Uganda

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 at least another 100,000 lives. During the 1990s, the government promulgated non-party presidential and legislative elections.

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

• draining of wetlands for agricultural use;
• deforestation;
• overgrazing;
• soil erosion;
• water hyacinth infestation in Lake Victoria;
• poaching is widespread

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

Environmental Modification

0-14 years:

50.6% (male 6,696,193; female 6,653,764)

15-64 years:

47.1% (male 6,199,732; female 6,233,678)

65 years and over:

2.4% (male 269,990; female 351,186) (2004 est.)

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:

0.77 male(s)/female

total population:

1 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

noun:

Ugandan(s)

adjective:

Ugandan

conventional long form:

Republic of Uganda

conventional short form:

Uganda

• 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

chief of state:

President Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI (since seizing power 26 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%

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

chief of mission:

Ambassador Jimmy KOLKER

embassy:

1577 Ggaba Rd., Kampala

mailing address:

P. O. Box 7007, Kampala

telephone:

[256] (41) 234-142

FAX:

[256] (41) 258-451

• 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

lowest 10%:

4%

highest 10%:

21% (2000)

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:

• country code - 256;
• satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Inmarsat;
• analog links to Kenya and Tanzania

total:

1,241 km

narrow gauge:

1,241 km 1.000-m gauge (2003)

total:

27,000 km

paved:

1,809 km

unpaved:

25,191 km (1999 est.)

total:

3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 5,091 GRT/5,943 DWT

by type:

roll on/roll off 3 (2003 est.)

• 18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military duty;
• the government has stated that recruitment below that age could occur with proper consent and that "no person under the apparent age of 13 years shall be enrolled in the armed forces"

• Tutsi, Hutu, Lendu, Hema, and other ethnic groups, associated political rebels, armed gangs, militias, and various government forces continue fighting in the Great Lakes region, transcending the boundaries of Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda to gain control over populated areas and natural resources;
• government heads pledge to end conflict, but localized violence continues despite UN peacekeeping efforts;
• civil conflict in Sudan has extended Sudanese rebel forces and refugees into Uganda and given shelter to Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army soldiers in Sudan;
• Kenya and Uganda are working together to stem cattle rustling and violence by Lord's Resistance Army along the border

refugees (country of origin):

184,731 (Sudan), 18,000 (Rwanda)

IDPs:

1.4 million (ongoing LRA rebellion, mainly in the north; LRA frequently attacks IDP camps) (2004)