In 1991, the national population census estimated the town's population at 2,600. In 2010, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) estimated the population at 5,000. In 2011, the UBOS put the population at about 5,400. During the first decade of the 2000s, the population of the town has fluctuated from as low as 4,500 to as high as 30,000. Several factors have contributed to the rapid increase in the population of the town, including the following: 1. The activities of the
Lord's Resistance Army forced the population out of the villages into the town due to better security in urban areas. 2. The
Karamojong attack the villages in
Amuria District to steal cattle and harm anyone who attempts to stop them. The villagers in the neighboring villages move closer to town to avoid the wrath of the cattle rustlers. 3. The congregation of many people in
IDP camps, who are not related by blood and who are idle for the most part, leads to increased sexual activity, increased birth rates and a rapid expansion in the population. 4. In mid-2007, the LRA ceased activity in Uganda and moved away to the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, but the Karamojong have continued with their cattle raids. ==Points of interest==