Mbarara

Featured view

Mbarara

Total population

195,013

Founded

1901

Elevation1473 m

Coordinates-0.61°, 30.65°

Demographic figures from Uganda Bureau of Statistics. Overview below cites Wikipedia and may reference a different year.

City facts

Facts from Wikidata (CC0).

Overview

Mbarara City is a city in the Western Region of Uganda and the second largest city in Uganda after Kampala. The city is divided into 6 boroughs of Kakoba Division, Kamukuzi Division, Nyamitanga Division, Biharwe Division, Kakiika Division, Nyakayojo Division. It is the main commercial centre of most of south western districts of Uganda and the site of the district headquarters. In May 2019, the Uganda's cabinet granted Mbarara a city status, which started on 1 July 2020. The name of the municipality came from a colonial mispronunciation of Emburara, a tall grass that previously covered the whole area.

Geography

Coordinates & boundaries from the US Census TIGER/Line shapefiles.

Notable people from here

Zarina Bhimji

Ugandan artist (born 1963)

C

Charles Tibingana

Rwandan footballer

D

Davis Arinaitwe

Ugandan cricketer

Nathan Mugisha

Ugandan general

P

Patrick Karegeya

head of intelligence in Rwanda

Claver Gatete

Rwandan politician

D

Daisy Nakalyango

badminton player

L

Lukyamuzi Bashir

Ugandan film director

J

John Ntambirweki

Vice Chancellor of Uganda Pentecostal University

P

Pamela Mbabazi

Ugandan academic

Allan Toniks

Ugandan musician

I

Isaac Mulindwa Jr.

Ugandan businessman and entrepreneur (born 1965)

D

Donna Kusemererwa

Ugandan pharmacist

Michael Tusiime

Ugandan politician

L

Lawrence Mugisha

researcher

Emma Boona

Ugandan politician

People born within ~10 km, from Wikidata (CC0). Click any name for their Wikipedia article.

Nearby places in Western

• Bushenyi
  32.5 mi away · pop. 41,063
• Ishaka
  36 mi away
• Rubirizi
  44.1 mi away
• Rukiga
  55.2 mi away
• Kabale
  63.9 mi away
• Kasese
  66.8 mi away · pop. 101,679
• Katuna
  71.5 mi away
• Kisoro
  81 mi away · pop. 17,561
• Bundibugyo
  99.8 mi away
• Kakumiro
  106.8 mi away
• Buhuka
  127.9 mi away
• Hoima
  149.1 mi away · pop. 100,625

Browse all places in Western →

Geography & sun

Elevation, sunrise/sunset and daylight from Open-Meteo. Solar climatology from NASA POWER.

Public attention

Pageview totals from the Wikimedia Pageviews API.

Books about Mbarara

Women's Emancipation in Africa - Reality or Illusion?

Paul Mutume · 2017

Proceedings of the Network of Ugandan Researchers and Research Users (NURRU) Dissemination Workshop for Western Region

John Ssenkumba · 1998

A report of the UCICC Regional Senstization Workshops in South Western and Western Uganda

UCICC Regional Sensitization Workshops in South Western and Western Uganda (2007 Mbarara, Uganda, etc.) · 2007

Popular Human Rights Education Project

Conference for Western and Southern Regions on the New Ugandan Constitution: a Basis for Democratic Governance: Issues and Concerns (1996 Mbarara, Uganda) · 1996

Religiosity on University Campuses in Africa

Abdoulaye Sounaye · 2023

Search results from Open Library.

Recently spotted species

Garden pink-sorrel

Oxalis latifolia

Seen 2026-06-23

Grey-backed Fiscal

Lanius excubitoroides

Seen 2026-06-21

Indian fig opuntia

Opuntia ficus-indica

Seen 2026-05-20

Sulfurous Lady Beetle

Cheilomenes sulphurea

Seen 2026-05-08

Lunate Lady Beetle

Cheilomenes lunata

Seen 2026-05-08

African stink ant

Paltothyreus tarsatus

Seen 2026-05-08

Bindweed Seedeating Bug

Graptostethus servus

Seen 2026-04-08

Sweet Thorn

Vachellia karroo

Seen 2026-03-17

Scrambling Dayflower

Commelina diffusa

Seen 2026-03-16

Research-grade observations from iNaturalist (within ~15 mi).