2000 Edition

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 has promulgated non-party presidential and legislative elections.

Area

land

199,710 sq km

total

236,040 sq km

water

36,330 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly smaller than Oregon

Climate

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

Coastline

0 km (landlocked)

Elevation extremes

highest point

Margherita Peak on Mount Stanley 5,110 m

lowest point

Lake Albert 621 m

Environment - current issues

draining of wetlands for agricultural use; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; 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

Geographic coordinates

1 00 N, 32 00 E

Geography - note

landlocked

Irrigated land

90 sq km (1993 est.)

Land boundaries

border countries

Democratic Republic of the Congo 765 km, Kenya 933 km, Rwanda 169 km, Sudan 435 km, Tanzania 396 km

total

2,698 km

Land use

arable land

25%

forests and woodland

28%

other

29% (1993 est.)

permanent crops

9%

permanent pastures

9%

Location

Eastern Africa, west of Kenya

Map references

Africa

Maritime claims

none (landlocked)

Natural hazards

NA

Natural resources

copper, cobalt, hydropower, limestone, salt, arable land

Terrain

mostly plateau with rim of mountains

Age structure

0-14 years: 51% (male 5,986,645; female 5,936,754) 15-64 years: 47% (male 5,443,613; female 5,448,563) 65 years and over: 2% (male 240,819; female 261,166) (2000 est.)

Birth rate

48.04 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate

18.44 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Ethnic groups

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

Infant mortality rate

93.25 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 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

Life expectancy at birth

female

43.67 years (2000 est.)

male

42.22 years

total population

42.93 years

Literacy

definition

age 15 and over can read and write

female

50.2% (1995 est.)

male

73.7%

total population

61.8%

Nationality

adjective

Ugandan

noun

Ugandan(s)

Net migration rate

-2.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

note

according to the UNHCR, by the end of 1998, Uganda was host to 205,000 refugees from a number of neighboring countries, including: Sudan 190,000, Rwanda 7,500, and Democratic Republic of the Congo 5,400; refugees began returning to their countries of origin in 2000

Population

23,317,560

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 2000 est.)

Population growth rate

2.72% (2000 est.)

Religions

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

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: 0.92 male(s)/female

total population

1 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Total fertility rate

6.96 children born/woman (2000 est.)

Administrative divisions

39 districts; Apac, Arua, Bundibugyo, Bushenyi, Gulu, Hoima, Iganga, Jinja, Kabale, Kabarole, Kalangala, Kampala, Kamuli, Kapchorwa, Kasese, Kibale, Kiboga, Kisoro, Kitgum, Kotido, Kumi, Lira, Luwero, Masaka, Masindi, Mbale, Mbarara, Moroto, Moyo, Mpigi, Mubende, Mukono, Nebbi, Ntungamo, Pallisa, Rakai, Rukungiri, Soroti, Tororo

Capital

Kampala

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

Country name

conventional long form

Republic of Uganda

conventional short form

Uganda

Data code

UG

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission

Ambassador Martin G. BRENNAN

embassy

Parliament Avenue, Kampala

mailing address

P. O. Box 7007, Kampala

telephone

(41) 259792, 259793, 259795

Diplomatic representation in the US

chancery

5911 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011

chief of mission

Ambassador Edith Grace SSEMPALA

telephone

(202) 726-7100 through 7102, 0416

Executive branch

cabinet

Cabinet appointed by the president from among elected legislators

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

election results

Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI elected president; percent of vote - Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI 74%, Paul Kawanga SSEMOGERERE 24%, Muhammad MAYANJA 2%

elections

president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 9 May 1996 (next to be held by 31 May 2001); note - first popular election for president since independence in 1962 was held in 1996; prime minister appointed by the president

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

FAX

(202) 726-1727

(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

Government type

republic

Independence

9 October 1962 (from UK)

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

Judicial branch

Court of Appeal, judges are appointed by the president; High Court, judges are appointed by the president

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

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)

election results

NA; note - election campaigning by party was not permitted

elections

last held 27 June 1996 (next to be held NA 2001);

National holiday

Independence Day, 9 October (1962)

Political parties and leaders

only one political organization, the National Resistance Movement or NRM is recognized; note - the president maintains that the NRM is not a political party, but a movement which claims the loyalty of all

note

of the political parties that exist but are prohibited from sponsoring candidates, the most important are the Ugandan People's Congress or UPC ; Democratic Party or DP [Paul SSEMOGERERE]; and Conservative Party or CP ; the new constitution requires the suspension of political party activity until a referendum is held on the matter in 2000

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Agriculture - products

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

Budget

expenditures

$1.04 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY98/99 est.)

revenues

$959 million

Currency

1 Ugandan shilling (USh) = 100 cents

Debt - external

$3.1 billion (1998 est.)

Economic aid - recipient

$839.9 million (1997)

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 1990-99, 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, growing corruption within the government, and slippage in the government's determination to press reforms raise doubts about the continuation of strong growth.

Electricity - consumption

622 million kWh (1998)

Electricity - exports

115 million kWh (1998)

Electricity - imports

0 kWh (1998)

Electricity - production

792 million kWh (1998)

Electricity - production by source

fossil fuel

0.88%

hydro

99.12%

nuclear

0%

other

0% (1998)

Exchange rates

Ugandan shillings (USh) per US$1 - 1,525.8 (January 2000), 1,454.8 (1999), 1,240.2 (1998), 1,083.0 (1997), 1,046.1 (1996), 968.9 (1995)

Exports

$471 million (f.o.b., 1999)

Exports - commodities

coffee, fish and fish products, tea; electrical products, iron and steel

Exports - partners

EU 51% (Netherlands 6%, Switzerland 6%, Germany 5%, Belgium 4%), Kenya 5% (1998)

Fiscal year

1 July - 30 June

GDP

purchasing power parity - $24.2 billion (1999 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture

44%

industry

17%

services

39% (1997 est.)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $1,060 (1999 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

5.5% (1999 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 3% highest 10%: 33.4% (1992)

Imports

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

Imports - commodities

vehicles, petroleum, medical supplies; cereals

Imports - partners

Kenya 12%, UK 6%, Japan 4%, India 4%, South Africa (1998)

Industrial production growth rate

9.3% (FY98/99)

Industries

sugar, brewing, tobacco, cotton textiles, cement

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

7% (1999)

Labor force

8.361 million (1993 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture 82%, industry 5%, services 13% (1999 est.)

Population below poverty line

55% (1993 est.)

Unemployment rate

NA%

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

3 (1999)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 19, FM 4, shortwave 5 (1998)

Radios

2.6 million (1997)

Telephone system

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

Telephones - main lines in use

54,074 (1998)

Telephones - mobile cellular

9,000 (1998)

Television broadcast stations

8 (plus one low-power repeater) (1999)

Televisions

315,000 (1997)

Airports

26 (1999 est.)

Airports - with paved runways

total

4 over 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (1999 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total

22 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 7 (1999 est.)

Heliports

1 (1999 est.)

Highways

paved

1,800 km

total

27,000 km

unpaved

25,200 km (of which about 4,800 km are all-weather roads) (1990 est.)

Merchant marine

ships by type

roll-on/roll-off 3 (1999 est.)

total

3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,091 GRT/8,229 DWT

Ports and harbors

Entebbe, Jinja, Port Bell

Railways

narrow gauge

1,241 km 1.000-m gauge

note

a program to rehabilitate the railroad is underway (1995)

total

1,241 km

Waterways

Lake Victoria, Lake Albert, Lake Kyoga, Lake George, Lake Edward, Victoria Nile, Albert Nile

Military branches

Army, Navy, Air Wing

Military expenditures - dollar figure

$95 million (FY98/99)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP

1.9% (FY98/99)

Military manpower - availability

males age 15-49: 4,952,945 (2000 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service

males age 15-49: 2,687,924 (2000 est.)

Disputes - international

Ugandan military forces are supporting the rebel forces in the civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

UKRAINE