Uganda (Somali diaspora)

How many Somalis live in Uganda?

Uganda hosted 48,340 Somali refugees on 31 October 2026, according to Uganda's Office of the Prime Minister and UNHCR (UNHCR Operational Data Portal, Somalia situation, Uganda). Uganda as a whole hosted 2,061,006 refugees and asylum seekers on the same date (UNHCR, Uganda country page). Somalis are a small share of that total.

Other counts use other methods:

• UN DESA 2024: 65,070 people born in Somalia lived in Uganda, the eighth-largest Somalia-born group in that table (UN DESA, International Migrant Stock 2024).
• UNHCR, end of 2025: 48,253 refugees and 1,679 asylum seekers from Somalia (UNHCR Refugee Data Finder API, Uganda, 1990 to 2025).
• Community estimate, 2023: a leader of the Somali Community Association in Uganda put the number of Somali refugees at about 60,000 (The Observer, 5 September 2023).

The UN figure counts everyone born in Somalia, including people who are not refugees. The refugee counts leave out Somalis who came as traders, students or on visas.

Where in Uganda do Somalis live?

Most live in Kampala or in the Nakivale settlement in the south-west. Kisenyi, about one kilometre from Kampala's business district, is the hub of the city's Somali community and is called "Little Mogadishu" (IIED, 22 March 2017).

Estimates for Kisenyi vary. A 2007 New Vision report put about 10,000 Somali refugees and nationals there (New Vision). In 2014 Somalia's chargé d'affaires in Kampala estimated that about 85% of Kisenyi's people were Somali (IPS, 31 March 2014).

By 2023 Somali families had spread to Kabuusu, Nalukolongo, Nateete, Lungujja and Kawempe (The Observer, 2023).

Nakivale, Uganda's oldest refugee settlement, opened in 1958 and hosted more than 130,000 refugees in 2020 (UN-Habitat, Nakivale settlement profile, 2020). Somalis made up about 11% of its refugees, after Congolese and Burundians (UN-Habitat, 2020). Somali refugees first arrived there in the early 1990s and settled close to the base camp (UN-Habitat, 2020).

How did Somalis come to Uganda?

Very few Somalis were refugees in Uganda before the war. UNHCR counted 200 Somali refugees there in 1991 and 2,300 in 1993 (UNHCR API). Kisenyi has been the community's centre since the 1990s, and its Somali businesses began to grow in 2002 (IPS, 2014).

The big growth came after 2006. Somali refugees in Uganda rose from 3,752 in 2006 to 11,151 in 2010 and 27,720 in 2015 (UNHCR API). The count peaked at 51,192 in 2022 (UNHCR API).

The road from Mogadishu to Kampala runs about 1,835 km through Kenya, via Busia and Malaba (The Observer, 2023). For the wider routes, see Migration routes and Why and how Somalis left.

What does Uganda's law allow?

Uganda's Refugees Act 2006 gives refugees the right to live, work and start businesses in towns and cities (IIED, 2017; Refugees Act 2006, text). Researchers have called it a model, but city refugees are expected to support themselves (IIED, 2017).

Community leaders say Somalis can open bank accounts, move freely and put their children in public or private schools (The Observer, 2023). They cannot buy land outright but can take leases of up to 99 years (The Observer, 2023). For refugee status and documents, see Refugee papers and status.

What work do Somalis in Uganda do?

Most work in trade and services. Kisenyi has Somali-owned travel agencies, hotels, restaurants, petrol stations and supermarkets (IPS, 2014). By 2023 Somalis also ran pharmacies, forex bureaus and salons, and many drove three-wheel taxis (The Observer, 2023).

Family and community ties give Somali refugees access to business networks, which helps them find work and start firms (IIED, 2017). In 2017 a Somali cosmetics seller in Kisenyi earned about USh 400,000 a month, about £90 (IIED, 2017). Much of the start-up money comes from relatives in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom (The Observer, 2023).

Many young Somalis study in Kampala. Universities on Ggaba Road, including Kampala International University, draw students from the Horn of Africa (The Observer, 2023).

Who speaks for Somalis in Uganda?

• The Somali Community Association in Uganda speaks for the community in Kampala (The Observer, 2023).
• Elders settle civil disputes and minor offences inside the community, and serious crimes go to the police (The Observer, 2023).
• The Embassy of Somalia in Kampala held its first meeting with the local diaspora in January 2014 (IPS, 2014).
• Somali Youth Action for Change, a youth group, works to connect Somalis with other communities in Uganda (IPS, 2014).

What do Somalis in Uganda face now?

• Language: some Somalis say the language barrier makes it hard to report crimes to the police (The Observer, 2023).
• Self-reliance: city refugees get little aid and must support themselves (IIED, 2017).
• Crowding: Uganda's refugee population passed 2 million in 2026, which stretches services for everyone (UNHCR, Uganda).
• Visas: new arrivals need a host in Uganda, an invitation letter and security screening before a visa is issued (The Observer, 2023).

The July 2010 bombings. On 11 July 2010, suicide bombs at the Kyadondo Rugby Club and an Ethiopian restaurant in Kampala killed 76 people watching the World Cup final (VOA, 26 May 2016). Al-Shabaab planned the attack in Somalia to punish Uganda for its troops in AMISOM, according to the court case reported by VOA. Of about 60 people arrested in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, 13 were tried; in May 2016 Judge Alphonse Owiny-Dollo of the High Court convicted seven, naming Isa Ahmed Luyima as the mastermind (VOA, 2016). Other reports counted eight convicted and five acquitted (New Vision, 2016).

In the days after, Somalis in Kisenyi feared reprisals and stayed indoors; Ugandan officials rejected blanket accusations and appealed for calm (Christian Science Monitor, 13 July 2010). Police chief Kale Kayihura said "this is not a matter of nationality", and community leaders urged members to cooperate with security agencies, the Monitor reported. "We are victims as well," one Somali resident said. The community also tried to reassure bereaved families (Al Jazeera, 16 July 2010).

Registered refugees in Kampala. UNHCR's portal, using Office of the Prime Minister data, listed 29,784 Somali refugees in Kampala on 31 March 2024 and 36,920 on 30 September 2024 (UNHCR, Somalia situation: Uganda). The Somali Community Association estimates about 64,400 Somalis around Kampala, the Daily Monitor reports (Daily Monitor).

How are Somalis in Uganda tied to home?

The two countries are closely linked. Uganda was the first country to send African Union troops to Somalia, in 2007 (IPS, 2014). Direct flights between Entebbe and Mogadishu began in 2013 (IPS, 2014).

Trade runs both ways. In August 2022 Kampala held the first Uganda-Somalia investment and business summit, attended by Dahabshiil, Somtel and e-Dahab (Capital FM, 9 August 2022). Dahabshiil already sends money through Uganda (Capital FM, 2022).

People also move the other way. Uganda was the largest source of foreign workers in Somalia in 2023, with 1,335 (Somalia National Bureau of Statistics, Migration Statistics Report 2024). Worldwide, Somalis abroad sent home US$3,134 million in 2025, about 24% of the economy (Central Bank of Somalia, Annual Report 2025).

Related pages

• Somali diaspora hub
• Refugee camps
• Somali refugees by the numbers
• Life after leaving
• Kenya (Somali diaspora)
• Ethiopia (Somali diaspora)

Sources

1. UNHCR Operational Data Portal. "Somalia situation: Uganda." Data to 31 October 2026. data.unhcr.org. Checked 2026-11-12.
2. UNHCR Operational Data Portal. "Uganda." Updated 31 October 2026. data.unhcr.org. Checked 2026-11-12.
3. UNHCR. Refugee Data Finder API, Somalia to Uganda, 1990 to 2025. api.unhcr.org. Checked 2026-11-12.
4. UN DESA Population Division. "International Migrant Stock 2024." 2025. un.org. Checked 2026-11-12.
5. The Observer (Uganda). "Lubaga, Kisenyi, Kabalagala, Ggaba now 'Little Horn of Africa'." 5 September 2023. observer.ug. Checked 2026-11-12.
6. Inter Press Service. "Somali Diaspora Not Ready to Buy One-Way Tickets Home Yet." 31 March 2014. ipsnews.net. Checked 2026-11-12.
7. IIED (Monteith, W.). "Refugee livelihoods in Ugandan cities: mind the gap between policy and practice." 22 March 2017. iied.org. Checked 2026-11-12.
8. New Vision. "Kisenyi: a haven for Somali tranquility or scams?" 2007. newvision.co.ug. Checked 2026-11-12.
9. Republic of Uganda. "The Refugees Act, 2006" (Act 21 of 2006). media.ulii.org. Checked 2026-11-12.
10. UN-Habitat. "Nakivale Settlement Profile." 2020. unhabitat.org. Checked 2026-11-12.
11. Capital FM. "Boost for Uganda-Somali business as inaugural summit opens in Kampala." 9 August 2022. capitalfm.africa. Checked 2026-11-12.
12. Somalia National Bureau of Statistics. "Migration Statistics Report," first edition. 2024. nbs.gov.so. Checked 2026-11-12.
13. Central Bank of Somalia. "Annual Report 2025." 2026. centralbank.gov.so. Checked 2026-11-12.
14. Voice of America. "Uganda convicts mastermind in 2010 bombing". 26 May 2016. https://www.voanews.com/a/uganda-convicts-mastermind-in-2010-bombing/3347317.html. Checked 2026-11-12.
15. New Vision. "Bomb verdict: 8 convicted, 5 acquitted". May 2016. https://www.newvision.co.ug/new_vision/news/1425430/bomb-verdict-convicted-acquitted. Checked 2026-11-12.
16. Christian Science Monitor. "Uganda bombings: Somalis in Uganda's capital now fear reprisal attacks". 13 Jul 2010. https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Africa/2010/0713/Uganda-bombings-Somalis-in-Uganda-s-capital-now-fear-reprisal-attacks. Checked 2026-11-12.
17. Al Jazeera. "Somalis in Uganda fear backlash". 16 Jul 2010. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2010/7/16/somalis-in-uganda-fear-backlash. Checked 2026-11-12.
18. UNHCR. Horn of Africa situation portal, Uganda location page. https://data.unhcr.org/en/situations/horn/location/220. Checked 2026-11-12.
19. Daily Monitor. "Uganda's open-door refugee policy comes home to roost". https://monitor.co.ug/uganda/special-reports/uganda-s-open-door-refugee-policy-comes-home-to-roost-4772088. Checked 2026-11-12.