Mbarara City is a city in the Western Region of

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

and the second largest city in Uganda after

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,875,834 (2024) and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kampala, Kawempe Division, Kawempe, Makindy ...

. 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 (Hyperemia rufa), a tall grass that previously covered the whole area.

Location

Mbarara is an important

transport hub A transport hub is a place where passengers and cargo are exchanged between vehicles and/or between mode of transport, transport modes. Public transport hubs include train station, railway stations, metro station, rapid transit stations, bus ...

, lying west of

Masaka Masaka is a city in the Central Region, Uganda, Buganda Region in Uganda, west of Lake Victoria. The city is the headquarters of Masaka District. Location Masaka is approximately to the south-west of Kampala on the highway to Mbarara. The ...

on the road to

Kabale Kabale City is a city in the Western Region of Uganda. It is the main city of Kabale District, and the district headquarters are located at Makanga hills. It is sometimes nicknamed "Kastone" as in the local Rukiga language, a "kabale" is a sma ...

, near Lake Mburo National Park. This is about , by road, southwest of

, Uganda's capital and oldest city. The coordinates of the Mbarara central business district are 00 36 48S, 30 39 30E (Latitude:-0.6132; Longitude:30.6582). The city lies at an average elevation at about above sea level.

City Wards

The city comprises 23 wards spread across 6 divisions and 2 constituencies.

Population

In 2002, the national census estimated the population of the town at 69,400. The Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) estimated the population at 82,000 in 2010. In 2011, UBOS estimated the mid-year population at 83,700. In August 2014, the national population census put the population at 195,013.

Climate

Mbarara has

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...

(Aw). Between the driest and wettest months, the difference in precipitation is 94 mm , 4 inch. The variation in annual temperature is around 2.4 °C , 4.3 °F. The month with the highest relative humidity is November (76.93%). The month with the lowest relative humidity is July (53.76%). The month with the highest number of rainy days is October (22.37 days). The month with the lowest number of rainy days is July (3.67 days). Mbarara is in the middle and the summers are that easy to define.

Growth and expansion

Mbarara came from behind and developed to surpass

Entebbe Entebbe is a city in Central Region, Uganda, Central Uganda which is located on Lake Victoria peninsula, approximately southwest of the Ugandan capital city, Kampala. Entebbe was once the seat of government for the Protectorate of Uganda pri ...

Gulu Gulu is a city in the Northern Region of Uganda. It is the commercial and administrative centre of Gulu District. The coordinates of the city of Gulu are 2°46'54.0"N 32°17'57.0"E. The city's distance from Kampala, Uganda's capital and large ...

, and Jinja. As of 2014, Mbarara was the second-largest city in Uganda after

and also second to Kampala in importance, industry, and infrastructure. Starting with 2000, modern buildings have been established including malls, arcades, plaza, and hotels. Modern hospitals have also been constructed including

Mbarara Hospital Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital (MRRH), also known as Mbarara Hospital or Mbarara University Teaching Hospital, is a government-owned healthcare facility located in Mbarara City, in the Western Region of Uganda. It serves as a referral center ...

, which is now a Regional Referral Hospital, ''Mbarara Community Hospital'', a private hospital located in Kyamugorani, Kakiika Division, and Mayanja Memorial Hospital, located in Nyamityobora Kakoba Division.

Infrastructure

Mbarara is the home of

Mbarara University of Science & Technology Mbarara University of Science & Technology (MUST), commonly known as Mbarara University, is a public university in Uganda. Mbarara University commenced student intake and instruction in 1989. It is one of the ten public universities and degre ...

(MUST), founded in 1989. Mbarara at Sundown

With significance for all Ugandan cities, Mbarara was the host to the 2004 Annual General Meeting of the Uganda Local Governments Association on 1 October, which saw the changing of the organisation to its current structure in order to represent all Ugandan local governments. Mbarara remains an active member of this governmental association.

Water supply

Due to a rapidly expanding population, the current water supply from nearby

River Rwizi River Rwizi is a river located in South Western Uganda in district called Mbarara. River Rwizi is a river located in southwestern Uganda. It is the second-longest river in Uganda, after the Nile River. The river originates in the hills of Buhweju Di ...

is insufficient to meet the future needs of Mbarara City. The Ugandan government has borrowed €120 million to source water from the

Kagera River The Kagera River, also known as Akagera River, or Alexandra Nile, is an East African river, forming part of the upper headwaters of the Nile and carrying water from its most distant source.Stanley, H.M., 1899, Through the Dark Continent, London: ...

purify it and pump it to Mbarara,

and

Isingiro District Isingiro District is a Districts of Uganda, district in the Western Region, Uganda, Western Region of Uganda. The town of Isingiro is the district's main municipal, administrative, and commercial center. Location Isingiro District is bordered b ...

Mbarara Bypass Road

As part of the modernisation of the Mbarara-Katuna Road (2011 - 2015), a new northern bypass road is planned for the town. The bypass will start from the

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

Plant on Mbarara-Masaka Road at Makenke, pass through Rwebishuri and Nkokonjeru and join the Mbarara-Kabale Road at Katatumba Resort, about southwest of the central business district. The bypass is expected to decongest the city centre by taking the long-distance trucks destined for and coming from

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

Burundi Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million peop ...

, and the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

off of Mbarara's city streets. The road is expected to cost about €170 million (US$210 million), of which the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

is expected to lend about €122 million (US$153 million) with the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

funding the balance from its own resources.

Points of interest

The following additional points of interest lie within the city limits or close to its edges:

Administration

* Offices of Mbarara City Council

Industry

* Nile Breweries Mbarara - A subsidiary of

Anheuser-Busch InBev Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, known as AB InBev, is an American-Belgian Multinational corporation, multinational Drink industry, drink and brewing company, brewing company based in Leuven, Belgium. It is the largest brewer in the world, and in 20 ...

*Century Bottling Company Limited, Mbarara - Manufacturer and distributor of Coca-Cola products * * Mbarara Steel Plant - Owned and operated by the China Machine Building International Corporation (CMIC), a

Chinese Government The government of the People's Republic of China is based on a system of people's congress within the parameters of a Unitary state, unitary communist state, in which the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) enacts its policies through people's ...

parastal company * Roofings Uganda limited. * Lato Milk - a dairy product manufacturing company founded by Pearl Dairy Farms Limited * Ntake bakery and company Limited, Mbarara

Social services

* Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital: A 600-bed,

public hospital A public hospital, or government hospital, is a hospital which is government owned and is predominantly funded by the government and operates predominantly off the money that is collected from taxpayers to fund healthcare initiatives. In almost al ...

, administered by the

Uganda Ministry of Health The Ministry of Health is a Cabinet of Uganda, cabinet-level government ministry of Uganda. It is responsible for planning, delivering, and maintaining an efficient and effective healthcare delivery system, including preventive, curative, and reh ...

. The teaching hospital of Mbarara University School of Medicine * Mbarara Community Hospital: A private hospital that serves the community without regard to ability to pay. * Mayanja Memorial Hospital: A private 100-bed hospital * Holy Innocents Children's Hospital: A private 100-bed general

pediatric Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, pediatrics covers many of their youth ...

hospital, administered by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mbarara * Ruharo Mission Hospital: An Anglican-based 100 bed hospital located at Ruharo Cathedral, about , west od downtown, along the Mbarara–Ishaka Road.

Education

Mbarara University of Science and Technology Mbarara University of Science & Technology (MUST), commonly known as Mbarara University, is a public university in Uganda. Mbarara University commenced student intake and instruction in 1989. It is one of the ten public universities and degre ...

- one of the nine public universities in Uganda * University of Saint Joseph Mbarara - Church Founded University located on Nyamtinga Hill * Makerere University Business School Mbarara Regional Campus * Uganda Bible Institute * The Western Campus of Uganda Management Institute * Bishop Stuart University - a private Christian University, affiliated with the

Church of Uganda The Church of Uganda (C/U) is a member province of the Anglican Communion. Currently, there are 37 dioceses that make up the Church of Uganda, each headed by a bishop. Each diocese is divided into archdeaconries, each headed by a senior priest k ...

located in Kakoba division *

Ntare School Ntare School is a residential all-boys' secondary school located in Mbarara, Mbarara District, south western Uganda. It was founded in 1956 by a Scottish educator named William Crichton. Location The school is approximately , by road, north of ...

- a boys-only boarding middle and high school * Mbarara High School - an Anglican-Church of Uganda-based residential boys-only middle and high school located at Ruharo Cathedral and is a government-aided school *

Maryhill High School Maryhill High School is a catholic founded Girls’ O & A-level Boarding school located at Nyamitanga hill in Mbarara District in the Western Region, Uganda, Western Region of Uganda. The school is affiliated with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mba ...

- a girls-only boarding middle and high school founded by the Daughters of Mary and government aided * Mbarara Municipal School - government sponsored school.

Transport

* Mbarara Airport - A public airport, located about , by road northwest of town, along Mbarara-Ibanda highway. * Mbarara Northern Bypass Road - A bypass road, circling the northern half of the city. Constructed between March 2015 and June 2018.

References

External links

Mbarara University HomepageBritannica Online Article About MbararaNile Breweries Raises Tetchy Land Question Over Mbarara ProjectMbarara City
A city web portal for Mbarara
Mbarara News websiteDowntown MbararaThe Ankole Times
{{coord, 00, 36, 48, S, 30, 39, 30, E, region:UG_type:city, display=title Mbarara District Populated places in Western Region, Uganda Cities in the Great Rift Valley