Arua

Arua

Aruaa
Arua Aruaa
	Main Street in Arua
	Motto(s): Peace, Justice & Prudence
	Arua Location in Uganda
	Coordinates: 3°02′07″N 30°54′39″E / 3.03528°N 30.91083°E
Country	Uganda
Region	Northern Region
Sub-region	West Nile sub-region
District	Arua District
Government
• Mayor	Charles Asiki
Population (2014 Census)
• Total	61,962
Area code	0476
Website	www.arua.go.ug

Arua is a city and commercial centre within the Arua District in the Northern Region of Uganda.^[2]^[3]

Location

Arua is approximately 475 kilometres (295 mi) north-west of Kampala, the capital and largest city of Uganda,^[4] Arua is about 228 kilometres (142 mi), by road, west of Gulu, the largest city in Uganda's Northern Region.^[5] 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).^[6] Arua sits at an average elevation of 1,310 metres (4,298 ft) above sea level.^[7] Arua is closely bordered to the Democratic Republic of Congo in the west and South Sudan in the north, which makes it a strategic location for business between Uganda and her two neighbors to the west and north.^[8]

Due to its strategic location, Arua is also part of the refugee program of hosting up to 20% of the refugees entering Uganda annually.^[9]

Overview

Arua is an important base for non-governmental organizations working in the West Nile sub-region or serving Western Equatoria in South Sudan and the northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It became an important commercial supply centre and transport route when the Juba - Yei - Morobo - Kaya Road opened, enabling supplies to come into Juba from the south on the Kaya Highway instead of through Khartoum from the north.^[7]

Transport

A branch of the Uganda Railways was to be extended to Arua sometime after 1964,^[10] but there has been no passenger rail service in Uganda for many years.^[11]

The Vurra–Arua–Koboko–Oraba Road passes through town, in a south–north direction.^[12] Arua is connected to the other towns in West Nile by road which include: 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, which has scheduled air service.^[13] 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 (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.^[1]

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1969	10,837	—
1991	22,217	+105.0%
2002	43,929	+97.7%
2014	61,962	+41.1%
2020	72,400	+16.8%
source:^[1]

Climate

Arua has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen climate classification Aw).

Climate data for Arua (1961–1990)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	34.4 (93.9)	36.1 (97.0)	37.8 (100.0)	35.6 (96.1)	33.3 (91.9)	30.6 (87.1)	30.0 (86.0)	31.1 (88.0)	30.6 (87.1)	32.4 (90.3)	33.3 (91.9)	33.6 (92.5)	37.8 (100.0)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	30.5 (86.9)	31.1 (88.0)	30.2 (86.4)	28.8 (83.8)	27.9 (82.2)	27.1 (80.8)	26.1 (79.0)	26.3 (79.3)	27.2 (81.0)	27.9 (82.2)	28.4 (83.1)	29.1 (84.4)	28.4 (83.1)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	17.4 (63.3)	18.0 (64.4)	18.3 (64.9)	18.0 (64.4)	17.5 (63.5)	16.9 (62.4)	16.4 (61.5)	16.3 (61.3)	16.5 (61.7)	16.9 (62.4)	17.2 (63.0)	17.0 (62.6)	17.2 (63.0)
Record low °C (°F)	12.8 (55.0)	11.1 (52.0)	13.9 (57.0)	13.9 (57.0)	14.4 (57.9)	13.2 (55.8)	11.7 (53.1)	11.1 (52.0)	12.2 (54.0)	14.1 (57.4)	14.4 (57.9)	12.8 (55.0)	11.1 (52.0)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	17.5 (0.69)	36.6 (1.44)	90.7 (3.57)	120.4 (4.74)	127.6 (5.02)	146.4 (5.76)	154.5 (6.08)	216.9 (8.54)	173.0 (6.81)	209.5 (8.25)	125.1 (4.93)	29.8 (1.17)	1,448 (57.01)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm)	1.4	3.0	7.0	9.0	8.7	8.5	11.3	12.6	11.5	13.8	9.7	3.1	99.6
Average relative humidity (%) (at 14:00)	38	36	44	56	60	63	67	66	62	60	53	46	54
Source 1: World Meteorological Organization^[14]
Source 2: Deutscher Wetterdienst (extremes and humidity)^[15]

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 and the Church of Uganda's Madi West Nile Diocese

Other business and educational activities

Arua Campus of the Makerere University Business School
Uganda Christian University Arua Campus in Ringili at St. Paul's Theological College
Arua Campus of Bugema University
main campus of Muni University, the sixth public university established by the government of Uganda
Kuluva School of Nursing and Midwifery
a campus of the Islamic University in Uganda
a branch of PostBank Uganda
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, Uganda's central bank.^[16]
Arua Hospital, a 128-bed public, regional referral hospital administered by the Uganda Ministry of Health
Ragem Beach

Media

Analog broadcasts, which originate from Kampala, include WBS TV (which is currently closed), UBC TV, and NTV. In early 2014, MBC 2 was aired in Arua as a test broadcast to pave way for Vision Group's Urban TV.^[17]

Voice of Life, a Church of Uganda-founded radio station, has pioneered FM broadcasting in Arua since 1997.^[18]