Ugandans Embrace Unity in Cultural Diversity, but Perceptions of Ethnic Bias Are On the Rise

27 July 2026
Afrobarometer (Accra)
By Stevenson Ssevume Male, Ruth Nakayima and Kansiime Grace

Most citizens see more that unites Ugandans than divides them.

Key findings

  • Eight in 10 Ugandans (79%) say they trust their relatives "somewhat" or "a lot." Smaller majorities express trust in their neighbours (64%), people of other religions (58%), and fellow citizens (53%), while about half (49%) trust people from other ethnic groups.
  • Large majorities express tolerant attitudes toward people of different religions (91%), political parties (80%), and ethnicities (78%) as well as toward foreign workers (73%) and refugees (63%). But only 5% say they would like or not mind having homosexual neighbours.
  • In 2022, an overwhelming majority (91%) of survey participants said that they would like or would not care if a family member married a person from a different ethnic group.
  • Virtually all respondents (99%) said they belong to the same ethnic group as their father, compared to just 55% who said they shared ethnicity with their mother.
  • In 2022, most citizens said they felt strong ties with other Ugandans (85%) and believed that other citizens "think of them as Ugandans just like them" (80%).
  • Nearly three-quarters (72%) of citizens say they feel equally attached to their national and ethnic identities.
  • Two-thirds (65%) of respondents say there is "much more" (49%) or "somewhat more" (16%) that unites Ugandans than divides them.
  • Half (50%) of citizens suspect judicial decisions are at least "sometimes" biased against certain ethnic groups, while about three in 10 see at least occasional bias against certain religious groups (33%) and women (28%).
  • More than half (54%) of Ugandans say the government treats their ethnic group unfairly at least "sometimes," up from 38% in 2017.

Follow us on WhatsApp | LinkedIn for the latest headlines

Africa is home to a wide variety of cultures, ethnicities, languages, and religions. More than 3,000 languages are spoken across the continent, broken into several major language families: Afro-Asianic, Nilo-Saharan, Nilo-Congo, Niger-Congo, Khoi-San, Austronesian, and Indo-European (Pardee School of Global Studies African Studies Center, n.d.). Cultures frequently mix: Interethnic and interfaith marriages are common in sub-Saharan Africa, making up around one-fifth and one-tenth of all marriages, respectively (Crespin-Boucaud, 2019).

Uganda boasts an especially rich diversity of cultures, including 65 officially recognised tribes and multiple religions. As of 2024, 13 tribes claim at least 1 million citizens, led by 7 million Baganda concentrated in the Central Region, also known as Buganda (Uganda Bureau of Statistics, 2025). And although Christianity is the dominant faith, multiple sects compete for market share: Catholicism is the most widely practised version (making up 36% of all Ugandans), followed by Anglicanism (29%) and Pentecostalism (14%). Meanwhile, one in eight citizens (13%) are Muslims (Uganda Bureau of Statistics, 2025).

English is the official language in Uganda, adopted during colonial times. In 2022, in line with East African Community policy, the government introduced Kiswahili as a second official language (Bwire, 2022). While still rarely spoken, Kiswahili is growing as a means of communication in interethnic settings, while other languages remain common in ethnically homogenous contexts (Ssentanda & Nakayiza, 2015; Miratude Interpreters, 2024).

Drawing on recent Afrobarometer surveys in Uganda, this dispatch explores Ugandans' perspectives on issues of social identity, tolerance, and equal treatment.

Findings show that majorities of Ugandans trust their relatives, neighbours, and people from other religious backgrounds, while only about half express trust in members of other ethnic groups.

Majorities of Ugandans say they would like or would not mind living next door to worshippers of other faiths, members of other ethnicities, supporters of different political parties, foreign workers, and refugees. In contrast, very few express tolerance toward homosexuals.

National unity is strong: Most citizens value their national identity at least as highly as their ethnicity, say there is more that unites Ugandans than divides them, and claim strong ties with their compatriots.

But ethnic lines are still clearly drawn: At least half of Ugandans report ethnic discrimination by the judiciary and the government.

Stevenson Ssevume Male Stevenson Ssevume Male is an associate researcher with Hatchile Consult Ltd. in Kampala, Uganda.

Ruth Nakayima Ruth Nakayima is a research assistant at Hatchile Consult Ltd., the Afrobarometer national partner in Uganda.

Kansiime Grace Kansiime Grace is a senior lecturer at Ndejje University in Kampala, Uganda.

Read the original article on Afrobarometer.

Tagged:
Copyright © 2026 Afrobarometer. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica publishes around 600 reports a day from more than 90 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.