capital Former
Busoga UG05 1,221,872 13,340 Jinja Busoga
Central UG18 1,117,648 6,270 Kampala West Mengo
Eastern UG20 2,015,530 22,260 Mbale Bugisu, Bukedi, Sebei, Teso
Karamoja UG08 350,908 26,960 Moroto Karamoja (North and South)
Nile UG21 811,755 15,730 Arua Madi, West Acholi (part), West Nile
North Buganda UG22 1,554,371 27,010 Bombo East Mengo, Mubende
Northern UG23 1,261,364 41,520 Gulu Acholi (East and part of West), Lango
South Buganda UG12 905,754 15,970 Masaka Masaka
Southern UG24 1,963,428 21,280 Mbarara Ankole, Kigezi
Western UG25 1,427,446 30,980 Fort Portal Bunyoro, Toro
10 provinces 12,630,076 221,320
  • FIPS: Codes from FIPS PUB 10-4.
  • Population: 1980 census
  • Former: Pre-1976 districts forming this province.
  1. ~1989: Name of Buganda region changed to Central. Uganda reorganized from 10 provinces into 33 districts.
  2. ~1990: Kalangala district split from Masaka.
  3. ~1991: Kibale district split from Hoima, while 314 km.² of territory was transferred from Masindi to Hoima; Kiboga split from Mubende; Kisoro split from Kabale; Pallisa split from Tororo.
  4. ~1994: Ntungamo district formed by taking parts of Bushenyi and Mbarara. The resulting districts were these:
District HASC ISO FIPS Population Area(km.²) Area(mi.²) Reg Former
Apac AP APA UG26 460,700 6,488 2,505 N Northern
Arua AR ARU UG27 624,600 7,830 3,023 N Nile
Bundibugyo BN BUN UG28 116,000 2,338 903 W Western
Bushenyi BS BUS UG29 734,800 5,396 2,083 W Southern
Gulu GU GUL UG30 338,700 11,735 4,531 N Nile, Northern
Hoima HO HOI UG31 197,800 5,492 2,120 W Western
Iganga IG IGA UG32 944,000 13,113 5,063 E Busoga
Jinja JI JIN UG33 284,900 734 283 E Busoga
Kabale KA KBL UG34 412,800 1,827 705 W Southern
Kabarole KB KBR UG35 741,400 8,361 3,228 W Western
Kalangala KN KLG UG36 16,400 5,716 2,207 C South Buganda
Kampala KM KLA UG37 773,500 238 92 C Central
Kamuli KL KLI UG38 480,700 4,348 1,679 E Busoga
Kapchorwa KC KAP UG39 116,300 1,738 671 E Eastern
Kasese KS KAS UG40 343,000 3,205 1,237 W Western
Kibale KI KLE UG41 219,300 4,718 1,822 W Western
Kiboga KG KIB UG42 140,800 3,774 1,457 C North Buganda
Kisoro KR KIS UG43 184,900 662 256 W Southern
Kitgum KT KIT UG44 350,300 16,136 6,230 N Northern
Kotido KO KOT UG45 190,700 13,208 5,100 N Karamoja
Kumi KU KUM UG46 237,000 2,861 1,105 E Eastern
Lira LI LIR UG47 498,300 7,251 2,800 N Northern
Luwero LU LUW UG48 449,200 9,198 3,551 C North Buganda
Masaka MA MSK UG49 831,300 10,611 4,097 C South Buganda
Masindi MS MSI UG50 253,500 9,326 3,601 W Western
Mbale ML MBL UG51 706,600 2,546 983 E Eastern
Mbarara MR MBR UG52 929,600 10,839 4,185 W Southern
Moroto MO MOR UG53 171,500 14,113 5,449 N Karamoja
Moyo MY MOY UG54 178,500 5,006 1,933 N Nile
Mpigi MP MPI UG55 915,400 6,222 2,402 C Central
Mubende MU MUB UG56 497,500 6,536 2,524 C North Buganda
Mukono MK MUK UG57 816,200 14,242 5,499 C North Buganda
Nebbi NE NEB UG58 315,900 2,891 1,116 N Nile
Ntungamo NT NTU UG59 ---- ---- ---- W Southern
Pallisa PA PAL UG60 356,000 1,919 741 E Eastern
Rakai RA RAK UG61 382,000 4,973 1,920 C South Buganda
Rukungiri RU RUK UG62 388,000 2,753 1,063 W Southern
Soroti SO SOR UG63 430,900 10,060 3,884 E Eastern
Tororo TO TOR UG64 554,000 2,634 1,017 E Eastern
39 districts 16,583,000 241,038 93,065
  • HASC: Hierarchical administrative subdivision codes.
  • ISO: Codes from ISO 3166-2.
  • FIPS: Codes from FIPS PUB 10-4.
  • Population: 1991-01-12 census (preliminary?)
  • Reg: Region (C = Central, E = Eastern, N = Northern, W = Western)
  • Capitals: Capitals have the same names as their districts, except Kabarole (capital Fort Portal).
  • Former: Pre-1990 province from which the district was formed.
  1. ~1997: Adjumani district split from Moyo (former FIPS code UG54); Bugiri split from Iganga (UG32); Busia split from Tororo (UG64); Katakwi split from Soroti (UG63); Nakasongola split from Luwero (UG48); Sembabule split from Masaka (UG49). Change Notice 7 to FIPS PUB 10-4, published 2002-01-10 assigns FIPS codes to the six new districts. ISO 3166-2 Newsletter Number I-3, published 2002-08-20 assigns ISO codes to the six new districts. The following table shows the resulting situation. Thanks to Stefan Helders for providing data in this table, mostly taken from the Uganda Bureau of Statistics Web page.
District HASC ISO FIPS Population Area(km.²) Area(mi.²) Reg
Adjumani UG.AD ADJ UG65 96,264 2,888 1,115 N
Apac UG.AP APA UG26 454,504 5,887 2,273 N
Arua UG.AR ARU UG27 637,941 7,595 2,932 N
Bugiri UG.BG BUG UG66 239,307 1,453 561 E
Bundibugyo UG.BN BUN UG28 116,566 2,097 810 W
Bushenyi UG.BS BUS UG29 579,137 3,827 1,478 W
Busia UG.BU BUA UG67 163,597 705 272 E
Gulu UG.GU GUL UG30 338,427 11,560 4,463 N
Hoima UG.HO HOI UG31 197,851 3,563 1,376 W
Iganga UG.IG IGA UG68 706,476 3,370 1,301 E
Jinja UG.JI JIN UG33 289,476 677 261 E
Kabale UG.KA KBL UG34 417,218 1,695 654 W
Kabarole UG.KB KBR UG35 746,800 8,109 3,131 W
Kalangala UG.KN KLG UG36 16,371 432 167 C
Kampala UG.KM KLA UG37 774,241 169 65 C
Kamuli UG.KL KLI UG38 485,214 3,332 1,286 E
Kapchorwa UG.KC KAP UG39 116,702 1,738 671 E
Kasese UG.KS KAS UG40 343,601 2,724 1,052 W
Katakwi UG.KW KAT UG69 144,597 4,647 1,794 E
Kibale UG.KI KLE UG41 220,261 4,208 1,625 W
Kiboga UG.KG KIB UG42 141,607 3,872 1,495 C
Kisoro UG.KR KIS UG43 186,681 620 239 W
Kitgum UG.KT KIT UG44 357,184 16,136 6,230 N
Kotido UG.KO KOT UG45 196,006 13,208 5,100 N
Kumi UG.KU KUM UG46 236,694 2,457 949 E
Lira UG.LI LIR UG47 500,965 6,151 2,375 N
Luwero UG.LU LUW UG70 349,194 5,360 2,070 C
Masaka UG.MA MSK UG71 694,697 3,214 1,241 C
Masindi UG.MS MSI UG50 260,796 8,458 3,266 W
Mbale UG.ML MBL UG51 710,980 2,504 967 E
Mbarara UG.MR MBR UG52 798,774 9,733 3,758 W
Moroto UG.MO MOR UG53 174,417 14,113 5,449 N
Moyo UG.MY MOY UG72 79,381 1,780 687 N
Mpigi UG.MP MPI UG55 913,867 4,514 1,743 C
Mubende UG.MU MUB UG56 500,976 5,949 2,297 C
Mukono UG.MK MUK UG57 824,604 4,594 1,774 C
Nakasongola UG.NA NAK UG73 100,497 3,179 1,227 C
Nebbi UG.NE NEB UG58 316,866 2,781 1,074 N
Ntungamo UG.NT NTU UG59 289,222 1,981 765 W
Pallisa UG.PA PAL UG60 357,656 1,564 604 E
Rakai UG.RA RAK UG61 383,501 2,317 895 C
Rukungiri UG.RU RUK UG62 390,780 2,584 998 W
Sembabule UG.SE SEM UG74 144,039 3,889 1,502 C
Soroti UG.SO SOR UG75 285,793 3,879 1,498 E
Tororo UG.TO TOR UG76 391,977 1,631 630 E
45 districts 16,671,705 236,036 91,134
  • HASC: Hierarchical administrative subdivision codes.
  • ISO: Codes from ISO 3166-2.
  • FIPS: Codes from FIPS PUB 10-4.
  • Population: 1991-01-12 census.
  • Area: Land area only, except that the totals include water area.
  • Reg: Region to which the district belongs: C = Central, E = Eastern,
    N = Northern, W = Western.
  • Capitals: Capitals have the same name as their districts, except Kabarole
    (capital Fort Portal) and Sembabule (capitals Mawogola and Lwemiyaga).
  1. 2000-11-28: A Uganda Parliament Web site says, "The motion to create 11 new districts was passed by the House on November 28, 2000. The districts are: Yumbe; Wakiso; Kayunga; Mayuge; Sironko; Pader; Kamwenge; Kyenjojo; Kanungu; Kaberamaido; and Nakapiripirit. The latter three districts are with effect from the next financial year July 1, 2001." Roger Pountain tells me he has a map which confirms the following splits: Kamwenge district split from Kabarole; Kayunga split from Mukono; Kyenjojo split from Kabarole; Mayuge split from Iganga; Pader split from Kitgum; Sironko split from Mbale; Wakiso split from Mpigi; Yumbe split from Arua.
  2. 2001-05-03: Allafrica.com reported that Lira district council voted to split off Kyogo district. The split never happened, because it would have required ratification at a higher level.
  3. 2001-07-01: Kaberamaido district split from Soroti; Kanungu split from Rukungiri; Nakapiripirit split from Moroto.

Other names of subdivisions: 

  1. East Mengo: East Buganda (variant)
  2. Kibale: Kibaale (variant)
  3. West Mengo: West Buganda (variant)
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