Arua is a city and commercial centre within the

Arua District Arua District is a district in the Northern Region of Uganda. Like many other Ugandan districts, it shares its name with its administrative center of Arua. The name Arua is said to be derived from the Lugbara name for prison (Arujo) and prisoner ...

in the Northern Region of

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

Location

Arua is approximately , by road, north-west of

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Ruba ...

, the capital and largest city of Uganda, Arua is about , by road, west of

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 distance from Gulu to Kampala, Uganda's capital and large ...

, the largest city in Uganda's Northern Region. The geographical coordinates of the city of Arua are 03°02'07.0"N, 30°54'39.0"E (Latitude:3.035278; Longitude:30.910833). Arua sits at an average elevation of above sea level. Arua is closely bordered to the

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

in the west and

South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the C ...

in the north which makes it a strategic location for business between Uganda and her two neighbors to the west and north. Due to its strategic location, Arua is also part of the Refugee program of hosting up to 20% of refugees entering into Uganda, annually.

Overview

Arua is an important base for

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

s working in the

West Nile sub-region West Nile sub-region, previously known as West Nile Province and West Nile District, is a sub-region in north-western Uganda, in the Northern Region of Uganda. Location The sub-region is bordered by the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the s ...

or serving

Western Equatoria Western Equatoria is a state in South Sudan. It has an area of . Its capital is Yambio. The state was divided into counties, each headed by a County Commissioner. Western Equatoria seceded from Sudan as part of the Republic of South Sudan on ...

in South Sudan and the northeastern

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

. It became an important commercial supply centre and transport route when the

Yei Yei is a medium-sized city in South Sudan's southwest. It lies close to the borders of two of the country's trading partners, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is a business hub, attracting traders and customers from all three ...

–

Juba Juba () is the capital and largest city of South Sudan. The city is situated on the White Nile and also serves as the capital of the Central Equatoria State. It is the world's newest capital city to be elevated as such, and had a populatio ...

road opened, enabling supplies to come into

from the south on the Kaya Highway instead of through

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...

from the north.

Transport

A branch of the

Uganda Railways The Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) is the parastatal railway of Uganda. It was formed after the breakup of the East African Railways Corporation (EARC) in 1977 when it took over the Ugandan part of the East African railways. URC's system ...

was to be extended to Arua sometime after 1964, but there has been no passenger rail service in Uganda for many years. The

Vurra–Arua–Koboko–Oraba Road Vurra–Arua–Koboko–Oraba Road is a road in the Northern Region of Uganda, connecting the town of Vurra at the International border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo with the city of Arua, the town of Koboko, and the town of Oraba a ...

passes through town, in a south/north direction. Arua is connected to the other towns in West Nile by road. These are: Nebbi, Pakwach, Paidha, Koboko, Yumbe, Moyo, Obongi, Adjumani and other smaller towns. There is regular road transport between Arua and Kampala, Gulu, Masindi and Hoima The city is served by

Arua Airport Arua Airport is a civilian airport serving the city of Arua in the Northern Region of Uganda. , it is one of the 47 airports in the country. Location The airport is from Uganda's border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and about ...

, which has scheduled air service. Arua airport has been the second busiest in Uganda after Entebbe. It was due to be upgraded to an international airport.

Population

The 1969 national census enumerated the population of Arua Town at 10,837. In 1991, the census enumerated 22,217 people in the town. In 2002, the population had increased to 43,929. The August 2014 national census and household survey enumerated the population of Arua Town Council at 61,962. In 2020, the

Uganda Bureau of Statistics The Uganda Bureau of Statistics ("UBOS") is an agency of the Ugandan government. Formed by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics Act, 1998, the agency is mandated to "coordinate, monitor and supervise Uganda's National Statistical System". Location ...

(UBOS) estimated the mid-year population to be 72,400. UBOS calculated that the population of Arua Municipality grew at an average rate of 2.7 percent annually, between 2014 and 2020.

Climate

Arua has a

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 of p ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Aw'').

Activities

Administrative activities

The following administrations are seated in Arua: * offices of the Arua Town Council * headquarters of Arua District * headquarters of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Arua The Roman Catholic Diocese of Arua ( la, Aruaën(sis)) is a diocese located in the city of Arua in the Ecclesiastical province of Gulu in Uganda. Following the resignation of Bishop Frederick Drandua, on 19 August 2009, Pope Benedict XVI appoin ...

and the

Church of Uganda The Church of Uganda is a member province of the Anglican Communion. Currently there are 37 dioceses which make up the Church of Uganda, each headed by a bishop. Each diocese is divided into archdeaconries, each headed by a senior priest known a ...

's Madi West Nile Diocese

Other business and educational activities

* Arua Campus of the

Makerere University Business School Makerere University Business School (MUBS) is the school of business of Makerere University, Uganda's oldest university. MUBS provides business and management education at the certificate, diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Location ...

* Uganda Christian University Arua Campus in Ringili at St. Paul's Theological College * Arua Campus of Bugema University * main campus of

Muni University Muni University (MU) is a public multi-campus university in Uganda. It is one of the public universities and degree-awarding institutions in the country, licensed and supervised by the Uganda National Council for Higher Education (UNCHE). Locati ...

, the sixth

public university A public university or public college is a university or college that is in owned by the state or receives significant public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private university. Whether a national universit ...

established by the

government of Uganda Uganda is a presidential republic in which the President of Uganda is the head of state and the prime minister is the head of government business. There is a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is ...

* Kuluva School of Nursing and Midwifery * a campus of the

Islamic University in Uganda The Islamic University in Uganda (IUIU) is a multi-campus university offering courses at certificate, diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The main campus of the university is in Mbale, Uganda, about north-east of Kampala, Uganda's ca ...

* a branch of

PostBank Uganda PostBank Uganda is a commercial bank in Uganda, licensed and supervised by the Bank of Uganda, the country's central bank and national banking regulator. The bank received her tier-1 banking license in December 2021. Before that, PostBank Uga ...

* an office of the National Social Security Fund * Arua central market * Arua Currency Center, a currency storage and processing facility, owned and operated by the

Bank of Uganda The Bank of Uganda ( sw, Benki Kuu ya Uganda) is the central bank of Uganda. Established in 1966, by Act of Parliament, the bank is wholly owned by the government but is not a government department. History In 1979 and again in 1987, the Ba ...

, Uganda's

central bank A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the currency and monetary policy of a country or monetary union, and oversees their commercial banking system. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central ba ...

. * Arua Hospital, a 128-bed public, regional referral hospital administered by the

Uganda Ministry of Health The Ministry of Health is a 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 rehabilitative service ...

* Ragem Beach

Media

Analog broadcasts, which originate from Kampala, include WBS TV (which is currently closed)
UBC TV
an
NTV
In early 2014, MBC 2 was aired in Arua as a test broadcast to pave way for Vision Group's Urban TV. Voice of Life, a

-founded radio station, has pioneered FM broadcasting in Arua since 1997.Voice of Life - Arua
/ref>

References

External links

Website of Arua District
As of 23 May 2019. {{Arua District Arua District West Nile sub-region Populated places in Northern Region, Uganda