Information about Uganda

Republic of Uganda Jamhuri ya Uganda
Flag of Uganda Flag Coat of arms
Motto "For God and My Country"
Anthem Oh Uganda, Land of Beauty
Location of Uganda
Capital		Kampala
Largest city		Kampala
Official languages		English, Swahili
Demonym		Ugandan
Government		Democratic republic
-	President	Yoweri Museveni
-	Prime Minister	Apolo Nsibambi
Independence		from the United Kingdom
-	Republic	October 9 1962
-	Water (%)	15.39
Population
-	July 2005 estimate	27,616,0001 (39th)
-	2002 census	24,442,084
GDP (PPP)		2005 estimate
-	Total	$45.97 billion  (83rd)
-	Per capita	$1,700 (153rd)
FSI (2007)		96.4 0.1 (Alert ) (15th)
HDI (2004)		0.502 (medium) (145th)
Currency		Ugandan shilling (UGX)
Time zone		EAT (UTC+3)
-	Summer (DST)	not observed (UTC+3)
Internet TLD		.ug
Calling code		+2563
1 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. 2Rank based on 2005 figures. 3 006 from Kenya and Tanzania.
2

The Republic of Uganda is a landlocked country in East Africa, bordered on the east by Kenya, the north by Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by Tanzania. The southern part of the country includes a substantial portion of Lake Victoria, within which it shares borders with Kenya and Tanzania. Uganda takes its name from the Buganda kingdom, which encompasses a portion of the south of the country including the capital Kampala.

History

Main article: History of Uganda

The earliest known human inhabitants in contemporary Uganda were hunter gatherers. Between about 2000 and 1500 years ago Bantu speaking populations, who were probably from central and western Africa, migrated to the southern parts of the country.^[1][2] These groups brought and developed ironworking skills and new ideas of social and political organization. The Empire of Kitara in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries represents the earliest forms of formal organization, followed by the kingdom of Bunyoro-Kitara, and, later, Buganda and Ankole in later centuries.^[3]

Nilotic people including Luo and Ateker entered the area from the north, probably beginning about A.D. 120. They were cattle herders and subsistence farmers who settled mainly the northern and eastern parts of the country. Some Luo invaded the area of Bunyoro and assimilated with the Bantu there, establishing the Babiito dynasty of the current Omukama (ruler) of Bunyoro-Kitara.^[4] Luo migration proceeded until the 16th century, with some Luo settling amid Bantu people in Eastern Uganda, with others proceeding to the western shores of Lake Victoria in Kenya and Tanzania. The Ateker (Karimojong and Teso) settled in the north-eastern and eastern parts of the country, and some fused with the Luo in the area north of Lake Kyoga.

Arab traders moved inland from the Indian Ocean coast of East Africa in the 1830s. They were followed in the 1860s by British explorers searching for the source of the Nile. Protestant missionaries entered the country in 1877, followed by Catholic missionaries in 1879.^[5] The United Kingdom placed the area under the charter of the British East Africa Company in 1888, and ruled it as a protectorate from 1894. As several other territories and chiefdoms were integrated, the final protectorate called Uganda took shape in 1914.

Uganda became an independent nation in 1962, with Milton Obote as Executive Prime Minister. The constitution was changed in 1963 to satisfy an alliance between Uganda People Congress and Kabaka Yekka Party, during the elections in 1962. This created a post of a titular Head of State called the President and a position of a Vice President. The UPC government appointed Edward Muteesa II, Kabaka (King) of Buganda, as the President and Commander in Chief of the armed forces. William Wilberforce Nadiope, the Kyabazing of Busoga, (paramount chief), was appointed Vice President. In 1966, Obote overthrew the king. A UPC-dominated Parliament changed the constitution, and Obote became president. The elections were suspended, ushering in an era of coups and counter-coups, which would last until the mid-1980s. Obote was deposed twice from office, both times by military coup.

Idi Amin took power in 1971, ruling the country with the military for the coming decade.^[6] Idi Amin's rule cost an estimated 300,000 Ugandans' lives. He forcibly removed the entrepreneurial Indian minority from Uganda, decimating the economy. His reign was ended after the Uganda-Tanzania War in 1979 in which Tanzanian forces aided by Ugandan exiles invaded Uganda. This led to the return of Obote, who was deposed once more in 1985 by General Tito Okello. Okello ruled for six months until he was deposed after the so called "bush war" by the National Resistance Army (NRM) operating under the leadership of the current president, Yoweri Museveni, and various rebel groups, including Federal Democratic Movement of Andrew Kayiira, and another belonging to John Nkwanga.

Museveni has been in power since 1986. In the mid to late 1990s, he was lauded by the West as part of a new generation of African leaders. His presidency has been fouled, however, by involvement in the civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and other conflicts in the Great Lakes region, as well as the civil war against the Lord's Resistance Army. In 2007, Uganda deployed soldiers to the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia.

Government

Main article: Politics of Uganda

The President of Uganda, currently Yoweri Museveni, is both head of state and head of government. The president appoints a prime minister who aids him in his tasks. The current prime minister is Apolo Nsibambi. The parliament is formed by the National Assembly, which has 303 members. Eighty-six of these members are nominated by interest groups, including women and the army. The remaining members are elected for five-year terms during general elections.

In a measure ostensibly designed to reduce sectarian violence, political parties were restricted in their activities from 1986. In the non-party "Movement" system instituted by Museveni, political parties continued to exist, but they could only operate a headquarter office. They could not open branches, hold rallies or field candidates directly (although electoral candidates could belong to political parties). A constitutional referendum cancelled this nineteen-year ban on multi-party politics in July 2005.

The presidential elections were held in February 2006. Museveni ran against several candidates, the most prominent of whom was exiled Dr. Kizza Besigye. Museveni was declared the winner in the elections, however international election observers did not condemn the election results, or endorse the electoral process. Despite technically democratic elections, harassment of opposition had started months earlier in the form of a disturbing opposition campaign, detention of activists, rape and other criminal allegations against Besigye, and use of state funds for electoral campaigning..

Museveni's tenure in office has been marred by allegations of massive corruption, embezzlement of public funds by a small section of the population and continued uncontrollable demonstrations of recent PRA suspects in court and Mabira Forest give-aways.

Geography

Main article: Geography of Uganda

Although landlocked, Uganda has access to several large water bodies, including Lake Victoria, Lake Albert, Lake Kyoga and Lake Edward. The country is located on the East African plateau, averaging about 900 metres (2,950 ft) above sea level. Although generally tropical in nature, the climate differs between parts of the country. Uganda includes several offshore islands in Lake Victoria. Most important cities are located in the south, near Lake Victoria, including the capital Kampala and the nearby city of Entebbe. Uganda also has several rivers most important of which is the White Nile, one of the world's longest rivers, whose source is Lake Victoria and whose waters pour into the Mediterranean Sea.

Districts and counties

Main articles: Districts of Uganda and Counties of Uganda

Uganda is divided into 80 districts, spread across four administrative regions: Northern, Eastern, Central and Western. The districts are subdivided into counties. A number of districts have been added in the past few years, and eight others were added on July 1, 2006.^[7] Most districts are named after their main commercial and administrative towns. Each district is divided into sub-districts, counties, sub-counties, parishes and villages.

Parallel with the state administration, five traditional Bantu kingdoms have remained, enjoying some degrees of mainly cultural autonomy. The kingdoms are Toro, Ankole, Busoga, Bunyoro and Buganda.

Economy

Main articles: Economy of Uganda and Energy in Uganda

Uganda has substantial natural resources, including fertile soils, regular rainfall, and sizable mineral deposits of copper and cobalt. The country has largely untapped reserves of both crude oil and natural gas. Agriculture is the most important sector of the economy, employing over 80% of the work force, with coffee accounting for the bulk of export revenues. Since 1986, the government (with the support of foreign countries and international agencies) has acted to rehabilitate an economy decimated during the regime of Idi Amin and subsequent civil war.

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. Ongoing Ugandan involvement in the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 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 the enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt relief initiative 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.^[8] According to IMF statistics, in 2004 Uganda's GDP per-capita reached 300 dollars, a much higher level than in the Eighties but still at half of Sub-Saharan African average income of 600 dollars per year. Total GDP crossed the 8 billion dollar mark in the same year.

With the Uganda securities exchange established in 1996, several equities have been listed. The Government has used the stock market as an avenue for privatisation. All Government treasury issues are listed on the securities exchange. The Capital Markets Authority has licensed 18 brokers, asset managers and investment advisors. As one of the ways of increasing formal domestic savings, Pension sector reform is the center of attention (2007).

Foreign Capital inflows have risen recently. There are private equity inflows and remittances from Ugandans abroad which have helped stabilised the foreign exchange rate for recent two years.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Uganda

Uganda is home to many different ethnic groups, none of whom form a majority of the population. Around forty different languages are regularly and currently in use in the country. English became the official language of Uganda after independence.

The most widely spoken local language in Uganda is Luganda, spoken predominantly in the urban concentrations of Kampala, the capital city, and in towns and localities in the Buganda region of Uganda which encompasses Kampala. The Lusoga and Runyankore languages follow, spoken predominantly in the south-eastern & south-western parts of Uganda respectively.

Swahili, a widely used language throughout eastern and central Africa, was approved as the country's second official national language in 2005,^[9] though this is somewhat politically sensitive. Though the language has not been favored by the Bantu-speaking populations of the south and southwest of the country, it is an important lingua franca in the northern regions. It is also widely used in the police and military forces, which may be a historical result of the disproportionate recruitment of northerners into the security forces during the colonial period. The status of Swahili has thus alternated with the political group in power.^[10] For example, Amin, who came from the northwest, declared Swahili to be the national language.^[11]

Religion

Main article: Religion in Uganda

According to the 2002 National Census, Christians of all denominations made up 85.1% of Uganda's population. The Catholic Church has the largest number of adherents (41.9%), followed by the Anglican Church of Uganda (35.9%). The second most preferred religion of Uganda is Islam, with Muslims representing 12.1% of the population.^[12]

The Census lists only 1% of Uganda's population as following Traditional Religions, and 0.7% are classified as 'Other Non-Christians,' including Hindus. Judaism is also practiced in Uganda by a small number of native Ugandans known as the Abayudaya. One of the seven Bahá'í Houses of Worship is located on the outskirts of Kampala.

The regime of Idi Amin favoured Islam, as well as expelling many of the Asian-Ugandans who had practiced Hinduism and persecuting the Abayudaya. A significant number of Hindus returned after Museveni came to power, while the number of Abayudaya grew from a low of 300 practitioners.

HIV/AIDS

Further information: HIV/AIDS in Uganda

Uganda has seen one of the most effective national responses to the HIV/AIDS pandemic on the African continent. Following the end to the civil war in 1986, the new government created and implemented comprehensive policies that dramatically slowed the rate of new infections. In recent years, a U.S.-sponsored abstinence-only strategy has drawn criticism while critics have also questioned the statistics underlying the Ugandan success story.

Culture and sport

Main article: Culture of Uganda

Due to the large number of ethnic communities, culture within Uganda is diverse. Many Asians (mostly from India) who were expelled during the regime of Amin have returned to Uganda.

There are many sport fields, for example the Lugogo showground.

Rugby Union has experienced rapid growth in Uganda over the last decade. This development produced a major result when Uganda were victorious in the 2007 Africa Cup, beating Madagascar in the final.

On Saturday, June 2, 2007, Uganda defeated Nigeria 2-1 in the Africa Nations Cup qualifiers in Nelson Mandela Stadium, Namboole, Kampala, Uganda.^[13]

• Music of Uganda
• List of writers from Uganda

Human rights

Main article: Human rights in Uganda

Respect for human rights in Uganda has been advanced significantly since the mid-1980s. There are, however, numerous areas which continue to attract concern.

Conflict in the northern parts of the country continues to generate reports of abuses by both the rebel Lord's Resistance Army and the Ugandan army. The number of internally displaced persons is estimated at 1.4 million. Torture continues to be a widespread practice amongst security organizations. Attacks on political freedom in the country, including the arrest and beating of opposition Members of Parliament, has led to international criticism, culminating in May 2005 in a decision by the British government to withhold part of its aid to the country. The arrest of the main opposition leader Kizza Besigye and the besiegement of the High Court during a hearing of Besigye's case by a heavily armed security forces – before the February 2006 elections – led to condemnation.^[14]

Recently, grassroots organizations have been attempting to raise awareness about the children who were kidnapped by the Lord's Resistance Army to work as soldiers. Thousands of children as young as eight were captured and forced to kill. The documentary film Invisible Children illustrates the terrible lives of the children, known as night commuters, who left their villages and walked many miles each night to avoid abduction.^[15]

Freedom for homosexual relationships continues to be a matter of contention. Such relationships are illegal and denounced as a foreign import, despite the well known native traditions which predated the European colonization, such as those openly practiced at the court of the Buganda royalty.

References

See also

• Islam in Uganda
• The Uganda Scouts Association
• Military of Uganda
• List of national parks of Uganda
• List of Uganda-related topics
• Invisible Children

External links

Overviews

• BBC News Country Profile - Uganda
• [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ug.html CIA World Factbook - Uganda]
• Open Directory Project - Uganda directory category
• US State Department - Uganda includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports
• Business Anti-Corruption Portal Uganda Country Profile

News

• allAfrica.com - Uganda
• Monitor independent national newspaper
• New Vision government-owned national newspaper
• East African Business Week business news for Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi
• The Weekly Observer independent national newspaper
• Kampala Online News, commentaries and community tools
• UGPulse.com News and articles on various subjects
• My Uganda news and community

Other

• Uganda Internet Resources, Directory of Uganda Internet Resources
• Red Cross Uganda update from Red Cross
• Activities in west Uganda by mitandi.com
• Uganda Tourist Board official site
• Uganda Bureau of Statistics official site
• Uganda Travel Guide & Directory, Travel guide to Uganda

•  • [ e] Uganda-related topics
Communications Economy History Military Transport
Culture	Demographics Education Languages Healthcare Roman Catholicism Church of Uganda Islam Judaism Hinduism
Geography	Cities and towns Districts Counties National parks
Politics	Foreign relations Human rights Political parties

•  • [ e] Countries of East Africa
Djibouti Eritrea Ethiopia Kenya Somalia Tanzania Uganda

•  • [ e] Countries of Africa

Sovereign states Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Democratic Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo Comoros Cte d'Ivoire Djibouti Egypt1 Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Ethiopia Gabon The Gambia Ghana Guinea-Bissau Guinea Kenya Lesotho Liberia Libya Madagascar Malawi Mali Mauritania Mauritius Morocco Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Rwanda Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia South Africa Sudan Swaziland So Tom and Prncipe Tanzania Togo Tunisia Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe Dependencies

•  • [ e] African Union (AU)

Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Comoros Democratic Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo Cte d'Ivoire Djibouti Egypt Eritrea Ethiopia Equatorial Guinea Gabon The Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Kenya Lesotho Liberia Libya Madagascar Malawi Mali Mauritania Mauritius Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Rwanda Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic So Tom and Prncipe Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia South Africa Sudan Swaziland Tanzania Togo Tunisia Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe

•  • [ e] Commonwealth of Nations
Sovereign states	Antigua and Barbuda Australia Bahamas Bangladesh Barbados Belize Botswana Brunei Cameroon Canada Cyprus Dominica Fiji The Gambia Ghana Grenada Guyana India Jamaica Kenya Kiribati Lesotho Malawi Malaysia Maldives Malta Mauritius Mozambique Namibia Nauru New Zealand Nigeria Pakistan Papua New Guinea St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Solomon Islands South Africa Sri Lanka Swaziland Tanzania Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tuvalu Uganda United Kingdom Vanuatu Zambia
Dependencies	Australia Ashmore and Cartier Islands Australian Antarctic Territory Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Coral Sea Islands Heard Island and McDonald Islands Norfolk Island India Andaman and Nicobar Islands Lakshadweep New Zealand Cook Islands Niue Ross Dependency Tokelau United Kingdom Akrotiri and Dhekelia Anguilla Bermuda British Antarctic Territory British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Falkland Islands Gibraltar Guernsey Isle of Man Jersey Montserrat Pitcairn Islands St. Helena (including Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha) South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Turks and Caicos Islands