Catholic life in Uganda is vibrantly expressed in a wide range of ways, from Marian devotion to crowded, life-filled liturgies to celebration of the example of the Ugandan martyrs to charismatic forms of prayer. Catholic and Anglican churches have drawn the bulk of believers for many years, but Muslims are also integrated into ordinary life, and elements of traditional religion still inflect the beliefs of most Ugandans. Pentecostal churches have made significant inroads in the last two decades.
The Ugandan Martyrs (1886) are celebrated here as founders of Catholic faith in East Africa, and as Catholic ancestral intermediaries with God. Their annual June 3 feast at the Shrine of the Ugandan Martyrs at Namagungo, near Kampala, is almost certainly among the largest annual religious gatherings in the world. Read more...
National Demographics
Religious Affiliation
Chart source: Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures Project, 2010
Total Population
44,270,563 1
Urban
23.80% 1
Rural
76.20% 1
Immigrants as % of Population
1.9% 2
Level of Public Corruption
151 (1=lowest, 176=highest corruption) 4
Gender Equality in the Economy, Health, Education and Politics
61 (1=most equal, 144=least equal) 7
Fertility Rate
5.68 births per adult woman 5
Children Who Do Not Live to Age 5
5.50% 5
Life Expectancy at Birth
59 years 5
Adult Literacy Rate
73.21% 5
Internet Users
18% 5
Gross National Income per Capita
US$670 5
Population Living Below US$1.90 per Day
33.2% 5
Catholic Demographics
These statistics are derived from the Vatican's official publication, Statistical Yearbook of the Church 2020 (Vatican City: Librera Editrice Vaticana, 2022). The numbers may differ from data reported by other sources on this site.
Baptized Catholics
19,734,000
Baptized Catholics as % of Total Population
47.45
Baptisms per Year (Under age 7)
409,058
Baptisms per Year (Over age 7)
62,377
First Communions per Year
196,116
Confirmations per Year
163,881
Students Enrolled in Catholic Primary Schools
4,259,130
Students Enrolled in Catholic Secondary Schools
426,339
Students Enrolled in Catholic Higher Education
13,046
Church Marriages per Year
12,746
Church Marriages in Which Both Spouses are Catholics
1 United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2018). World Urbanization Prospects: The 2018 Revision, Online Edition.
2 United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Trends in International Migrant Stock: The 2015 revision.
3 United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, Homicide Statistics 2015.
4 Transparency International, Corruption Perceptions Index 2016.