Uganda
Republic of Uganda conventional short form: Uganda
republicIndependence 9 October 1962 (from UK)
Uganda as the 2001 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 114 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.
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Introduction
1 fieldBackground
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.
Geography
Eastern Africa, west of Kenya
18 fieldsLand 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
Climate
- tropical;
- generally rainy with two dry seasons (December to February, June to August);
- semiarid in northeast
Elevation extremes
lowest point: Lake Albert 621 m highest point: Margherita Peak on Mount Stanley 5,110 m
Land use
arable land: 25% permanent crops: 9% permanent pastures: 9% forests and woodland: 28% other: 29% (1993 est.)
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
People
18 fieldsPer 1,000 population(2001 est.)
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.)
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.)
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 43.37 years male: 42.59 years female: 44.17 years (2001 est.)
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.)
Government
Republic; President Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI (since seizing power 29 January 1986)
20 fieldsPresidential electionpercent of vote
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
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
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]
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
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
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 has substantial natural resources, including fertile soils, regular rainfall, and sizable mineral deposits of copper and cobalt.
32 fieldsElectricity
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.
Budget
revenues: $959 million expenditures: $1.04 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY98/99 est.)
Agriculture - products
coffee, tea, cotton, tobacco, cassava (tapioca), potatoes, corn, millet, pulses; beef, goat meat, milk, poultry
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)
Communications
10 fieldsTelephone 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
Transportation
9 fieldsRailways
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
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 - 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.)
Military
Army, Air Wing, Marine Unit
5 fieldsTransnational Issues
1 fieldDisputes - 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
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Uganda.” The World Factbook 2001. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/uganda/2001.