8 Billion Lives
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Where you could be born / Africa / Eastern Africa

Born in Uganda

About 1 in 77 people born in 2023 started life in Uganda. A boy can expect to live 65 years and a girl 71, up from 38 and 41 in 1950. Fewer than half of people live in cities, and 61% have basic drinking water.

1 in 77
odds of being born here
1.7 million births · Ranked 15th of 230
65 / 71
years of life, boys / girls
Was 38 / 41 in 1950
$1,346
income per person a year
2021 dollars · Ranked 194th of 203 · extrapolated
31%
live in a city
Most live in villages

Life and health

Life lasts about 28 years longer than in 1950. Child deaths fell from 272 in every 1,000 births to 39.

How long a life lasts

GirlsBoys

020406080195019852023

Years a baby born that year could expect to live.

Children who die before age 5
0100200300195019852023

In every 1,000 births.

Life expectancy at birth65.3 years for boys, 71.1 for girlsUN WPP 2024
Children who die before age 538.9 in every 1,000 birthsUN WPP 2024
Deaths a year236,000UN WPP 2024
Doctors per 1,000 people0.2World Bank WDI
Children immunized against measles90%World Bank WDI
Adults living with HIV5.2%World Bank WDI
New tuberculosis cases a year198 per 100,000 peopleWorld Bank WDI
Malaria cases a year268 per 1,000 people at riskWorld Bank WDI

Family

Women had 6.7 children on average in 1950. Now it is 4.3.

Children per woman
02468195019852023

Average over a lifetime.

Children per woman4.28UN WPP 2024
Average age of mothers at birth28.3 yearsUN WPP 2024

Money and work

If every 100 coins of income were shared out, the richest fifth would hold 45 and the poorest fifth 7.

Who gets the income
Share of all income by fifth of the population, 2023
7%Poorest fifth
11%Second
15%Middle
22%Fourth
45%Richest fifth
Income per personabout $1,346 a year (2021 dollars, adjusted for prices)World Bank PIP, scaled between survey years Extrapolated
Share of income going to the richest fifth / poorest fifth45% / 7% (2023)World Bank PIP
Unemployment2.8% of the workforce (2023)World Bank WDI
Price rises5.4% a year (2023)World Bank WDI
Growth in output per person2.4% (2023)World Bank WDI
Jobs in farming66% of jobsWorld Bank WDI
Self-employed81% of jobs (2025)World Bank WDI
Secondary school enrolment24% (can pass 100 when older students are counted)World Bank WDI

Daily life

The largest city is Kampala, with 1.7 million people.

31%
live in cities
52%
have electricity at home
61%
have basic drinking water
Largest cities
People living there
Kampala1.7 million
Nansana532,800
Kira462,900
Bunamwaya413,400
Kyengera285,400
Languages
Share of people who can use each
Swahili75%
Ganda13%
Nyankole6%
Chiga5%
Soga5%
Swahili, English is official.

Cities and regions

Every state, province and large city with a page.

Largest regions

Central Region5.5 million
Western Region2.0 million
Eastern Region1.2 million
Northern Region956,614

Sourced: GeoNames Population of each state, province or region.

Large cities

Sourced: GeoNames Cities with a page: a million people or more.

People on the move

About 1.2% as many people born here live abroad as live here. The most common destinations are Kenya, South Sudan, Rwanda.

Where people born here live abroad
By country of residence, 2024
Kenya274,655
South Sudan156,437
Rwanda91,955
Residents born abroad4.1% (2024)World Bank WDI
People born here who live abroadequal to 1.2% of the people who live hereUN DESA migrant stock
Where they go mostKenya (274,655), South Sudan (156,437), Rwanda (91,955)UN DESA migrant stock
Money sent home from abroadabout $2.8 billion a year (2025)World Bank WDI

Safety nets

18% of older people receive a pension. Help for someone who loses a job reaches 0%.

18%
of older people receive a pension (2022)
0%
of unemployed people receive a benefit (2022)

Events in the data

The game draws real events from these records, so a life lived here can meet them.

Reported COVID-19 deaths, 2020 to 20243,632Our World in Data, from WHO
Significant earthquakes recorded since 19502; the deadliest, in 1966, killed about 157 people (magnitude 6.6)NOAA NCEI
Deaths in organized violence17,156 between 1989 and 2023UCDP

Now live it.

Born in Uganda, to a family drawn from these numbers. Every life replays exactly from its seed.

Be born in Uganda

Elsewhere in Africa

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How to read the sources. Every figure is sourced to a named dataset, shown beside it. A figure marked "Extrapolated" is estimated by a model because no survey covers the year. UN figures are for 2023, the latest year of UN estimates; other figures are the latest year their dataset has. Rank 1 is the highest figure among 230 countries and territories. All sources and licences