1982 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1982 (Wikisource)
Geography
Area
235,690 km2; 21% inland water and swamp, including territorial waters of Lake Victoria; about 21% cultivated, 13% national parks, forest, and game reserves; 45% forest, woodland, and grassland
Land boundaries
2,680 km
People and Society
Ethnic divisions
99% African, 1% European, Asian, Arab
Labor force
estimated 4.5 million, of which about 250,000 in paid labor, remaining in subsistence activities
Language
English official; Luganda and Swahili widely used; other Bantu and Nilotic languages
Literacy
about 20%-40%
Nationality
noun—Ugandan(s); adjective—Ugandan
Organized labor
125,000 union members
Population
13,651,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 3.2%
Religion
about 60% nominally Christian, 5%-10% Muslim, rest animist
Government
Branches
government that assumed power in December 1980 consists of three branches—an executive headed by a President, a National Assembly, and a judiciary; in practice President has most power
Capital
Kampala
Communists
possibly a few sympathizers
Elections
general election (held December 1980) elected present National Assembly; winning party then named President
Government leader
President Milton OBOTE
Legal system
provisional government plans to restore system based on English common law and customary law to reinstitute a normal judicial system; legal education at Makerere University, Kampala; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Member of
AFDB, Commonwealth, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD; ICAC, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, ISCON, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
National holiday
Independence Day, 9 October
Official name
Republic of Uganda
Political parties
Ugandan People's Congress (UPC), Democratic Party (DP), Uganda Patriotic Movement (UPM)
Political subdivisions
10 provinces and 34 districts
Suffrage
universal adult
Type
republic, independent since October 1962
Voting strength
(December 1980 election) 126 total elected seats—UPC 74 seats, DP 51 seats, UPM 1 seat
Economy
Agriculture
main cash crop—coffee (156,000 metric tons exported in 1981); other cash crops—tobacco, tea, sugar, fish, livestock
Electric power
228,500 kW capacity (1980); 800 million kWh produced (1980), 61 kWh per capita
Exports
$435 million (f.o.b., 1981); coffee, cotton, tea
Fiscal year
1 July-30 June
GDP
$765 million in 1981
Imports
$265 million (f.o.b., 1981 est.); petroleum products, machinery, cotton piece goods, metals, transport equipment, food
Major industries
agricultural processing (textiles, sugar, coffee, plywood, beer), cement, copper smelting, corrugated iron sheet, shoes, fertilizer
Major trade partners
UK, US, Kenya
Monetary conversion rate
78 Uganda shillings=US$1 (1981)
Communications
Airfields
40 total, 36 usable; 5 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways over 3,659 m, 4 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 12 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Civil air
4 major transport aircraft
Highways
6,763 km total; 1,934 km paved; 4,829 km crushed stone, gravel, and laterite; remainder earth roads and tracks (est.)
Inland waterways
Lake Victoria, Lake Albert, Lake Kyoga, Lake George, and Lake Edward; Kagera River and Victoria Nile
Railroads
1,216 km, meter gauge (1.00 m), single track
Telecommunications
fair system being rebuilt after war; radio-relay, wire radio communications stations in use; 46,400 telephones (0.3 per 100 popl.); 9 AM, no FM, 9 TV stations; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT station
Military and Security
Military manpower
males 15-49, about 2,949,000; about 1,586,000 fit for military service