Uganda

§1. Uganda Introduction

Background:
  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.

§2. Uganda Geography

Location:
  Eastern Africa, west of Kenya

Geographic coordinates:
  1 00 N, 32 00 E

Map references:
  Africa

Area:
  total: 236,040 kmē
  land: 199,710 kmē
  water: 36,330 kmē

Area - comparative:
  slightly smaller than Oregon

Land 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

Coastline:
  0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims:
  none (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 highest point: Margherita Peak on Mount
    Stanley 5,110 m

Natural resources:
  copper, cobalt, hydropower, limestone, salt, arable land

Land use:
  arable land: 25%
  permanent crops: 9%
  permanent pastures: 9%
  forests and woodland: 28%
  other: 29% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land:
  90 kmē (1993 est.)

Natural hazards:
  NA

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

Geography - note:
  landlocked

§3. Uganda People

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.)

Population growth rate:
  2.93% (2001 est.)

Birth rate:
  47.52 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate:
  17.97 deaths/1,000 population (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.)

Infant mortality rate:
  91.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 43.37 years male: 42.59 years
  female: 44.17 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate:
  6.88 children born/woman (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
  8.3% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
  820,000 (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
  110,000 (1999 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Ugandan(s)
  adjective: Ugandan

Ethnic groups:
  Baganda 17%, Karamojong 12%, Basogo 8%, Iteso 8%, Langi 6%, Rwanda 6%,
  Bagisu 5%, Acholi 4%, Lugbara 4%, Bunyoro 3%, Batoro 3%, non-African
  (European, Asian, Arab) 1%, other 23%

Religions:
  Roman Catholic 33%, Protestant 33%, Muslim 16%, indigenous beliefs 18%

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.)

§4. Uganda Government

Country name:
  conventional long form: Republic of Uganda
  conventional short form: Uganda

Government type:
  republic

Capital:
  Kampala

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

Independence:
  9 October 1962 (from UK)

National holiday:
  Independence Day, 9 October (1962)

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

Suffrage:
  18 years of age; universal

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]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
  NA

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
  FAX: [1] (202) 726-1727

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
  FAX: [256] (41) 259794

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

§5. Uganda Economy

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.

GDP:
  purchasing power parity - $26.2 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
  6% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita:
  purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
  agriculture: 43% industry: 17%
  services: 40% (1998 est.)

Population below poverty line:
  55% (1993 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
  lowest 10%: 3% highest 10%: 33.4% (1992)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  6.5% (2000)

Labor force:
  8.361 million (1993 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
  agriculture 82%, industry 5%, services 13% (1999 est.)

Unemployment rate:
  NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $959 million
  expenditures: $1.04 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY98/99
    est.)

Industries:
  sugar, brewing, tobacco, cotton textiles, cement

Industrial production growth rate:
  7% (1999)

Electricity - production:
  1.326 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source:
  fossil fuel: 0.98% hydro: 99.02%
  nuclear: 0%
  other: 0% (1999)

Electricity - consumption:
  1.06 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports:
  174 million kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports:
  1 million kWh (1999)

Agriculture - products:
  coffee, tea, cotton, tobacco, cassava (tapioca), potatoes, corn, millet,
  pulses; beef, goat meat, milk, poultry

Exports:
  $500.1 million (f.o.b., 1999)

Exports - commodities:
  coffee, fish and fish products, tea; electrical products, iron and steel

Exports - partners:
  Spain, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Hungary, Kenya (1999)

Imports:
  $1.1 billion (f.o.b., 1999)

Imports - commodities:
  vehicles, petroleum, medical supplies; cereals

Imports - partners:
  Kenya 27.5%, US 21.2%, France 19.3, UK 5%, India 4% (1999)

Debt - external:
  $3.6 billion (2000 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
  $1.4 billion (2000)

Currency:
  Ugandan shilling (UGX)

Currency code:
  UGX

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)

Fiscal year:
  1 July - 30 June

§6. Uganda Communications

Telephones - main lines in use:
  50,074; however, 80,868 main lines were installed (1998)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
  9,000 (1998)

Telephone 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

Radio broadcast stations:
  AM 19, FM 4, shortwave 5 (1998)

Radios:
  2.6 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
  8 (plus one low-power repeater) (1999)

Televisions:
  315,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
  .ug

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
  2 (2000)

Internet users:
  25,000 (2000)

§7. Uganda Transportation

Railways:
  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

Ports and harbors:
  Entebbe, Jinja, Port Bell

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:
  28 (2000 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
  total: 4 over 3,047 m: 3
  1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (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.)

Heliports:
  1 (2000 est.)

§8. Uganda Military

Military branches:
  Army, Air Wing, Marine Unit

Military manpower - availability:
  males age 15-49: 5,118,755 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
  males age 15-49: 2,778,457 (2001 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
  $95 million (FY98/99)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
  1.9% (FY98/99)

§9. Uganda Transnational Issues

Disputes - 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
