📜 A long story
Uganda, 1800 → today
Uganda grew from 2.5 million in 1800 to 48.7 million; a newborn can expect 44.4 more years of life than in 1927, and output per person is 2.6× its 1906 level, adjusted for inflation.
Told with long-run reconstructions, not the yearly series used elsewhere on the site: each chapter names its source. Scroll to move through the years.
☺ Chapter 1 · Population
How many people live there?
1800
In 1800, about 2.5 million people lived in Uganda.
1900
3.77 million people.
1.5× the 1800 level
1950
5.75 million people.
1.5× the 1900 level
Reached twice the 1800 level in 1943.
2023
48.7 million people, the latest year in this series.
8.5× the 1950 level
Reached 5 times the 1800 level in 1978.
Reached 10 times the 1800 level in 2002.
Long-run series: before 1950, reconstructions by HYDE and Gapminder, filled in between benchmark years by those sources. Log scale: equal steps up mean equal growth rates.
✚ Chapter 2 · Life expectancy
How long do people live?
1927
In 1927, a newborn in Uganda could expect to live 23.9 years, on average.
1950
39.7 years.
+16 years since 1927
2023
68.3 years, the latest year in this series.
+29 years since 1950
Passed 40 years in 1951.
Passed 50 years in 2001.
Passed 60 years in 2010.
Long-run series: before 1950, historical estimates (Riley, Clio Infra, Human Mortality Database), only for years they cover. Dashed stretches are years without data.
◎ Chapter 3 · GDP per person (PPP)
How much is produced per person?
1906
In 1906, Uganda produced about Int$804 per person, in 2011 prices.
1950
Int$1,100.
1.4× the 1906 level
2022
Int$2,120, the latest year in this series.
1.9× the 1950 level
Reached twice the 1906 level in 2008.
The sharpest fall in the data: down 33% between 1972 and 1980 (Int$1,360 → Int$912).
Long-run series (Maddison Project) in 2011 international dollars: adjusted for inflation, so not the same unit as today’s PPP figure. Log scale: equal steps up mean equal growth rates. Dashed stretches are years without data.
❦ Chapter 4 · CO₂ per person
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
1950
In 1950, fossil fuels and industry in Uganda emitted about 0.018 t of CO₂ per person.
2024
0.1 t, the latest year in this series.
6.9× the 1950 level
Reached twice the 1950 level in 1955.
Reached 5 times the 1950 level in 1968.
The sharpest fall in the data: down 63% between 1973 and 1981 (0.1 t → 0.039 t).
Long-run series: fossil CO₂ emitted within each country’s borders (Global Carbon Budget); early estimates are less certain. Log scale: equal steps up mean equal growth rates.
☕ Chapter 5 · Years of schooling
How long do people go to school?
1870
In 1870, people aged 15–64 in Uganda had spent 0.01 years in school, on average.
1900
0.01 years.
about the same as 1870
1950
0.9 years.
+0.91 years since 1900
2015
6.3 years, the latest year in this series.
+5.4 years since 1950
Passed 2 years in 1975.
Passed 4 years in 1995.
Passed 6 years in 2015.
Long-run series (Lee & Lee, Barro & Lee) for people aged 15–64, every 5 years until 2015: a different age group than today’s figure (25 and older).