| Uganda |  | Click to enlarge

Introduction
Geography
People
Government
Economy
Communications
Transportation
Military
Transnational Issues

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This page was last updated on 29 March, 2006

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| Introduction | Uganda | Top of Page

Background: | 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 | Uganda | Top of Page

Location: | Eastern Africa, west of Kenya
Geographic coordinates: | 1 00 N, 32 00 E
Map references: | Africa
Area: | total: 236,040 sq km land: 199,710 sq km water: 36,330 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
Land use: | arable land: 21.57% permanent crops: 8.92% other: 69.51% (2005)
Irrigated land: | 90 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: | NA
Environment - current issues: | draining of wetlands for agricultural use; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; water hyacinth infestation in Lake Victoria; poaching is widespread
Environment - international agreements: | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification
Geography - note: | landlocked; fertile, well-watered country with many lakes and rivers

| People | Uganda | Top of Page

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) (2006 est.)
Median age: | total: 15 years male: 14.9 years female: 15.1 years (2006 est.)
Population growth rate: | 3.37% (2006 est.)
Birth rate: | 47.35 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Death rate: | 12.24 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Net migration rate: | -1.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Infant mortality rate: | total: 66.15 deaths/1,000 live births male: 69.51 deaths/1,000 live births female: 62.69 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 52.67 years male: 51.68 years female: 53.69 years (2006 est.)
Total fertility rate: | 6.71 children born/woman (2006 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | 4.1% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | 530,000 (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: | 78,000 (2003 est.)
Major infectious diseases: | degree of risk: very high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: malaria and African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) are high risks in some locations water contact disease: schistosomiasis (2005)
Nationality: | noun: Ugandan(s) adjective: Ugandan
Ethnic groups: | Baganda 17%, Ankole 8%, Basoga 8%, Iteso 8%, Bakiga 7%, Langi 6%, Rwanda 6%, Bagisu 5%, Acholi 4%, Lugbara 4%, Batoro 3%, Bunyoro 3%, Alur 2%, Bagwere 2%, Bakonjo 2%, Jopodhola 2%, Karamojong 2%, Rundi 2%, non-African (European, Asian, Arab) 1%, other 8%
Religions: | 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 | Uganda | Top of Page

Country name: | conventional long form: Republic of Uganda conventional short form: Uganda
Government type: | republic
Capital: | Kampala

Administrative divisions:

56 districts; Adjumani, Apac, Arua, Bugiri, Bundibugyo, Bushenyi, Busia, Gulu, Hoima, Iganga, Jinja, Kabale, Kabarole, Kaberamaido, Kalangala, Kampala, Kamuli, Kamwenge, Kanungu, Kapchorwa, Kasese, Katakwi, Kayunga, Kibale, Kiboga, Kisoro, Kitgum, Kotido, Kumi, Kyenjojo, Lira, Luwero, Masaka, Masindi, Mayuge, Mbale, Mbarara, Moroto, Moyo, Mpigi, Mubende, Mukono, Nakapiripirit, Nakasongola, Nebbi, Ntungamo, Pader, Pallisa, Rakai, Rukungiri, Sembabule, Sironko, Soroti, Tororo, Wakiso, Yumbe
note: as of a July 2005, 13 new districts were reportedly added bringing the total up to 69; the new districts are Amolatar, Amuria, Budaka, Butaleja, Ibanda, Kaabong, Kabingo, Kaliro, Kiruhura, Koboko, Manafwa, Mityana, Nakaseke; a total of nine more districts are in the process of being added

Independence: | 9 October 1962 (from UK)
National holiday: | Independence Day, 9 October (1962)
Constitution: | 8 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 (since seizing power 26 January 1986); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI (since seizing power 29 January 1986); Prime Minister Apollo NSIBAMBI (since 5 April 1999); 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; election last held 23 February 2006 (next to be held in 2011)
election results: Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI elected president; percent of vote - Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI 59.3%, Kizza BESIGYE 37.4%, other 3.3%

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)
elections: last held 23 February 2006 (next to be held in 2011 )
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; note - election results had not been posted as of March 2006

Judicial branch: | Court of Appeal (judges are appointed by the president and approved by the legislature); High Court (judges are appointed by the president)

Political parties and leaders:

Conservative Party or CP [Ken LUKYAMUZI]; Democratic Party or DP [Kizito SSEBAANA]; Forum for Democratic Change or FDC [Kizza BESIGYE]; Justice Forum or JEEMA [Muhammad Kibirige MAYANJA]; National Democrats Forum [Chapaa KARUHANGA]; National Resistance Movement or NRM [Yoweri MUSEVENI]; Ugandan People's Congress or UPC [Miria OBOTE]
note: a national referendum in July 2005 opened the way for Uganda's transition to a multi-party political system

Political pressure groups and leaders: | Popular Resistance Against a Life President or PRALP
International organization participation: | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, COMESA, EADB, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNOCI, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Edith G. SSEMPALA chancery: 5911 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011 telephone: [1] (202) 726-7100 through 7102, 0416 FAX: [1] (202) 726-1727
Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires William FITZGERALD embassy: 1577 Ggaba Rd., Kampala mailing address: P. O. Box 7007, Kampala telephone: [256] (41) 234-142 FAX: [256] (41) 258-451
Flag description: | six equal horizontal bands of black (top), yellow, red, black, yellow, and red; a white disk is superimposed at the center and depicts a red-crested crane (the national symbol) facing the hoist side

| Economy | Uganda | Top of Page

Economy - overview:

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.

GDP (purchasing power parity): | $46.06 billion (2005 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate): | $8.282 billion (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: | 9% (2005 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP): | $1,700 (2005 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 31.1% industry: 22.2% services: 46.9% (2004 est.)
Labor force: | 13.17 million (2005 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture 82%, industry 5%, services 13% (1999 est.)
Unemployment rate: | NA%
Population below poverty line: | 35% (2001 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: 4% highest 10%: 21% (2000)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: | 43 (1999)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 9.7% (2005 est.)
Investment (gross fixed): | 23.4% of GDP (2005 est.)
Budget: | revenues: $1.845 billion expenditures: $1.904 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)
Public debt: | 62.8% of GDP (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products: | coffee, tea, cotton, tobacco, cassava (tapioca), potatoes, corn, millet, pulses, cut flowers; beef, goat meat, milk, poultry
Industries: | sugar, brewing, tobacco, cotton textiles; cement, steel production
Industrial production growth rate: | 9% (2005 est.)
Electricity - production: | 1.729 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - consumption: | 1.448 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - exports: | 160 million kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports: | 0 kWh (2003)
Oil - production: | 0 bbl/day (2003 est.)
Oil - consumption: | 10,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)
Oil - exports: | NA bbl/day
Oil - imports: | NA bbl/day
Natural gas - production: | 0 cu m (2003 est.)
Natural gas - consumption: | 0 cu m (2003 est.)
Current account balance: | $-339 million (2005 est.)
Exports: | $768 million f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Exports - commodities: | coffee, fish and fish products, tea, cotton, flowers, horticultural products; gold
Exports - partners: | Kenya 15.4%, Netherlands 11%, Belgium 9.3%, France 4.5%, Germany 4.5%, Rwanda 4.1%, US 4% (2004)
Imports: | $1.608 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Imports - commodities: | capital equipment, vehicles, petroleum, medical supplies; cereals
Imports - partners: | Kenya 32.3%, UAE 7.3%, South Africa 6.5%, India 5.8%, China 5.6%, UK 5.1%, US 4.8%, Japan 4.8% (2004)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: | $1.45 billion (2005 est.)
Debt - external: | $4.949 billion (2005 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: | $959 million (2003)
Currency (code): | Ugandan shilling (UGX)
Exchange rates: | Ugandan shillings per US dollar - 1,780.7 (2005), 1,810.3 (2004), 1,963.7 (2003), 1,797.6 (2002), 1,755.7 (2001)
Fiscal year: | 1 July - 30 June

| Communications | Uganda | Top of Page

Telephones - main lines in use: | 71,600 (2004)
Telephones - mobile cellular: | 1.165 million (2004)

Telephone system:

general assessment: seriously inadequate; two cellular systems have been introduced, but a sharp increase in the number of main lines is essential; e-mail and Internet services are available
domestic: intercity traffic by wire, microwave radio relay, and radiotelephone communication stations, fixed and mobile cellular systems for short-range traffic
international: country code - 256; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Inmarsat; analog links to Kenya and Tanzania

Radio broadcast stations: | AM 7, FM 33, shortwave 2 (2001)
Television broadcast stations: | 8 (plus one low-power repeater) (2001)
Internet country code: | .ug
Internet hosts: | 2,496 (2005)
Internet users: | 200,000 (2005)

| Transportation | Uganda | Top of Page

Airports: | 28 (2005)
Airports - with paved runways: | total: 4 over 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2005)
Airports - with unpaved runways: | total: 24 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 7 (2005)
Railways: | total: 1,241 km narrow gauge: 1,241 km 1.000-m gauge (2004)
Roadways: | total: 70,746 km paved: 16,272 km unpaved: 54,474 km (2003)
Waterways: | on Lake Victoria, 200 km on Lake Albert, Lake Kyoga, and parts of Albert Nile (2005)
Ports and terminals: | Entebbe, Jinja, Port Bell

| Military | Uganda | Top of Page

Military branches: | Ugandan Peoples' Defense Force (UPDF): Army, Marine Unit, Air Wing
Military service age and obligation: | 18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military duty; the government has stated that recruitment below that age could occur with proper consent and that "no person under the apparent age of 13 years shall be enrolled in the armed forces"
Manpower available for military service: | males age 18-49: 5,012,620 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service: | males age 18-49: 2,889,808 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: | $192.8 million (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | 2.2% (2005 est.)

| Transnational Issues | Uganda | Top of Page

Disputes - international: | Uganda is subject to armed fighting among hostile ethnic groups, rebels, armed gangs, militias, and various government forces; Ugandan refugees have fled the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) into the southern Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo; LRA forces have attacked Kenyan villages across the border
Refugees and internally displaced persons: | refugees (country of origin): 214,673 (Sudan) 18,902 (Rwanda) 14,982 (Democratic Republic of Congo) IDPs: 1,330,000-2,000,000 note - ongoing Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebellion, mainly in the north; LRA frequently attacks IDP camps (2005)

This page was last updated on 29 March, 2006