| Uganda |
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| Background: The colonial boundaries created by Britain to delimit Uganda grouped together a wide range of ethnic groups with different political systems and cultures. These differences prevented the establishment of a working political community after independence was achieved 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. The rule of Yoweri MUSEVENI since 1986 has brought relative stability and economic growth to Uganda. During the 1990s, the government promulgated non-party presidential and legislative elections. |
| Geography and Environmental |
Capital: name: Kampala
geographic coordinates: 0 19 N, 32 25 E
time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Area Total: 236,040 sq km |
| Area Land: 199,710 sq km |
| Area Water: 36,330 sq km |
| Area Comparative: slightly smaller than Oregon |
| Coastline: 0 km (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 |
| Elevation Extremes 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% |
| Land Use Permanent Crops: 8.92% |
| Land Use Other: 69.51% (2005) |
| Irrigated Land: 90 sq km (2003) |
| Natural Hazards: NA |
| Environment Current Issues: draining of wetlands for agricultural use; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; water hyacinth infestation in Lake Victoria; widespread poaching |
| Geography Note: landlocked; fertile, well-watered country with many lakes and rivers |
| Population |
Population: 30,262,610
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 2007 est.) |
| Age Structure 0 to 14 Years: 50.2% (male 7,646,619/female 7,538,137) |
| Age Structure 15 to 64 Years: 47.6% (male 7,231,196/female 7,185,058) |
| Age Structure 65 Years And Over: 2.2% (male 281,317/female 380,283) (2007 est.) |
| Median Age Total: 14.9 years |
| Median Age Male: 14.8 years |
| Median Age Female: 15 years (2007 est.) |
| Population Growth Rate: 3.572% (2007 est.) |
| Birth Rate: 48.12 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Death Rate: 12.64 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Sex Ratio At Birth: 1.03 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio Under 15 Years: 1.014 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio 15 to 64 Years: 1.006 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio 65 Years And Over: 0.74 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio Total Population: 1.004 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
| Infant Mortality Rate Total: 67.22 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Infant Mortality Rate Male: 70.92 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Infant Mortality Rate Female: 63.42 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
| Life Expectancy At BirthTotalPopulation: 51.75 years |
| Life Expectancy At Birth Male: 50.78 years |
| Life Expectancy At Birth Female: 52.73 years (2007 est.) |
| Total Fertility Rate: 6.84 children born/woman (2007 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.) |
| Religions: Roman Catholic 41.9%, Protestant 42% (Anglican 35.9%, Pentecostal 4.6%, Seventh Day Adventist 1.5%), Muslim 12.1%, other 3.1%, none 0.9% (2002 census) |
| 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 |
| Literacy Total Population: 69.9% |
| Literacy Male: 79.5% |
| Literacy Female: 60.4% (2003 est.) |
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 ten more districts are in the process of being added |
| 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 |
| 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 2003-06 reflected an upturn in Uganda's export markets. |
| GDP Purchasing Power Parity: $51.89 billion (2006 est.) |
| GDP Real Growth Rate: 5% (2006 est.) |
| GDP Composition By Sector Agriculture: 29.4% |
| GDP Composition By Sector Industry: 22.1% |
| GDP Composition By Sector Services: 48.5% (2006 est.) |
| Labor Force: 13.76 million (2006 est.) |
Labor Force By Occupation: agriculture: 82%
industry: 5%
services: 13% (1999 est.) |
| Unemployment Rate: NA% |
Household Income Or Consumption By Percentage Share: lowest 10%: 4%
highest 10%: 21% (2000) |
| Inflation Rate Consumer Prices: 6% (2006 est.) |
| Industries: sugar, brewing, tobacco, cotton textiles; cement, steel production |
| Industrial Production Growth Rate: 5.2% (2006 est.) |
| Energy |
| Electricity Production: 1.894 billion kWh (2004) |
| Electricity Production By Source Fossil Fuel: 0.9% |
| Electricity Production By Source Hydro: 99.1% |
| Electricity Production By Source Nuclear: 0% |
| Electricity Production By Source Other: 0% (2001) |
| Electricity Consumption: 1.596 billion kWh (2004) |
| Electricity Exports: 165 million kWh (2004) |
| Electricity Imports: 0 kWh (2004) |
| Oil Production: 0 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
| Oil Consumption: 10,890 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
| Natural Gas Production: 0 cu m (2004 est.) |
| Natural Gas Consumption: 0 cu m (2004 est.) |
| Exports: $961.7 million f.o.b. (2006 est.) |
| Exports Commodities: coffee, fish and fish products, tea, cotton, flowers, horticultural products; gold |
| Exports Partners: Belgium 11.4%, Netherlands 11.1%, France 8.2%, Germany 5.9%, Rwanda 4.6% (2005) |
| Imports: $1.945 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) |
| Imports Commodities: capital equipment, vehicles, petroleum, medical supplies; cereals |
| Imports Partners: Kenya 34.6%, UAE 8.5%, South Africa 5.7%, India 5.6%, China 5.1%, UK 4.4%, US 4% (2005) |
| Debt External: $1.456 billion (2006 est.) |
| Economic Aid Recipient: $959 million (2003) |
| Communications |
| Telephones Main Lines In Use: 100,800 (2005) |
| TelephonesMobileCellular: 1.525 million (2005) |
| Telephone System General Assessment: seriously inadequate; 2 cellular systems have been introduced, but a sharp increase in the number of main lines is essential; e-mail and Internet services are available |
| Telephone System Domestic: intercity traffic by wire, microwave radio relay, and radiotelephone communication stations, fixed and mobile cellular systems for short-range traffic |
| Telephone System 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 1 repeater) (2001) |
| Televisions: 500,000 (2001) |
| Internet Service Providers-ISPs: 2 (2000) |
| Internet Users: 500,000 (2005) |
| Transportation |
| Railways Total: 1,244 km |
| Railways Narrow Gauge: 1,244 km 1.000-m gauge (2005) |
| Waterways: on Lake Victoria, 200 km on Lake Albert, Lake Kyoga, and parts of Albert Nile (2005) |
| Airports: 31 (2006) |
| Military Expenditures Percent Of GDP: 2.2% (2006) |
| Disputes International: Uganda is subject to armed fighting among hostile ethnic groups, rebels, armed gangs, militias, and various government forces that extend across its borders; Uganda hosts 209,860 Sudanese, 27,560 Congolese, and 19,710 Rwandan refugees, while Ugandan refugees as well as members of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) seek shelter in southern Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo's Garamba National Park; LRA forces have also attacked Kenyan villages across the border |
Refugees And Internally Displaced Persons: refugees (country of origin): 212,857 (Sudan), 20,564 (Democratic Republic of Congo), 20,213 (Rwanda)
IDPs: 1.2-1.7 million (350,000 IDPs returned in 2006 following ongoing peace talks between the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and the Government of Uganda) (2006) |