Kigezi sub-region
Kigezi sub-region is a sub-region in the Western Region of Uganda. UBOS publishes district and lower-level profiles for Kigezi as one of Uganda’s sub-regions. The sub-region aligns with the historic Kigezi District area, later divided into multiple districts.
Kigezi sub-region consists of the following districts:
- Kabale District
- Kanungu District
- Kisoro District
- Rubanda District
- Rukiga District
- Rukungiri District
The sub-region was home to approximately 1.2 million inhabitants, according to the 2002 national census. The majority of the inhabitants of the sub-region belong to three major ethnic groups: the Bakiga, the Bahororo and Banyarwanda. Other ethnicities include the Batwa, the Bafumbira and others. The inhabitants of the sub-region also collectively refer to themselves as Abanyakigezi.
History
The present-day sub-region covers much of the former Kigezi District, a historic administrative unit in south-western Uganda.Parliament created new districts from Kabale District as part of Uganda’s district-splitting process: Rubanda and Rukiga.
Geography and environment
Kigezi lies in Uganda’s south-west, near the borders with Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The landscape includes highlands, terraced hillsides, and rift-related features linked to the Albertine Rift system.Key natural features and protected areas linked to the sub-region include:
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.
Lake Bunyonyi.
Demographics
The 2024 census recorded 1,787,231 people in Kigezi sub-region, up from 1,376,774 in the 2014 census.Economy
Agriculture supports many households, with Irish potato production prominent in parts of Kigezi, especially around Kabale and Kisoro.Tea production also occurs in parts of the sub-region, with processing linked to the Kayonza area in Kanungu District.
Tourism is tied to gorilla trekking and protected-area visitation in Bwindi and Mgahinga.