AudienceScapes Field Blog
New Media’s Power Emerges in Uganda, but Mainly Among Affluent Urbanites
Uganda’s Community Radio Stations Walk Political Tightrope
KEY COMMUNICATION AND DEVELOPMENT WEBSITES
African Development Bank- Uganda
African Economic Outlook (joint ADB/OCED/UNECA site)
World Bank Country Brief- Uganda
Knowledge for Development Scorecard- Uganda
UNESCO Education Statistics- Uganda
UNDP Human Development Report-Uganda
World Health Organization- Uganda
Governance Matters 2009 Indicators- Uganda
Uganda Communication Profile
 |  |  |
country overview
Mobile Communications: Uganda has seen exponential growth in access and use to mobile phones in recent years. Bolstering this growth has been low cost introductory rates and the introduction of new competition.
Internet: Limited telecommunications and electrical infrastructure has kept the cost of home internet access high and unaffordable to even some of the most affluent Ugandans.
Radio: Uganda's mostly rural population relies heavily on radio to stay informed through regional and community stations, as well as to communicate with each other via talk shows and other formats.
Television: Poverty, a lack of quality reception outside of urban centers and a limited electrical grid inhibit use and reach of TV outside the cities.
Newspaper: Urban residents are more than twice as likely to be weekly newspaper readers than rural residents. However, three-quarters of the readership of the top four newspapers reside in rural areas.
Media Environment: Uganda has a broad and diverse broadcast media environment. There are a large number of outlets willing to criticize the government and offer a variety of viewpoints.
See All Communication Sectors
Insights from the field
Community Radio Stations Walk Political Tightrope: The handful of community radio stations in Uganda sometimes have to navigate a narrow course between promoting social change and upsetting those with a stake in the status quo.
Media outlet matrix
communication Habits: Demographic analysis
Regional and Urban/Rural Differences: On the national level there is a clear urban-rural divide. However, this divide is more nuanced on the regional level, as there are clear differences between regions in access and use of both traditional and newer media formats. For more...
Gender Similarities and Differences: Household access trends revealed general equity between men and women, but women did fall behind in terms of new ICT use. However, male respondents were more likely than females to say they use various media and ICTs than women, raising the question of whether women are actually able to use various devices that are in their households.
Age and Media Use in Uganda: Young adults (15-24) are the most likely age group to watch TV and read newspapers on a regular basis. In terms of ICTs use the divide is even more apparent between those under 44 and those 45 and older.
Socio-Economic Status and Media use in Uganda: Income as well as education are clear determinants of how people access and use communication technologies in Uganda. Read more to see how SES or education plays a role in people’s media and communication habits.