Uganda Districts

Uganda is run through its districts: the district is the tier that holds the local council, the chairperson, the hospital and the school inspector, and it is the name that shows up in news, plates and exam results. There are many small ones, most of them carved out of an older district within living memory, so the quiz is a lesson in where the older, larger districts were and what has been split off them.

The quiz: Name to place, on the map
Grouped by: Region: Central, Eastern, Northern and Western
In the game: 135 districts

Start

What you are looking at

The districts as they stand: the capital, Kampala, counted as a district of its own, and the rest of the country around it. The map holds every district made in 2020 and 2021, such as Kyotera, Madi Okollo, Obongi and Pakwach. A freeze on new administrative units has been in place since, so districts that have been approved in principle but not created are not on it.

The groups are the four regions that Ugandans sort the districts into. They are a way to place a district, not a tier of government, but they are what a Ugandan means by "from the north" or "from the west".

How to place one

Start in the north. The Northern Region has the biggest districts on the map (Lamwo, Kitgum and Moyo are wide and sparsely settled) and the fewest surprises.
Learn Lake Victoria's edge. Kalangala and Buvuma are drawn with the water around their islands, so they are among the largest areas on the map although almost none of it is land.
Expect small districts in the south-west and the east. Kabale, Kisoro and Rukiga, and Bududa, Manafwa and Butaleja on the slopes of Mount Elgon, are packed together.
Look for the parents. Many districts were carved from an older one next door: Rwampara from Mbarara, Butebo from Pallisa, Kyotera from Rakai. Placing the parent first places the child beside it.

Every district, by region

Central Region26 districts: Buikwe, Bukomansimbi, Butambala, Buvuma, Gomba, Kalangala, Kalungu, Kampala, Kassanda, Kayunga, Kiboga, Kyankwanzi, Kyotera, Luwero, Lwengo, Lyantonde, Masaka, Mityana, Mpigi, Mubende, Mukono, Nakaseke, Nakasongola, Rakai, Ssembabule, Wakiso
Northern Region37 districts: Abim, Adjumani, Agago, Alebtong, Amolatar, Amudat, Amuru, Apac, Arua, Dokolo, Gulu, Kaabong, Karenga, Kitgum, Koboko, Kole, Kotido, Kwania, Lamwo, Lira, Madi Okollo, Maracha, Moroto, Moyo, Nabilatuk, Nakapiripirit, Napak, Nebbi, Nwoya, Obongi, Omoro, Otuke, Oyam, Pader, Pakwach, Yumbe, Zombo
Eastern Region37 districts: Amuria, Budaka, Bududa, Bugiri, Bugweri, Bukedea, Bukwo, Bulambuli, Busia, Butaleja, Butebo, Buyende, Iganga, Jinja, Kaberamaido, Kalaki, Kaliro, Kamuli, Kapchorwa, Kapelebyong, Katakwi, Kibuku, Kumi, Kween, Luuka, Manafwa, Mayuge, Mbale, Namayingo, Namisindwa, Namutumba, Ngora, Pallisa, Serere, Sironko, Soroti, Tororo
Western Region35 districts: Buhweju, Buliisa, Bundibugyo, Bunyangabu, Bushenyi, Hoima, Ibanda, Isingiro, Kabale, Kabarole, Kagadi, Kakumiro, Kamwenge, Kanungu, Kasese, Kazo, Kibaale, Kikuube, Kiruhura, Kiryandongo, Kisoro, Kitagwenda, Kyegegwa, Kyenjojo, Masindi, Mbarara, Mitooma, Ntoroko, Ntungamo, Rubanda, Rubirizi, Rukiga, Rukungiri, Rwampara, Sheema

Worked examples

Kampala

The capital

Kampala is the smallest area on the map, on the north shore of Lake Victoria. Wakiso wraps around it on the land side and Mukono lies to the east.

Kalangala

The district that is mostly lake

Kalangala is the Ssese Islands and the waters of Lake Victoria around them, so on this map it is one of the largest areas in the country and has no land border with another district.

Lamwo

The biggest on land

Lamwo is the largest district by land in the far north, on the border with South Sudan. Kitgum, the district it was split from, lies to its south.

Frequently asked questions

How many districts does Uganda have?

135 on this map, counting Kampala. The count has grown from 17 in 1962, and it stopped growing when the government froze the creation of new administrative units.

Are the regions part of the government?

No. Central, Eastern, Northern and Western are the divisions people use to describe where a district is, and the groups in this game. The districts are the tier that has councils.

Why do some districts look like water?

Some districts are defined to include their share of the great lakes. Kalangala and Buvuma are mostly Lake Victoria, so the map draws them that way.

For another African country at this level, see Senegal Departments.

Sources

HDX COD-AB, Uganda administrative boundaries, the district boundaries and the region of each
Districts of Uganda, how the districts have been created over time

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