Largest cities in Uganda by population
The 11 cities the United Nations Demographic Yearbook 2024 lists for Uganda: the capital and every city of 100,000 or more, with the latest figure the country reported. The largest is Kampala with 1,875,834 people.
Who runs cities in Uganda?
LC5: districts (about 135) and cities (10), plus Kampala Capital City Authority: District chairperson and councillors directly elected for five years (with special seats for women, youth, people with disabilities and older persons); Kampala's Lord Mayor directly elected. A resident district commissioner (RDC) is appointed by the president; the chief administrative officer is a civil servant.. Main local government: primary education, health centres, roads, agriculture, district land board.
How local power works in Uganda · Level 3: local councils worldwide
| # | City | Population | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kampala (capital) | 1,875,834 | 9 May 2024 (provisional) |
| 2 | Arua | 380,824 | 9 May 2024 (provisional) |
| 3 | Jinja | 292,386 | 9 May 2024 (provisional) |
| 4 | Mbale | 289,941 | 9 May 2024 (provisional) |
| 5 | Masaka | 285,509 | 9 May 2024 (provisional) |
| 6 | Mbarara | 261,656 | 9 May 2024 (provisional) |
| 7 | Lira | 246,437 | 9 May 2024 (provisional) |
| 8 | Gulu | 232,723 | 9 May 2024 (provisional) |
| 9 | Hoima | 141,442 | 9 May 2024 (provisional) |
| 10 | Fort Portal | 135,702 | 9 May 2024 (provisional) |
| 11 | Soroti | 133,774 | 9 May 2024 (provisional) |
Countries define a city in different ways (the city proper, or the wider urban area) and report in different years, so cities in different countries are not always comparable.
More on Uganda: official statistics · government and power
Sources
- United Nations Statistics Division: Demographic Yearbook 2024, Table 8: Population of capital cities and cities of 100 000 or more inhabitants, latest available year, 2005-2024, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0c6784df022e…)
Each saved copy is the file exactly as downloaded, kept so the figures can be checked even if the source changes. Report an error.