Mbarara is an important transport hub, lying west of Masaka on the road to Kabale, near Lake Mburo National Park. This is about 270 kilometres (168 mi), by road, southwest of Kampala, Uganda's capital and oldest city.[4] The coordinates of the Mbarara central business district are 00 36 48S, 30 39 30E (Latitude:-0.6132; Longitude:30.6582).[5] The city lies at an average elevation at about 1,147 metres (3,763 ft) above sea level.[6]
City Wards
The city comprises 23 wards spread across 6 divisions and 2 constituencies.
Mbarara City Wards
Mbarara City North
Mbarara City South
Kamukuzi
Kakoba
Ruharo
Nyamityobora
Kakoma
Katete
Nyarubanga
Ruti
Rwemigyina
Bugashe
Kakiika
Katojo
Kishasha
Kichwamba
Bunutsya
Nyarubungo II
Nyabuhama
Rukindo
Rwenjeru
Rwakishakizi
Biharwe East
Nyakinengo
Biharwe West
Bubaare
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.[7] In August 2014, the national population census put the population at 195,013.[8]
Mbarara has tropical savanna climate (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.
Mbarara came from behind and developed to surpass Entebbe, Masaka, Gulu, and Jinja. As of 2014, Mbarara was the second-largest city in Uganda after Kampala and also second to Kampala in importance, industry, and infrastructure.[11]
Starting with 2000, modern buildings have been established including malls, arcades, plaza, and hotels. Modern hospitals have also been constructed including Mbarara Hospital, which is now a Regional Referral Hospital, Mbarara Community Hospital, a private hospital located in Kyamugorani, Kakiika Division,[12] and Mayanja Memorial Hospital, located in Nyamityobora Kakoba Division.[13]
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.[14]
Water supply
Due to a rapidly expanding population, the current water supply from nearby River Rwizi is insufficient to meet the future needs of Mbarara City.[15] The Ugandan government has borrowed €120 million to source water from the Kagera River purify it and pump it to Mbarara, Masaka and Isingiro District.[16][17]
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 Plant on Mbarara-Masaka Road at Makenke, pass through Rwebishuri and Nkokonjeru and join the Mbarara-Kabale Road at Katatumba Resort, about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) 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, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo off of Mbarara's city streets. The 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) road is expected to cost about €170 million (US$210 million), of which the European Union is expected to lend about €122 million (US$153 million) with the government funding the balance from its own resources.[18]
Points of interest
The following additional points of interest lie within the city limits or close to its edges:
Ntare School - 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- a girls-only boarding middle and high school founded by the Daughters of Mary and government aided
Mbarara Municipal School - government sponsored school.[5]
Transport
Mbarara Airport - A public airport, located about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi), by road northwest of town, along Mbarara-Ibanda highway.
Mbarara Northern Bypass Road - A 14 kilometres (9 mi) bypass road, circling the northern half of the city. Constructed between March 2015 and June 2018.
^Pelican Hotel (12 August 2014). "Why Mbarara: Features About Mbarara City". Mbarara: Pelican Hotel Mbarara. Archived from the original(Archived from the original on 4 April 2015) on 4 April 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
^Mayanja Memorial Hospital Foundation (2014). "About Mayanja Memorial Hospital". Mbarara: Mayanja Memorial Hospital Foundation. Archived from the original(Archived from the original on 17 October 2014) on 2014-10-17. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
^"Regional Campuses". Makerere University Business School. Retrieved 2023-03-03.
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