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| Uganda |

Introduction | Uganda

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

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: 25.88% permanent crops: 10.65% other: 63.47% (2001)
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

Population: | 27,269,482 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 2005 est.)
Age structure: | 0-14 years: 50.1% (male 6,875,663/female 6,784,378) 15-64 years: 47.7% (male 6,511,867/female 6,494,859) 65 years and over: 2.2% (male 263,790/female 338,925) (2005 est.)
Median age: | total: 14.97 years male: 14.87 years female: 15.08 years (2005 est.)
Population growth rate: | 3.31% (2005 est.)
Birth rate: | 47.39 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate: | 12.8 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Net migration rate: | -1.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Infant mortality rate: | total: 67.83 deaths/1,000 live births male: 71.18 deaths/1,000 live births female: 64.37 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 51.59 years male: 50.74 years female: 52.46 years (2005 est.)
Total fertility rate: | 6.74 children born/woman (2005 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 (2004)
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

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

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 (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 12 March 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); note - first popular election for president since independence in 1962 was held in 1996; prime minister appointed by the president
election results: Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI elected president; percent of vote - Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI 69.3%, Kizza BESIGYE 27.8%

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 26 June 2001 (next to be held by June 2006);
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; note - election campaigning by party was not permitted

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:

only one political organization, the Movement (formerly the NRM) [President MUSEVENI, chairman] is allowed to operate unfettered; note - the president maintains that the Movement is not a political party, but a mass organization, which claims the loyalty of all Ugandans
note: the constitution requires the suspension of political parties while the Movement organization is in governance; of the political parties that exist but are prohibited from sponsoring candidates, the most important are the Ugandan People's Congress or UPC [Milton OBOTE]; Democratic Party or DP [Paul SSEMOGERERE]; Conservative Party or CP [Ken LUKYAMUZI]; Justice Forum [Muhammad Kibirige MAYANJA]; and National Democrats Forum [Chapaa KARUHANGA]

Political pressure groups and leaders: | Popular Resistance Against a Life President or PRALP
International organization participation: | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, EADB, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Edith Grace 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 Jimmy KOLKER 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

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. Corruption within the government and slippage in the government's determination to press reforms raise doubts about the continuation of strong growth. 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. Solid growth in 2003-04 reflected an upturn in Uganda's export markets.

GDP: | purchasing power parity - $39.39 billion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: | 5% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita: | purchasing power parity - $1,500 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 35.8% industry: 20.8% services: 43.6% (2004 est.)
Investment (gross fixed): | 22.4% of GDP (2004 est.)
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: | 37.4 (1996)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 3.5% (2004 est.)
Labor force: | 12.41 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture 82%, industry 5%, services 13% (1999 est.)
Unemployment rate: | NA (2002 est.)
Budget: | revenues: $1.491 billion expenditures: $1.727 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)
Public debt: | 73.9% of GDP (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products: | coffee, tea, cotton, tobacco, cassava (tapioca), potatoes, corn, millet, pulses; beef, goat meat, milk, poultry, cut flowers
Industries: | sugar, brewing, tobacco, cotton textiles, cement, steel production
Industrial production growth rate: | 5.6% (2004 est.)
Electricity - production: | 1.775 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - production by source: | fossil fuel: 0.9% hydro: 99.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)
Electricity - consumption: | 1.401 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports: | 250 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports: | 0 kWh (2002)
Oil - production: | 0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption: | 8,750 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports: | NA
Oil - imports: | NA
Current account balance: | $-590.8 million (2004 est.)
Exports: | $621.7 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities: | coffee, fish and fish products, tea; gold, cotton, flowers, horticultural products
Exports - partners: | Kenya 13.6%, Switzerland 11.2%, Netherlands 9.8%, Belgium 8.6%, France 4.2% (2004)
Imports: | $1.306 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities: | capital equipment, vehicles, petroleum, medical supplies; cereals
Imports - partners: | Kenya 27.9%, India 8%, UAE 7.4%, South Africa 6.9%, UK 5.9%, China 5.6%, Japan 5.1%, US 4.6% (2004)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: | $1.2 billion (2004 est.)
Debt - external: | $3.865 billion (2004 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: | $1.4 billion (2000)
Currency: | Ugandan shilling (UGX)
Currency code: | UGX
Exchange rates: | Ugandan shillings per US dollar - 1,810.3 (2004), 1,963.7 (2003), 1,797.6 (2002), 1,755.7 (2001), 1,644.5 (2000)
Fiscal year: | 1 July - 30 June

Communications | Uganda

Telephones - main lines in use: | 61,000 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular: | 776,200 (2003)

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)
Radios: | 5 million (2001)
Television broadcast stations: | 8 (plus one low-power repeater) (2001)
Televisions: | 500,000 (2001)
Internet country code: | .ug
Internet hosts: | 2,692 (2004)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): | 2 (2000)
Internet users: | 125,000 (2003)

Transportation | Uganda

Railways: | total: 1,241 km narrow gauge: 1,241 km 1.000-m gauge (2003)
Highways: | total: 27,000 km paved: 1,809 km unpaved: 25,191 km (1999 est.)
Waterways: | 300 km (on Lake Victoria, 200 km on Lake Albert, Lake Kyoga, and parts of Albert Nile) (2004 est.)
Ports and harbors: | Entebbe, Jinja, Port Bell
Airports: | 29 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: | total: 4 over 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways: | total: 25 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 7 (2004 est.)

Military | Uganda

Military branches: | Ugandan Peoples' Defense Force (UPDF): Army, Marine Unit, Air Wing
Military manpower - military 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"
Military manpower - availability: | males age 18-49: 5,012,620 (2005 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: | males age 18-49: 2,889,808 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: | $170.3 million (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | 2.2% (2004)

Transnational Issues | Uganda

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 also attacked Kenyan villages across the border
Refugees and internally displaced persons: | refugees (country of origin): 184,731 (Sudan) 18,000 (Rwanda) IDPs: 1.4 million note - ongoing Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebellion, mainly in the north; LRA frequently attacks IDP camps (2004)

This page was last updated on 30 June, 2005