Skip to content
Uganda in Data
Topics
People & Society
Economy
Production
Environment
Wellbeing
Places
Uganda and the worldChartsPlay & learnAll UBOS files

    Health · Demographic and Health Surveys, Census 2024, Ministry of Health

    Far fewer Ugandan children die young than a generation ago

    Out of every 1,000 children born, 64 died before their 5th birthday in 2016, down from 177 in 1988-89.

    Under-5 deaths per 1,000 births

    64

    2016, down from 177

    Children per woman

    5.4

    2016

    Households with a mosquito net

    87%

    Census 2024

    People with health insurance

    1.0%

    Census 2024

    Did you know?

    Women had 5.4 children on average in 2016, down from 7.4 in 1988-89.

    Children dying young

    Deaths per 1,000 live births, by survey

    • Before age 5
    • Before age 1
    undefined 1988
    2016

    Children per woman

    Total fertility rate, by survey

    undefined 1988
    2016

    Mothers and babies

    Care during pregnancy and birth

    % of women, by survey

    • ANC by a skilled provider
    • Birth in a health facility
    • Birth by a skilled provider

    Child growth and vaccination

    % of young children, by survey

    • Fully vaccinated (basic, 12–23 months)
    • Stunted (under 5)
    undefined 1988
    2016

    Households with a treated mosquito net

    % of households, by survey. The 2024 census, which counts any net, found 87%

    HIV testing

    % of adults tested for HIV who received their result (survey measure), by survey

    • Women
    • Men

    Paying for health

    Public health spending per person

    UGX per person per year

    2016/17
    2022/23

    Health’s share of the government budget

    %, by financial year

    2016/17
    2022/23

    Health facilities by owner

    Functional facilities, by financial year

    • Private for profit
    • Private not for profit
    • Government

    The health system

    Too few health workers where people need them most

    % of approved posts that are filled, public facilities, 2019/20

    What kills young children in hospital

    % of deaths of children under 5 in hospital, by cause

    • Malaria
    • Pneumonia
    • Anaemia
    • Neonatal conditions

    Many births are never registered

    Births notified and registered

    • Notified
    • Registered

    Cancer cases recorded

    UBOS “cancer burden” totals, by financial year (see notes)

    About these numbers

    • Child mortality, fertility, maternal care, stunting and vaccination come from the Uganda Demographic and Health Surveys; the latest in UBOS’s online tables is 2016.
    • Four of these UBOS files open on an internal indicator list; the figures are on the last sheet of each file.
    • UBOS lists the health budget table under the title “Countrywide TB detection rate”; the file is the health sector’s share of the government budget, and is shown as that.
    • Causes of death for children under 5 are shares of deaths in hospital. In 2021/22 every cause is much lower than in 2020/21, which may reflect a change in how the figures were measured rather than fewer deaths.
    • UBOS gives only yearly totals for “cancer burden”, without saying how cases are counted; the fall in 2017/18 may reflect reporting rather than fewer cancers.
    • Health-worker figures are posts in public health facilities; “filled” can exceed “approved” where extra staff are posted.
    • Birth notification means a health facility or local leader recorded the birth; registration means it was entered in the civil register and a certificate can be issued.
    • Private health facility counts swing a lot between years, which likely reflects how facilities were recorded as much as real openings and closures.
    • Teenage childbearing: 25% of girls aged 15–19 had begun childbearing in 2016.

    Where this comes from