Uganda country profile, Tina

Country Profile: Uganda

• Official country name: Republic of Uganda
  

  
   

Physical Geography

• Climate: tropical; generally rainy with two dry seasons (December to February, June to August); semiarid in northeast
  

Map

• Location: Eastern Africa, west of Kenya
  

  1 00 N, 32 00 E
  

• Border countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 765 km, Kenya 933 km, Rwanda 169 km, Sudan 435 km, Tanzania 396 km
  
• total: 241,038 sq km
  
• land: 197,100 sq km
  
• water: 43,938 sq km
  

 

Political Geography

• Type of government: republic
  
• Major political parties: 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 Resistance Movement or NRM [Yoweri MUSEVENI]; Peoples Progressive Party or PPP [Bidandi SSALI]; Ugandan People's Congress or UPC [Miria OBOTE]
  
• Capital: Kampala
  
• International Organization participation: ACP, AfDB, AU, C, COMESA, EAC, EADB, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURCAT, NAM, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
  

 

Cultural Geography

• Official language: English
  
• Other languages spoken: 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
  
• Population: 32,369,558
  
  • Age structure:
    

  0-14 years: 50% (male 8,152,830/female 8,034,366)
  

  15-64 years: 47.9% (male 7,789,209/female 7,703,143)
  

  65 years and over: 2.1% (male 286,693/female 403,317)
  

- Population growth rate: 2.692%

• Major(large) cities:
  
• Infant mortality rate: 64.82 deaths/1,000 live births
  
• Average life expectancy: 52.72 years
  
• Religion: 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%
  

 

Economic Geography

• GDP: $40.08 billion
  
• Percent of arable land used for agriculture:
  
• Natural resources: copper, cobalt, hydropower, limestone, salt, arable land, gold
  
• Currency: Ugandan shillings (UGX) per US dollar - 1,658.1
  

 

Historical events:

1500 - Bito dynasties of Buganda, Bunyoro and Ankole founded by Nilotic-speaking immigrants from present-day southeastern Sudan.

British influence

1877 - Members of the British Missionary Society arrive in Buganda.

1890 - Britain and Germany sign treaty giving Britain rights to what was to become Uganda.

1894 - Uganda becomes a British protectorate.

1958 - Uganda given internal self-government.

1962 - Uganda becomes independent with Milton Obote as prime minister and with Buganda enjoying considerable autonomy.

1963 - Uganda becomes a republic with Mutesa as president.

1967 - New constitution vests considerable power in the president and divides Buganda into four districts.

Idi Amin years

1976 - Idi Amin declares himself president for life and claims parts of Kenya.

Milton Obote becomes president after elections.

1985 - Obote deposed in military coup and is replaced by Tito Okello.

1986 - National Resistance Army rebels take Kampala and install Yoweri Museveni as president.

Beginnings of recovery

2001 January - East African Community (EAC) inaugurated in Arusha, Tanzania, laying groundwork for common East African passport, flag, economic and monetary integration. Members are Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya.

Campaign against rebels

2002 March - Sudan, Uganda sign agreement aimed at containing Ugandan rebel group, Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), active along common border. Kony they have kidnapped thousands of children and displaced many civilians.

2002 December - Peace deal signed with Uganda National Rescue Front (UNRF) rebels after more than five years of negotiations.

2006 November - Government rejects a United Nations report accusing the army of using indiscriminate and excessive force in its campaign to disarm tribal warriors in the lawless northeastern region of Karamoja.

The UN World Food Programme says it will have to halve food handouts to more than 1 million people displaced by war in the north.

2009 February - Opposition criticises appointment of president's wife Janet Museveni as minister for Karamoja region. President says no one else wanted the job.

References:

CAI World factbook:

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ug.html

BBC Timeline Uganda:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/country_profiles/1069181.stm