| Uganda |
Introduction Geography People Government Economy Communications Transportation Military Transnational Issues

Uganda | Introduction | 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 another 100,000 lives. During the 1990s the government promulgated non-party presidential and legislative elections.

Uganda | Geography | 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: 25% permanent crops: 9% permanent pastures: 9% forests and woodland: 28% other: 29% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: | 90 sq km (1993 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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification

Geography - note: | landlocked

Uganda | People | Top of Page

Population: | 23,985,712 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 2001 est.)

Age structure: | 0-14 years: 51.08% (male 6,150,038; female 6,100,880) 15-64 years: 46.78% (male 5,613,499; female 5,607,526) 65 years and over: 2.14% (male 244,216; female 269,553) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate: | 2.93% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: | 47.52 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: | 17.97 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: | -0.29 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) note: according to the UNHCR, by the end of 1999, Uganda was host to 218,000 refugees from a number of neighboring countries, including: Sudan 200,600, Rwanda 8,000, and Democratic Republic of the Congo 8,000

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: 0.91 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate: | 91.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 43.37 years male: 42.59 years female: 44.17 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate: | 6.88 children born/woman (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | 8.3% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | 820,000 (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: | 110,000 (1999 est.)

Nationality: | noun: Ugandan(s) adjective: Ugandan

Ethnic groups: | Baganda 17%, Karamojong 12%, Basogo 8%, Iteso 8%, Langi 6%, Rwanda 6%, Bagisu 5%, Acholi 4%, Lugbara 4%, Bunyoro 3%, Batoro 3%, non-African (European, Asian, Arab) 1%, other 23%

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: 61.8% male: 73.7% female: 50.2% (1995 est.)

Uganda | Government | Top of Page

Country name: | conventional long form: Republic of Uganda conventional short form: Uganda

Government type: | republic

Capital: | Kampala

Administrative divisions: | 45 districts; Adjumani, Apac, Arua, Bugiri, Bundibugyo, Bushenyi, Busia, Gulu, Hoima, Iganga, Jinja, Kabale, Kabarole, Kalangala, Kampala, Kamuli, Kapchorwa, Kasese, Katakwi, Kibale, Kiboga, Kisoro, Kitgum, Kotido, Kumi, Lira, Luwero, Masaka, Masindi, Mbale, Mbarara, Moroto, Moyo, Mpigi, Mubende, Mukono, Nakasongola, Nebbi, Ntungamo, Pallisa, Rakai, Rukungiri, Sembabule, Soroti, Tororo

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 29 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 (276 members - 214 directly elected by popular vote, 62 nominated by legally established special interest groups and approved by the president - women 39, army 10, disabled 5, youth 5, labor 3; members serve five-year terms) elections: last held 27 June 1996 (next to be held May or June 2001); 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 National Resistance Movement or NRM [President MUSEVENI, chairman] is allowed to operate unfettered; note - the president maintains that the NRM is not a political party, but a movement which claims the loyalty of all Ugandans note: the new constitution requires the suspension of political parties while the Movement system is in governanace; 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 [Joshua S. MAYANJA-NKANGI]; Justice Forum [Muhammad Kibirige MAYANJA]; and National Democrats Forum [Chapaa KARUHANGA]

Political pressure groups and leaders: | NA

International organization participation: | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, EADB, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

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 Martin G. BRENNAN embassy: Parliament Avenue, Kampala mailing address: P. O. Box 7007, Kampala telephone: [256] (41) 259792, 259793, 259795 FAX: [256] (41) 259794

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

Uganda | Economy | 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 is the major export crop and 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. In 1990-2000, 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 enhanced HIPC debt relief worth $1.3 billion and Paris Club debt relief worth $145 million. These amounts combined with the original Highly Indebted Poor Countries HIPC debt relief add up to about $2 billion. Growth for 2001 should be somewhat lower than in 2000, because of a decline in the price of coffee, Uganda's principal export.

GDP: | purchasing power parity - $26.2 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: | 6% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita: | purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 43% industry: 17% services: 40% (1998 est.)

Population below poverty line: | 55% (1993 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: 3% highest 10%: 33.4% (1992)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 6.5% (2000)

Labor force: | 8.361 million (1993 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture 82%, industry 5%, services 13% (1999 est.)

Unemployment rate: | NA%

Budget: | revenues: $959 million expenditures: $1.04 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY98/99 est.)

Industries: | sugar, brewing, tobacco, cotton textiles, cement

Industrial production growth rate: | 7% (1999)

Electricity - production: | 1.326 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source: | fossil fuel: 0.98% hydro: 99.02% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999)

Electricity - consumption: | 1.06 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports: | 174 million kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports: | 1 million kWh (1999)

Agriculture - products: | coffee, tea, cotton, tobacco, cassava (tapioca), potatoes, corn, millet, pulses; beef, goat meat, milk, poultry

Exports: | $500.1 million (f.o.b., 1999)

Exports - commodities: | coffee, fish and fish products, tea; electrical products, iron and steel

Exports - partners: | Spain, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Hungary, Kenya (1999)

Imports: | $1.1 billion (f.o.b., 1999)

Imports - commodities: | vehicles, petroleum, medical supplies; cereals

Imports - partners: | Kenya 27.5%, US 21.2%, France 19.3, UK 5%, India 4% (1999)

Debt - external: | $3.6 billion (2000 est.)

Economic aid - recipient: | $1.4 billion (2000)

Currency: | Ugandan shilling (UGX)

Currency code: | UGX

Exchange rates: | Ugandan shillings per US dollar - 1,700 (February 2001), 1,830.4 (January 2001), 1,644.5 (2000), 1,454.8 (1999), 1,240.2 (1998), 1,083.0 (1997), 1,046.1 (1996)

Fiscal year: | 1 July - 30 June

Uganda | Communications | Top of Page

Telephones - main lines in use: | 50,074; however, 80,868 main lines were installed (1998)

Telephones - mobile cellular: | 9,000 (1998)

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: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Inmarsat; analog links to Kenya and Tanzania

Radio broadcast stations: | AM 19, FM 4, shortwave 5 (1998)

Radios: | 2.6 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations: | 8 (plus one low-power repeater) (1999)

Televisions: | 315,000 (1997)

Internet country code: | .ug

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): | 2 (2000)

Internet users: | 25,000 (2000)

Uganda | Transportation | Top of Page

Railways: | total: 1,241 km narrow gauge: 1,241 km 1.000-m gauge note: a program to rehabilitate the railroad is underway (1995)

Highways: | total: 27,000 km paved: 1,800 km unpaved: 25,200 km (of which about 4200 km are all-weather roads) (1990)

Waterways: | Lake Victoria, Lake Albert, Lake Kyoga, Lake George, Lake Edward, Victoria Nile, Albert Nile

Ports and harbors: | Entebbe, Jinja, Port Bell

Merchant marine: | total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,091 GRT/8,229 DWT ships by type: roll on/roll off note: these ships are in cargo and passenger service on Uganda's inland waterways (2000 est.)

Airports: | 28 (2000 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: | total: 4 over 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.)

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: 9 under 914 m: 8 (2000 est.)

Heliports: | 1 (2000 est.)

Uganda | Military | Top of Page

Military branches: | Army, Air Wing, Marine Unit

Military manpower - availability: | males age 15-49: 5,118,755 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service: | males age 15-49: 2,778,457 (2001 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: | $95 million (FY98/99)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | 1.9% (FY98/99)

Uganda | Transnational Issues | Top of Page

Disputes - international: | the Ugandan military is deployed to the Democratic Republic of Congo in support of rebel forces in that country's civil war; a resurvey of the latitudinal boundary with Tanzania in 2000 revealed a 300-meter discrepancy that both sides are currently adjudicating