Uganda

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

agricultural land:

71.2% (2011 est.)

arable land:

34.3% (2011 est.) / permanent crops: 11.3% (2011 est.) / permanent pasture: 25.6% (2011 est.)

forest:

14.5% (2011 est.)

other:

14.3% (2011 est.)

• population density is relatively high in comparison to other African nations;
• most of the population is concentrated in the central and southern parts of the country, particularly along the shores of Lake Victoria and Lake Albert;
• the northeast is least populated

• droughts;
• floods;
• earthquakes;
• landslides;
• hailstorms

• draining of wetlands for agricultural use;
• deforestation;
• overgrazing;
• soil erosion;
• water pollution from industrial discharge and water hyacinth infestation in Lake Victoria;
• widespread poaching

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

noun:

Ugandan(s)

adjective:

Ugandan

0-14 years:

47.84% (male 9,753,880 /female 9,789,455)

15-24 years:

21.04% (male 4,250,222 /female 4,347,313)

25-54 years:

26.52% (male 5,422,096 /female 5,412,112)

55-64 years:

2.64% (male 522,637 /female 554,287)

65 years and over:

1.96% (male 351,481 /female 450,266) (2018 est.)

total dependency ratio:

101.6 (2015 est.)

youth dependency ratio:

97.2 (2015 est.)

elderly dependency ratio:

4.4 (2015 est.)

potential support ratio:

22.8 (2015 est.)

• population density is relatively high in comparison to other African nations;
• most of the population is concentrated in the central and southern parts of the country, particularly along the shores of Lake Victoria and Lake Albert;
• the northeast is least populated

at birth:

1.02 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

0-14 years:

1 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

15-24 years:

0.98 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

25-54 years:

1 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

55-64 years:

0.93 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

65 years and over:

0.79 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

total population:

0.99 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

degree of risk:

very high (2016)

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever (2016)

vectorborne diseases:

malaria, dengue fever, and trypanosomiasis-Gambiense (African sleeping sickness) (2016)

water contact diseases:

schistosomiasis (2016)

animal contact diseases:

rabies (2016)

conventional long form:

Republic of Uganda

conventional short form:

Uganda

etymology:

• from the name "Buganda," adopted by the British as the designation for their East African colony in 1894;
• Buganda had been a powerful East African state during the 18th and 19th centuries

name:

Kampala

geographic coordinates:

0 19 N, 32 33 E

time difference:

UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

history:

several previous; latest adopted 27 September 1995, promulgated 8 October 1995 (2018)

amendments:

• proposed by the National Assembly;
• passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote of the Assembly membership in the second and third readings;
• proposals affecting "entrenched clauses" including the sovereignty of the people, supremacy of the constitution, human rights and freedoms, the democratic and multiparty form of government, presidential term of office, independence of the judiciary, and the institutions of traditional or cultural leaders also requires passage by referendum, ratification by at least two-thirds majority vote of district council members in at least two-thirds of Uganda's districts, and assent by the president of the republic;
• amended many times, last in 2017 (2018)

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent or grandparent must be a native-born citizen of Uganda

dual citizenship recognized:

yes

residency requirement for naturalization:

an aggregate of 20 years and continuously for the last 2 years prior to applying for citizenship

highest courts:

Supreme Court of Uganda (consists of the chief justice and at least 6 justices)

judge selection and term of office:

• justices appointed by the president of the republic in consultation with the Judicial Service Commission, an 8-member independent advisory body, and approved by the National Assembly;
• justices serve until mandatory retirement at age 70

subordinate courts:

• Court of Appeal (also acts as the Constitutional Court);
• High Court (includes 12 High Court Circuits and 8 High Court Divisions);
• Industrial Court;
• Chief Magistrate Grade One and Grade Two Courts throughout the country;
• qadhis courts;
• local council courts;
• family and children courts

head of government:

• President Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI (since seizing power on 26 January 1986);
• Vice President Edward SSEKANDI (since 24 May 2011);
• Prime Minister Ruhakana RUGUNDA (since 19 September 2014);
• First Deputy Prime Minister Moses ALI (since 6 June 2016);
• Second Deputy Prime Minister Kirunda KIVEJINJA (since 6 June 2016)

cabinet:

Cabinet appointed by the president from among elected members of the National Assembly or persons who qualify to be elected as members of the National Assembly

elections/appointments:

• president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (no term limits);
• election last held on 18 February 2016 (next to be held in 2021)

election results:

Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI reelected president in the first round; percent of vote - Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI (NRM) 60.6%, Kizza BESIGYE (FDC) 35.6%, other 3.8%

head of state:

• President Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI (since seizing power on 26 January 1986);
• Vice President Edward SSEKANDI (since 24 May 2011);
• note - the president is both head of state and head of government

• Conservative Party or CP [Ken LUKYAMUZI]
• Democratic Party or DP [Norbert MAO]
• Forum for Democratic Change or FDC [Patrick Oboi AMURIAT]
• Justice Forum or JEEMA [Asuman BASALIRWA]
• National Resistance Movement or NRM [Yoweri MUSEVENI]
• Uganda People's Congress or UPC [James AKENA]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Mull Sebujja KATENDE (since 8 September 2017)

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 Deborah R. MALAC (since 27 February 2016)

embassy:

1577 Ggaba Road, Kampala

mailing address:

P.O. Box 7007, Kampala

telephone:

[256] 414-306001

FAX:

[256] 414-306-009

• six equal horizontal bands of black (top), yellow, red, black, yellow, and red;
• a white disk is superimposed at the center and depicts a grey crowned crane (the national symbol) facing the hoist side;
• black symbolizes the African people, yellow sunshine and vitality, red African brotherhood;
• the crane was the military badge of Ugandan soldiers under the UK

name:

Oh Uganda, Land of Beauty!

lyrics/music:

George Wilberforce KAKOMOA

note: adopted 1962

agriculture:

71%

industry:

7%

services:

22% (2013 est.)

lowest 10%:

36.1% (2009 est.)

highest 10%:

36.1% (2009 est.)

general assessment:

• in recent years, telecommunications infrastructure has developed through private partnerships;
• private companies have laid over 1,800 km of fiber optics in Uganda since 2015;
• as of 2018, fixed fiber backbone infrastructure is available in over half of Uganda’s districts;
• mobile phone companies now provide 4G networks across all major cities and national parks, while offering 3G coverage in second-tier cities and most rural areas with road access;
• between 2016 and 2018, commercial Internet services dropped in price from $300/Mbps to $80/Mbps. (2018) (2018)

domestic:

• intercity traffic by wire, microwave radio relay, and radiotelephone communication stations, fixed-line and mobile- cellular systems for short-range traffic;
• mobile-cellular teledensity about 65 per 100 persons (September 2017) (2018)

international:

• country code - 256;
• satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Inmarsat;
• analog and digital links to Kenya and Tanzania (2018)

• public broadcaster, Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC), operates radio and TV networks;
• 31 Free-To-Air (FTA) TV stations, 2 digital terrestrial TV stations, 3 cable TV stations, and 5 digital satellite TV stations;
• 258 operational FM stations (2017)

number of registered air carriers:

1 (2015)

inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 1 (2015)

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

41,812 (2015)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

23,472 mt-km (2015)

total:

1,244 km (2014)

narrow gauge:

1,244 km 1.000-m gauge (2014)

total:

20,544 km (excludes local roads) (2017)

paved:

4,257 km (2017)

unpaved:

16,287 km (2017)

total:

1 (2017)

by type:

bulk carrier 1 (2017)

• 18-26 years of age for voluntary military duty;
• 18-30 years of age for professionals;
• no conscription;
• 9-year service obligation;
• the government has stated that while recruitment under 18 years of age could occur with proper consent, "no person under the apparent age of 18 years shall be enrolled in the armed forces";
• Ugandan citizenship and secondary education required (2012)

al-Shabaab:

aim(s): punish Ugandan Government for participating in African Union military operations against al-Shabaab; compel Uganda to withdraw forces from Somalia

area(s) of operation:

aspires to renew attacks in Kampala; no permanent presence (April 2018)