Uganda: country facts, travel advice and health

Cheap SIM starter packs are sold everywhere, but the card must be registered with a passport before it works.Source: Wikivoyage · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

Apps locals use

Little is a ride-hailing app for getting around town.

Source: Wikivoyage · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

Cards or cash

Mostly cashMostly cards

Step 2 of 5: Cash is used for most things, though cards are accepted in some places.Source: Wikivoyage · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

Money in Uganda

Ugandan Shilling · UGX

Shillings cannot be bought abroad, so take cash out at the ATMs in Entebbe airport when you land.

Use DTB cash machines to avoid withdrawal fees on foreign Visa or Mastercard cards.

Card payments often carry a surcharge of around 5%, so bring US dollars for safaris and rafting.

Refuse 1987-series banknotes: they are no longer valid and banks will not exchange them.

Source: Wikivoyage · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

Collect Ugandan Shilling in CointryOur sister app for coin and banknote collectors · cointry.appOpen

Public holidays in the next 12 months

Fri, 25 Dec 2026 · Christmas Day

Sat, 26 Dec 2026 · Boxing Day

Fri, 1 Jan 2027 · New Year's Day

Tue, 26 Jan 2027 · Liberation Day

Tue, 16 Feb 2027 · Archbishop Janani Luwum Day

Mon, 8 Mar 2027 · International Women's Day

Fri, 26 Mar 2027 · Good Friday

Mon, 29 Mar 2027 · Easter Monday

Sat, 1 May 2027 · Labour Day

Thu, 3 Jun 2027 · Martyrs' Day

Wed, 9 Jun 2027 · National Heroes' Day

Sat, 9 Oct 2027 · Independence Day

Source: Nager.Date · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗

02Free

Safety today

Germany, the US and the UK publish their travel advice openly. Here is what those that cover Uganda say, side by side, checked daily.

German Foreign Office says

No travel warning

Calm ●

Caution

Serious

Don’t go

Source: Auswärtiges Amt
Updated 13 Oct 2026 · Checked 24 Oct 2026Official page

U.S. Department of State says

Do not travel

Calm

Caution

Serious

Don’t go ●

Level 4 of 4

Source: travel.state.gov
Updated 3 Jun 2026 · Checked 24 Oct 2026Official page

UK Foreign Office says

No advice against travel

Source: GOV.UK
Updated 8 Oct 2026 · Checked 24 Oct 2026Official page

Scams to know

Strangers asking for money or details

Be wary of strangers who approach or phone you asking for information or money.

Source: GOV.UK · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

Spiked food and drinks

Never accept food or drinks from people you do not know, on buses or in bars.

Source: GOV.UK · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

Countrywise is a summary. The official page is authoritative.

03Free

Health

Yellow fever vaccine advised for everyone from 9 months; malaria in some regions; altitude sickness possible.

Vaccinations

CDC advises the yellow fever vaccine for every traveller from 9 months of age.

Malaria

In some regions

Altitude

Some parts of the country are high enough to cause altitude sickness.

Talk to a travel clinic 4–8 weeks before you go.

Source: CDC
Checked 24 Oct 2026Official page

Summarised from the CDC’s Travelers’ Health pages. Using them does not mean the CDC endorses Countrywise.

04Travel layer

In the app: the travel layer

The travel layer

Read a country like someone who’s been there.

What’s different from home, and what’s the lawMust-see places, free entry and World Heritage sites20 words to remember, with pronunciationStrange and surprising factsThe anthem and national symbolsSaved for offline use

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Must-see · 1Kampala

Calmer than many African cities; Kasubi Tombs and museum.

Source: Wikivoyage · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

Strange & surprising · #1

Winston Churchill gave Uganda its nickname, the Pearl of Africa.

Source: Wikivoyage · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

National anthem: Oh Uganda, Land of Beauty. The lyrics, translated, and the story are in the app. Source: Wikidata · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

3 World Heritage sites in Uganda, each with a photo and its story, in the app. Source: UNESCO World Heritage List

05Free

Deep facts

Economy
GDP	≈ $62 billionSource: World Bank · 2025 figures · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Per person	≈ $1,206Source: World Bank · 2025 figures · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Top exports	gold, coffee, fish, refined petroleum, tobacco (2023)Source: The World Factbook (archive) · as of 2025/26 · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗

Population
Population	51.4 millionSource: World Bank · 2025 figures · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Median age	16.4 yearsSource: The World Factbook (archive) · 2025 figures · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Life expectancy	69.7 yearsSource: The World Factbook (archive) · 2024 figures · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Religions	Protestant 45.1% (Anglican 32.0%, Pentecostal/Born Again/Evangelical 11.1%, Seventh Day Adventist 1.7%, Baptist .3%), Roman Catholic 39.3%, Muslim 13.7%, other 1.6%, none 0.2% (2014 est.)Source: The World Factbook (archive) · 2014 figures · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗

Geography
Area	241,038 km²Source: The World Factbook (archive) · as of 2025/26 · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Climate	tropical; generally rainy with two dry seasons (December to February, June to August); semiarid in northeastSource: The World Factbook (archive) · as of 2025/26 · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Terrain	mostly plateau with rim of mountainsSource: The World Factbook (archive) · as of 2025/26 · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗

Government
Type of government	presidential republicSource: The World Factbook (archive) · as of 2025/26 · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Calling code	+256Source: libphonenumber · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

About the data

Written from the sources we link, and checked against them before each release. Countrywise summarises public sources. We are not an official source. For safety and entry rules, always follow the official page we link to.

From your foreign ministry when it publishes its advice openly (Germany, the US, the UK). Otherwise we show those three side by side. Checked daily, with the date next to every entry.

CDC · 24 Oct 2026 ↗GOV.UK · 24 Oct 2026 ↗IANA Time Zone Database · 23 Oct 2026 ↗libphonenumber · 24 Oct 2026 ↗Nager.Date · 23 Oct 2026 ↗The World Factbook (archive) · 23 Oct 2026 ↗U.S. Department of State · 25 Oct 2026 ↗Unicode CLDR · 24 Oct 2026 ↗Wikidata · 24 Oct 2026 ↗Wikivoyage · 24 Oct 2026 ↗World Bank · 23 Oct 2026 ↗

Flag artwork from flag-icons (MIT licence).