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 (Aru), since the white settlers (Belgians and later British) had a detention center at Arua Hill. Location Arua District is bordered by Yumbe District to the north, Adjumani District to the northeast, Amuru District to the east, Nebbi District to the southeast, Zombo District to the southwest, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to the west, and Maracha District to the northwest. The district headquarters at Arua are located about , by road, northwest of Kampala, the capital and largest city of Uganda. The coordinates of the district are:03 00N, 31 10E. Ethnicities The predominate ethnic group in the district are the Lugbara people Overview Arua District got its name from Arua town. In the late 1970s, the Ugandan president at the time Godfrey Binaisa declared that all districts/provinces acquire their names from their regional capital so that is how Arua district inherited the name from Arua town. The district originally included Aringa County, which was later split off to become Yumbe District. The district is the birthplace of former President Idi Amin. Arua District was a springboard for some units of the Uganda People's Defense Force who entered the DRC at the beginning of the Second Congo War. Arua District is a peaceful district save for the disruption caused in the late 1990s by the Lord's Resistance Army rebels on the Karuma-Pakwach road that provides the main road link into the district. In 2005, the northeastern part of the district was split off as the separate, new district of Koboko District. Arua District has five counties after three of the original six counties were split off. Koboko was granted district status. Maracha was, in 2006, also granted district status, (Maracha District). Initially, Terego County was also included in Maracha District (Maracha-Terego District). However, failing to agree on were the new district headquarters should be located, Terego County opted to remain part of the larger Arua District. Later, Terego and Madi-Okollo were each offered district statuses effective July 2020. The remaining counties in Arua District are: Vurra and Ayivu; where the Arua District headquarters are located. Population The 1991 national population census estimated the population of