Uganda
achieved
independence from the
UK
in 1962. The dictatorial regime of Idi AMIN (1971-79) was responsible for the
deaths of some 300,000 opponents; guerrilla war and human rights abuses under
Milton OBOTE (1980-85) claimed at least another 100,000 lives. During the
1990s, the government promulgated non-party presidential and legislative
elections.
Geography of Uganda
Location:
Eastern Africa, west of
Kenya
Coordinates:
1 00 N, 32 00 E
Area:
total: 236,040 sq km water: 36,330 sq km land: 199,710 sq km
Area comparative:
slightly smaller than Oregon
Land boundaries:
total: 2,698 km border countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 765 km, Kenya 933
km, Rwanda 169 km, Sudan 435 km, Tanzania 396 km
Coastline:
0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims:
none (landlocked)
Climate:
tropical; generally rainy with two dry seasons (December
to February, June to August); semiarid in northeast
Terrain:
mostly plateau with rim of mountains
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Lake Albert 621 m highest point: Margherita Peak on Mount
Stanley 5,110 m
Natural resources:
copper, cobalt, hydropower, limestone, salt, arable land
Environment current issues:
draining of wetlands for agricultural use; deforestation;
overgrazing; soil erosion; water hyacinth infestation in Lake
Victoria; poaching is widespread
Geography - note:
landlocked; fertile, well-watered country with many lakes
and rivers
Population of
Uganda
Population:
28,195,754 note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the
effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life
expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and
growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex
than would otherwise be expected (July 2006 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 50% (male 7,091,763/female 6,996,385) 15-64 years: 47.8% (male 6,762,071/female 6,727,230) 65 years and over: 2.2% (male 266,931/female 351,374)
Median age:
15 years
Growth rate:
3.37%
Infant mortality:
66.15 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 52.67 years male: 51.68 years female: 53.69 years
Roman Catholic 33%, Protestant 33%, Muslim 16%, indigenous
beliefs 18%
Languages:
English (official national language, taught in grade
schools, used in courts of law and by most newspapers and some radio
broadcasts), Ganda or Luganda (most widely used of the Niger-Congo languages,
preferred for native language publications in the capital and may be taught
in school), other Niger-Congo languages, Nilo-Saharan languages, Swahili,
Arabic
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 69.9% male: 79.5% female: 60.4% (2003 est.)
Government
Country name:
conventional long form: Republic
of Uganda
Government type:
republic
Capital:
Kampala
Administrative divisions:
56 districts
Independence:
9 October 1962 (from
UK
)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 9 October (1962)
Constitution:
8 October 1995; adopted by the interim, 284-member
Constituent Assembly, charged with debating the draft constitution that had
been proposed in May 1993; the Constituent Assembly was dissolved upon the
promulgation of the constitution in October 1995
Legal system:
in 1995, the government restored the legal system to one
based on English common law and customary law; accepts compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta
MUSEVENI; note - the president is both chief of state and head of government;
the prime minister assists the president in the supervision of the cabinet cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among elected
legislators elections: president reelected by popular vote for a five-year term
Legislative branch:
unicameral National Assembly (303 members - 214 directly
elected by popular vote, 81 nominated by legally established special interest
groups [women 56, army 10, disabled 5, youth 5, labor 5], 8 ex officio
members; members serve five-year terms)
Judicial branch:
Court of Appeal (judges are appointed by the president and
approved by the legislature); High Court (judges are appointed by the
president)
Economy
Uganda
has
substantial natural resources, including fertile soils, regular rainfall, and
sizable mineral deposits of copper and cobalt. Agriculture is the most
important sector of the economy, employing over 80% of the work force. Coffee
accounts for the bulk of export revenues. Since 1986, the government - with the
support of foreign countries and international agencies - has acted to
rehabilitate and stabilize the economy by undertaking currency reform, raising
producer prices on export crops, increasing prices of petroleum products, and
improving civil service wages. The policy changes are especially aimed at
dampening inflation and boosting production and export earnings. During
1990-2001, the economy turned in a solid performance based on continued
investment in the rehabilitation of infrastructure, improved incentives for
production and exports, reduced inflation, gradually improved domestic
security, and the return of exiled Indian-Ugandan entrepreneurs. In 2000,
Uganda
qualified for enhanced Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt relief worth
$1.3 billion and Paris Club debt relief worth $145 million. These amounts
combined with the original HIPC debt relief added up to about $2 billion.
Growth for 2001-02 was solid despite continued decline in the price of coffee,
Uganda's principal export. Growth in 2003-05 reflected an upturn in Uganda's
export markets.
