Uganda 🇺🇬
Uganda is a country in Africa with a population of 47,249,585. Its capital is Kampala. The official currency is UGX, and the main languages are English, Swahili.
Quick facts
- Capital: Kampala
- Continent: Africa
- Population: 47,249,585
- Area: 241,038 km²
- Density: 196 people per km²
- Currency: UGX
- Languages: English, Swahili
- ISO code: UG
Where Uganda sits
Uganda 🇺🇬 is one of 54 countries in Africa, with its capital at Kampala. It covers 241,038 square kilometres — 79th in the world — and is home to about 47,249,585 people, 31st globally.
The countries it shares a continent with include Nigeria, Ethiopia, Egypt, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania. If you are learning geography region by region — which works far better than alphabetically, because memory for places is spatial — those are the ones to learn alongside it.
How Uganda compares
Raw figures are hard to hold on their own, so it helps to anchor them. In population, Uganda sits closest to Spain and Sudan. In land area, its nearest counterparts are Ghana and United Kingdom.
At 196 people per square kilometre it is about 3.3 times the world average of 59.4. It ranks higher by population than by area, so it is more crowded than its size alone suggests.
English is an official language in 58 countries here, among them Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas and Barbados, and 53 others. The UGX is used by Uganda and no one else.
To see Uganda next to every other country, sort the country rankings by population, area or density; its currency and languages are listed alongside every other country's in world currencies and world languages.
How to remember Uganda
Kampala grew up on an area of many hills and swamps that was once the heart of the Buganda Kingdom. For the flag, read the stripes twice: black-yellow-red, black-yellow-red, with a crane standing in the middle.
The flag of Uganda: black, yellow and red, with a grey crowned crane
🇺🇬 The flag is six horizontal stripes of black, yellow, red, black, yellow and red, with a white disc in the centre showing a grey crowned crane. Black stands for the African people, yellow for sunshine and vitality, and red for African brotherhood. The crane is Uganda's national symbol. The flag was adopted on 9 October 1962.
Region and neighbours
Uganda is a landlocked country in East Africa, in the African Great Lakes region, that includes a large part of Lake Victoria. It shares land borders with 5 countries: Kenya, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Tanzania. Uganda is landlocked, with no coast on the open ocean.
- Kenya 🇰🇪 — capital Nairobi
- South Sudan 🇸🇸 — capital Juba
- Democratic Republic of the Congo 🇨🇩 — capital Kinshasa
- Rwanda 🇷🇼 — capital Kigali
- Tanzania 🇹🇿 — capital Dodoma
Three facts about Uganda
- The south of Uganda takes in a large part of Lake Victoria, which it shares with Kenya and Tanzania.
- Uganda lies almost completely within the Nile basin. The Victoria Nile drains from Lake Victoria into Lake Kyoga and on into Lake Albert.
- Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Rwenzori Mountains National Park are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Sources: Wikipedia: Uganda, Wikipedia: Flag of Uganda, Wikipedia: Kampala, CIA World Factbook.
Quiz yourself on Uganda
- African capitals quiz — match Uganda to Kampala
- African flags quiz — spot the Uganda flag among its neighbours
- Landlocked countries quiz — Uganda has no sea coast
Quizzes that include Uganda
Three angles are worth covering for any country — where it is, what its flag looks like, and what its capital is. For Uganda those are:
- Africa map quiz — place it on a blank map
- Africa flags quiz — identify its flag among its neighbours
- Africa capitals quiz — match it to Kampala
- Uganda capital quiz — five quick questions starting with Uganda
- Daily Map Challenge — five countries to find on a blank world map, the same five for everyone each day
Doing all three for one continent before moving on is far more efficient than learning flags globally, then capitals globally, then the map.
Read more about Uganda
- Capital of Uganda: Kampala — the capital in detail, with size and density rankings
- All 54 countries of Africa
Nearby countries
- Algeria 🇩🇿 — capital Algiers
- Angola 🇦🇴 — capital Luanda
- Benin 🇧🇯 — capital Porto-Novo
- Botswana 🇧🇼 — capital Gaborone
- Burkina Faso 🇧🇫 — capital Ouagadougou
- Burundi 🇧🇮 — capital Gitega
- Cabo Verde 🇨🇻 — capital Praia
- Cameroon 🇨🇲 — capital Yaoundé
- Central African Republic 🇨🇫 — capital Bangui
- Chad 🇹🇩 — capital N'Djamena
- Comoros 🇰🇲 — capital Moroni
- Congo 🇨🇬 — capital Brazzaville
Frequently asked questions
What are the colours of the Uganda flag?
The flag of Uganda is six horizontal stripes of black, yellow, red, black, yellow and red, with a white disc in the centre showing a grey crowned crane. Black stands for the African people, yellow for sunshine and vitality, and red for African brotherhood. The crane is Uganda's national symbol. The flag was adopted on 9 October 1962.
Which countries border Uganda?
Uganda shares land borders with Kenya, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Tanzania.
How can I remember the capital of Uganda?
Kampala grew up on an area of many hills and swamps that was once the heart of the Buganda Kingdom. For the flag, read the stripes twice: black-yellow-red, black-yellow-red, with a crane standing in the middle.