About Amuria District: Overview
Amuria District is a district in Eastern Uganda. It is named after its 'chief town' Amuria, the location of the district headquarters.
Location
Amuria District is bordered by Otuke District to the north, Napak District to the northeast, Katakwi District to the east, Soroti District to the south, Kaberamaido District to the southwest and Alebtong District to the west. The district headquarters at Amuria are located approximately 44 kilometers (27 mi), by road, north of Soroti, the largest town in the sub-region.
Altitude: Amuria District is a plateau altitude area with gently undulating slopes located in North Eastern Uganda lying between 2° 0' 13" North, 33° 39' 4" East.
Amuria District was created in July 2005. Prior to that, it was part of Katakwi District. It comprises two counties: Amuria and Kapelebyong. The district is made up of the following administrative units:
Teso-Region
Amuria District, is part of the Teso sub-region, home to an estimated 2.5 million people of Iteso and Kumam ethnicities. The districts in the sub-region include the following: 1. Amuria District, 2. Bukedea District, 3. Kaberamaido District, 4. Katakwi District, 5. Kumi District, 6. Serere District, 7. Ngora District, 8. Soroti District.
Population
The national census in 2002 estimated the population of Amuria District at approximately 183,800. In 2008, the World Food Program, quoting the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), estimated the population of the district at about 275,000. It is calculated that the annual population growth rate in the district is 7.0%. The estimated population in Amuria District in 2010 is approximately 315,900. See table below:
Sex: here are more females than males in the district. The sex composition of the population in the district is such that 99.9% of the population lived in households and 0.1% was in non-housed institution as per the census. At that time the District had 38,877 households with an average number of 4.6 persons.
With the 2006 population figures, the present estimate of household in the district would be 53,152 households. The religious composition of the population in the District as per the 2002 census was 64% Catholoc,33% Anglican(Church of Uganda), 1.4% Muslim,9.5% other Christians and 1.7% other religious .
Ethnicity: 97.6% of the population of the District is made up of Iteso,1.6% Langi(Who are Luo speakers),0.1% Karamojong and 0.7% non-Ugandans.
Economic Activities
The economy of Amuria District is based on two main activities; (a) Subsistence agriculture and (b) Animal husbandry. Over 90% of the population in the district engage in either or both activities. The crops grown in the district include: Cassava, Sweet potatoes, Groundnuts, Sorghum, Millet, Peas, Simsim, Cotton, Sunflower, Rice, Maize, Beans, Soybeans and Oranges.
Vegetation:
The vegetation is mainly savannah grassland type with dotted trees and shrubs. Other areas have savannah woodland composed of combretum tree species and sheer nut tree widely spread in the whole district. Some areas tend towards semi Arid conditions and are characterized by thorny trees. As of now there are less forests existing in the district despite there being areas that were once gazetted as forests. All such areas have been cleared of tree cover by the local population over the years and the land turned into farmland.
Minerals: There are few known minerals existing in the district.
Rivers: There are no major rivers in the district. One seasonal river called Kirik stretches from Karamoja through the district at the border with Katakwi district.
Climate
The district is characterized by a bimodal type of rainfall with peak periods in the months of May-June and September-October with an annual average of 1,304 mm according to Meteorological Department, Ministry of Water, Lands and Environment figures for Soroti meteorological centre. Rainfall is uniformly distributed throughout the district. However, the district experiences pronounced erratic weather conditions quite regularly. This is evident by either excessive rainfall within a short period leading to water logging or lack of rainfall over a long period of time (not less than three months), resulting in excessive drought. Thunder storms accompanied by heavy winds are usually experienced at the onset of every rainfall season, often resulting in destruction of buildings, trees, vegetation, crops and sometimes life. Hailstorms are also occasionally experienced during rainfall peaks resulting in destruction of vegetation, crops and to some extent livestock.
Soils
The soils throughout the district are predominantly ferralitic sandy loams which can support agricultural production of fast maturing cereals, leguminous and tuber crops. However the soils tend towards patchy sandy soils and clay loams as you move towards swamps. Most of the swamps are characterised by clay soils.
