Uganda doesn't have a historically developed population stucture, but one which is dominated by colonial influences. The borders are not based on ethnic groups, but they were more or less arbitrarily drawn up by the British Empire. The present ethnic groups can be divided into four major groups:

• Bantu
• Nilotic
• Pygmies
• Sudanese group

The Bantu-Peoples represent the largest group, who live mainly in the southern half of the country. The Bantu have always been settled farmers and promoted the formation of kingdoms. In total 17 different tribes belong to this group of peoples, of which the Baganda with 17%, Basoga (8%) and Bakiga (7%) of the total population are largest.

The Nilotic peoples originate from the Nile region and are shepherds. Key representatives of this group are living in Kenya: Maasai and Samburo. The Sudanese people on the other hand live in the western Nile region, whereas the Pygmies can only very sporadically be found at the western border to the Republic of Congo. They are among the oldest surviving primitive peoples alive and partly still live as hunters and collectors to this present day.

Related Links

• Background information about the Bantu Peoples in general, the Baganda and Bakga
• Background information about Nilotic Peoples
• Background information about the Pygmies