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
23.8% 1
Rural
76.2% 1
Immigrants as % of Population
3.8% 2
Homicides
8.53 per 100,000 people (global median: 5.8) 3
Level of Public Corruption
26 (100 is very clean, 0 is highly corrupt) 4
Fertility Rate
4.60 live births per woman 5
Under-Five Mortality Rate
42.00 deaths per 1,000 live births 5
Life Expectancy at Birth
63 years 5
Adult Literacy Rate
73.21% 6
Male Youth Literacy Rate (15-24 years)
89% 5
Female Youth Literacy Rate (15-24 years)
90% 5
Internet Users
10% 6
GDP per Capita
US$794 5
Population Living Below US$2.15 per Day
42.1% 7
Gender Gap Ranking based on economy, health, education, and politics
78 (146 is the lowest ranked country; 1 is the highest ranked country) 8
Religious Freedom: Government Restrictions Index (GRI)
2.5 - Moderate
Religious Freedom: Social Hostilities Index (SHI)
6.1 - High
- 1 United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, World Urbanization Prospects: The 2018 Revision, Online Edition (New York: United Nations, 2018).
- 2 United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, International Migrant Stock 2020 (New York: United Nations, 2020).
- 3 Data as of 2021. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, "Intentional Homicide," United Nations, Accessed April 9, 2024; United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Global Study on Homicide 2023 (Vienna: United Nations, 2023).
- 4 "2023 Corruption Perceptions Index," Transparency International, Accessed April 9, 2024.
- 5 United Nations Children's Fund, The State of the World's Children 2023 (Florence: UNICEF Innocenti – Global Office of Research and Foresight, 2023).
- 6 International Telecommunication Union, "Individuals using the Internet (% of population)," The World Bank, Accessed April 24, 2024.
- 7 Poverty and Inequality Platform, "Poverty headcount ratio at $2.15 a day (2017 PPP) (% of population)," The World Bank, Accessed April 24, 2024.
- 8 World Economic Forum, Global Gender Gap Report 2023 (Geneva: World Economic Forum, 2023).
- 9 As Pew describes it, "Government restrictions on religion include laws, policies and actions that regulate and limit religious beliefs and practices. They also include policies that single out certain religious groups or ban certain practices; the granting of benefits to some religious groups but not others; and bureaucratic rules that require religious groups to register to receive benefits." As noted on pp. 45-47 of the report, the index summarizes data from 19 sources. The index does not differentiate whether the laws are directed toward Catholics. Pew Research Center, Globally, Government Restrictions on Religion Reached Peak Levels in 2021, While Social Hostilities Went Down (Pew Research Center, 2024).
- 10 As Pew describes it, "Social hostilities include actions by private individuals or groups that target religious groups; they also include actions by groups or individuals who use religion to restrict others. The SHI captures events such as religion-related harassment, mob violence, terrorism/militant activity, and hostilities over religious conversions or the wearing of religious symbols and clothing." As noted on pp. 45-47 of the report, the index summarizes data from 19 sources. The index does not differentiate whether the hostilities are directed toward Catholics. Pew Research Center, Globally, Government Restrictions on Religion Reached Peak Levels in 2021, While Social Hostilities Went Down (Pew Research Center, 2024).
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
11,874
Priests
2,549
Women Religious (Nuns & Sisters)
4,164
Catholics per Priest
7,742
Parishes
654
Mission Stations (no resident priests)
6,067
Catholic Hospitals
33
Homes for Aged, Handicapped, Invalids
16
