Estimated Population: Ethnic Groups in Uganda (2025)

📌 Total Population: ~51.3 million (Worldometer, 2025)
📌 Basis: Adjusted using historical fertility rates, migration patterns, Joshua Project data, and other demographic sources.

Major Ethnic Groups

1. Baganda – ~7.0M (13.6%)
2. Banyankole – ~4.2M (8.2%)
3. Basoga – ~3.7M (7.2%)
4. Iteso – ~3.1M (6.0%)
5. Bakiga – ~2.9M (5.6%)
6. Langi – ~2.7M (5.3%)
7. Kalenjin – ~2.1M (4.1%)
8. Bagisu – ~2.0M (3.9%)
9. Acholi – ~1.9M (3.7%)
10. Karamojong – ~1.4M (2.7%)
11. Banyoro – ~1.2M (2.3%)
12. Lugbara – ~1.1M (2.1%)
13. Alur – ~1.1M (2.1%)
14. Bakonzo – ~1.1M (2.1%)
15. Batoro – ~1.0M (1.9%)
16. Bafumbira – ~0.9M (1.7%)
17. Kumam – ~720K (1.4%)
18. Kakwa – ~269K (0.5%)
19. Kikuyu (diaspora) – ~120K (0.2%)
20. Other groups – ~13.8M (26.8%)

• Includes smaller Bantu, Nilotic, Sudanic, and Cushitic communities.

Ethno-Linguistic Groupings

• Bantu peoples (Baganda, Banyankole, Basoga, Bakiga, Bagisu, Banyoro, Batoro, Bakonzo, Bafumbira, etc.)
  → ~33.7M people (~65% of population)
• Nilotic peoples (Iteso, Langi, Kalenjin, Acholi, Karamojong, Alur, Kumam, Kakwa)
  → ~10.9M people (~21% of population)
• Central Sudanic peoples (mainly Lugbara, plus smaller groups)
  → ~2.1M+ (~4% of population)
• Cushitic peoples (small minorities, mostly Somali & related groups)
  → <1%, generally included in “Other groups”.

Key Notes

• The Baganda remain Uganda’s largest ethnic group, concentrated in the central region (Buganda).
• Nilotic groups dominate the north and east, including the Iteso, Langi, and Acholi.
• Western Uganda is heavily Bantu (Banyankole, Bakiga, Batoro, Banyoro).
• The “Other groups” category (~13.8M) is significant, reflecting Uganda’s ethnic diversity beyond the 15–20 largest groups.
• Population dynamics are shaped by high fertility rates, rural-to-urban migration, and cross-border movement with Kenya, South Sudan, and the DRC.
• The current population of Uganda is 51,673,833 as of Monday, September 22, 2025, based on Worldometer’s elaboration of the latest United Nations data¹.
• Uganda 2025 population is estimated at 51,384,894 people at mid-year.
• Uganda population is equivalent to 0.62% of the total world population.
• Uganda ranks number 31 in the list of countries (and dependencies) by population.
• The population density in Uganda is 257 per Km² (666 people per mi²).
• The total land area is 199,810 Km² (77,147 sq. miles).
• 30.03% of the population is urban (15,430,672 people in 2025)
• The median age in Uganda is 16.9 years.
• 1. U.N. Dept. of Economic and Social Affairs – Population Division. World Population Prospects: The 2024 Revision. (Medium-fertility