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Uganda Composition and Distribution
Ministry of Planning and Economic Development officials
estimated that nearly 50 percent of the population was
under the
age of 15 and the median age was only 15.7 years in 1989
(see
fig. 4). The sex ratio was 101.8 males per 100 females.
The
dependency ratio--a measure of the number of young and old
in
relation to 100 people between the ages of fifteen and
sixty--was
estimated at 104.
Uganda's population density was found to be relatively
high
in comparison with that of most of Africa, estimated to be
fiftythree per square kilometer nationwide. However, this
figure
masked a range from fewer than thirty per square kilometer
in the
north-central region to more than 120 in the far southeast
and
southwest, and even these estimates overlooked some
regions that
were depopulated by warfare.
In late 1989, nearly 10 percent of the population lived
in
urban centers of more than 2,000 people. This figure was
increasing in the late 1980s but remained relatively low
in
comparison with the rest of Africa and was only slightly
higher
than Uganda's 1969 estimate of 7.3 percent. Rural-to-urban
migration declined during the 1970s as a result of
deteriorating
security and economic conditions. Kampala, with about
500,000
people, accounted for almost one-half of the total urban
population but recorded a population increase of only 3
percent
during the 1980s. Jinja, the main industrial center and
second
largest city, registered a population of about 55,000--an
increase of 10,000 from the 1980 population estimate. Six
other
cities--Kabale, Kabarole, Entebbe, Masaka, Mbarara, and
Mbale--
had populations of more than 20,000 in 1989. Urban
migration was
expected to increase markedly during the 1990s.
Uganda was the focus of migration from surrounding
African
countries until 1970, with most immigrants coming from
Rwanda,
Burundi, and Sudan. In the 1970s, immigrants were
estimated to
make up 11 percent of the population. About 23,000
Ugandans were
living in Kenya, and a smaller number had fled to other
neighboring countries. Emigration increased dramatically
during
the 1970s and was believed to slow during the 1980s.
In 1989 Uganda reported 163,000 refugees to the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Most of
these
were from Rwanda, but several other neighboring countries
were
also represented. At the same time, Zaire and Sudan
registered a
total of nearly 250,000 refugees from Uganda.
Data as of December 1990
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