Uganda is an overwhelmingly Christian majority country, with Islam being the second most widely professed faith. According to the 2014 National Census, Islam in Uganda was practised by 14 percent of the population.[1] The Pew Research Center in 2014, however, estimated that 11.5 percent of Ugandans were Muslim, compared to 35.2 percent of Tanzanians, 9.7 percent of Kenyans, 6.2 percent of South Sudanese, 2.8 percent of Burundians, and 1.8 percent of Rwandans.[2] The vast majority of Muslims in Uganda are Sunni. Small Shia and Ahmadi minorities are also present.[3]
The Iganga District in the east of Uganda had the highest percentage of Muslims according to a 2009 published report.[4]
The presence of Islam in Uganda was first recorded in 1844 when an Arab trader preached to Suuna II, the ruler of the Kingdom of Buganda in central Uganda. Islam was also spread throughout Uganda by Muslim colonial administrators who originally worked in northern Uganda when it was by controlled by the Khedivate of Egypt but were later employed by British colonial administrator Frederick Lugard when Egyptian control collapsed in the south. Despite persecution by the British, Islam flourished in the colonial period and was said to be fastest growing religion in Uganda by a colonial officer in the 1950s. Mosques were built in almost every established city in Uganda and the Uganda Muslim Education Association, founded by prince Badru Kakungulu with help by Asian Muslims, built hundreds of primary schools through introducing western educational curriculum into madrasah schools across the country.
The 2002 national census recorded that Muslims represented 12.1 percent of the population.[5]
| Region | % Muslim |
|---|---|
| Central | 18.4%[6] |
| Eastern | 17.0% |
| Northern | 8.5% |
| Western | 4.5% |
| Total | 12.1% |
Yumbe District is the only district with a Muslim-majority (76%). Muslims form a significant minority in the districts of Mayuge (36%) and Iganga (34%).
| Region/District | Number of Muslims | Share of Muslims | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,187,795 | 268,787 | 22.6% | ||
| 708,630 | 239,582 | 33.8% | ||
| 251,758 | 191,913 | 76.2% | ||
| 795,114 | 165,817 | 20.9% | ||
| 770,379 | 164,950 | 21.4% | ||
| 907,736 | 164,256 | 18.1% | ||
| 717,534 | 132,247 | 18.4% | ||
| 833,538 | 123,229 | 14.8% | ||
| 324,668 | 117,526 | 36.2% | ||
| 707,242 | 112,177 | 15.9% | ||
| 412,365 | 101,571 | 24.6% | ||
| 387,249 | 100,257 | 25.9% | ||
| 520,532 | 94,231 | 18.1% | ||
| 478,492 | 89,232 | 18.6% | ||
| 407,739 | 87,314 | 21.4% | ||
| 294,568 | 76,127 | 25.8% | ||
| 689,305 | 74,781 | 10.8% | ||
| 536,732 | 63,381 | 11.8% | ||
| 1,088,012 | 61,273 | 5.6% | ||
| 470,144 | 51,348 | 10.9% | ||
| 194,734 | 35,569 | 18.3% | ||
| 522,726 | 33,790 | 6.5% | ||
| 459,244 | 31,753 | 6.9% | ||
| 731,217 | 31,293 | 4.3% | ||
| 283,056 | 28,961 | 10.2% | ||
| 229,297 | 27,839 | 12.1% | ||
| 180,028 | 27,408 | 15.2% | ||
| 224,887 | 22,322 | 9.9% | ||
| 379,829 | 20,688 | 5.1% | ||
| 209,820 | 18,601 | 8.9% | ||
| 435,252 | 17,829 | 4.1% | ||
| 356,704 | 17,696 | 5.0% | ||
| 343,480 | 17,438 | 5.1% | ||
| 190,282 | 16,324 | 8.6% | ||
| 405,761 | 13,044 | 3.2% | ||
| 377,109 | 11,754 | 3.1% | ||
| 389,599 | 11,632 | 3.0% | ||
| 202,223 | 11,273 | 5.6% | ||
| 263,595 | 10,865 | 4.1% | ||
| 740,893 | 9,566 | 1.3% | ||
| 127,048 | 9,428 | 7.4% | ||
| 369,621 | 8,541 | 2.3% | ||
| 204,640 | 5,564 | 2.7% | ||
| 275,101 | 5,339 | 1.9% | ||
| 34,699 | 4,986 | 14.4% | ||
| 475,071 | 4,597 | 1.0% | ||
| 683,987 | 3,999 | 0.6% | ||
| 458,107 | 3,753 | 0.8% | ||
| 298,900 | 3,131 | 1.0% | ||
| 591,870 | 2,313 | 0.4% | ||
| 189,907 | 1,707 | 0.9% | ||
| 220,202 | 1,693 | 0.8% | ||
| 282,270 | 1,617 | 0.6% | ||
| 326,320 | 1,463 | 0.4% | ||
| 154,494 | 1,390 | 0.9% | ||
| 131,627 | 956 | 0.7% | ||
| Uganda (total) | 24,433,132 | 2,956,121 | 12.1% |