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Uganda

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: African Countries;
Countries

   SOS Children works in Uganda. For more information see SOS Children in
   Uganda, Africa
                            Republic of Uganda
   Jamhuri ya Uganda

   Flag of Uganda Coat of arms of Uganda
   Flag           Coat of arms
   Motto: "For God and My Country"
   Anthem: Oh Uganda, Land of Beauty
   Location of Uganda
   Capital
   (and largest city)    Kampala
                         0°19′N 32°35′E
    Official languages   English, Swahili
   Government            Democratic republic
    - President          Yoweri Museveni
    - Prime Minister     Apolo Nsibambi
       Independence      from the United Kingdom
    - Republic           October 9, 1962
                                   Area
    - Total              236,040 km² ( 81st)
                         91,136 sq mi
    - Water (%)          15.39
                                Population
    - July 2005 estimate 27,616,000^1 ( 39th)
    - 2002 census        24,442,084
    - Density            119/km² ( 82nd^2)
                         308/sq mi
        GDP ( PPP)       2005 estimate
    - Total              $45.97 billion ( 83rd)
    - Per capita         $1,700 ( 153rd)
        HDI  (2003)      0.508 (medium) ( 144th)
         Currency        Ugandan shilling ( UGX)
         Time zone       EAT ( UTC+3)
    - Summer ( DST)      not observed ( UTC+3)
       Internet TLD      .ug
       Calling code      +256^3
   ^1 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.
   ^2Rank based on 2005 figures.
   ^3 006 from Kenya and Tanzania.

   Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a country in East Africa,
   bordered on the east by Kenya, the north by Sudan, on the west by the
   Democratic Republic of Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the
   south by Tanzania. The southern part of the country includes a
   substantial portion of Lake Victoria, within which it shares borders
   with Kenya and Tanzania. Uganda takes its name from the Buganda
   kingdom, which encompasses a portion of the south of the country
   including the capital Kampala.

History

   The earliest human inhabitants in contemporary Uganda were
   hunter-gatherers. Between about 2000 and 1500 years ago Bantu speaking
   populations, who were probably from central and western Africa,
   migrated into the southern parts of the country. These settlers brought
   and developed agriculture, ironworking skills and new ideas of social
   and political organization. The Kingdom of Buganda and that of
   Bunyoro-Kitara represent some of the earliest forms of formal
   organization. By the fifteenth/sixteenth centuries there were
   centralized kingdoms in Buganda, Bunyoro-Kitara and Ankole. Other
   kingdoms developed by way of secession, such as Toro, while other
   groups were organized as fiefdoms of clans, such as the Busoga.

   Nilotic people including Luo and Ateker entered the area from the
   north, probably beginning about A.D. 100. They were cattle herders and
   subsistence farmers who settled mainly the northern and eastern parts
   of the country. Some Luo invaded the area of Bunyoro and assimilated
   with the Bantu there, establishing the Babiito dynasty of the current
   Omukama (ruler) of Bunyoro-Kitara. Luo migration proceeded until the
   16th century, with some Luo settling amid Bantu people in Eastern
   Uganda, with others proceeding to the western shores of Lake Victoria
   in Kenya and Tanzania. The Ateker ( Karimojong and Teso) settled in the
   north-eastern and eastern parts of the country, and some fused with the
   Luo in the area north of Lake Kyoga.

   Arab traders moved inland from the Indian Ocean coast of East Africa in
   the 1830s. They were followed in the 1860s by British explorers
   searching for the source of the Nile. Protestant missionaries entered
   the country in 1877, followed by Catholic missionaries in 1879. The
   United Kingdom placed the area under the charter of the British East
   Africa Company in 1888, and ruled it as a protectorate from 1894. As
   several other territories and chiefdoms were integrated, the final
   protectorate called Uganda took shape in 1914.

   Uganda became an independent nation in 1962, with Edward Muteesa II,
   the Kabaka (King) of Buganda as the President and Commander in Chief of
   the armed forces, and Milton Obote as Prime Minister. In 1966, Obote
   overthrew the constitution and declared himself president, ushering in
   an era of coups and counter-coups which would last until the mid-1980s.
   Obote was deposed twice from office, both times by military coup
   d'etat.

   Idi Amin took power in 1971, ruling the country with the military for
   the coming decade. Idi Amin's rule cost an estimated 300,000 Ugandans'
   lives. He forcibly removed the entrepreneurial Indian minority from
   Uganda, decimating the economy. His reign was ended after an invasion
   by Tanzanian forces aided by Ugandan exiles in 1979. The situation
   improved little with the return of Obote, who was deposed once more in
   1985 by General Tito Okello. Okello ruled for six months until he was
   overthrown after the so called " bush war" by the National Resistance
   Army (NRM) operating under the leadership of the current president,
   Yoweri Museveni.

   Museveni has been in power since 1986. In the mid to late 1990s, he was
   lauded by the West as part of a new generation of African leaders. His
   presidency has been marred, however, by involvement in civil war in the
   Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and other Great Lakes region
   conflicts, not to mention widespread accusations of endemic corruption.
   Rebellion in the north continues to perpetuate one of the world's worst
   humanitarian emergencies.

Politics

   Yoweri Museveni, President of Uganda.
   Enlarge
   Yoweri Museveni, President of Uganda.

   The President of Uganda, currently Yoweri Museveni, is both head of
   state and head of government. The president appoints a prime minister
   who aids him in his tasks. The current prime minister is Apolo
   Nsibambi. The parliament is formed by the National Assembly, which has
   303 members. Eighty-six of these members are nominated by interest
   groups, including women and the army. The remaining members are elected
   for five-year terms during general elections.

   In a measure ostensibly designed to reduce sectarian violence,
   political parties were restricted in their activities from 1986. In the
   non-party "Movement" system instituted by Museveni, political parties
   continued to exist but could not campaign in elections or field
   candidates directly (although electoral candidates could belong to
   political parties). A constitutional referendum cancelled this
   nineteen-year ban on multi-party politics in July 2005.

   The presidential elections were held in February 2006. Museveni ran
   against several candidates, the most prominent of whom was exiled Dr.
   Kizza Besigye. Museveni was declared the winner in the elections,
   however international election observers did not condemn the election
   results, or endorse the electoral process. Despite technically
   democratic elections, harassment of opposition had started months
   earlier in the form of disturbing of opposition campaign, detention of
   activists, rape and other criminal allegations against Besigye and use
   of state funds for electoral campaigning.

Geography

   Although landlocked, Uganda has access to several large water bodies,
   including Lake Victoria, Lake Albert, Lake Kyoga and Lake Edward. The
   country is located on the East African plateau, averaging about 900
   metres (2,950  ft) above sea level. Although generally tropical in
   nature, the climate differs between parts of the country. Uganda
   includes several offshore islands in Lake Victoria. Most important
   cities are located in the south, near Lake Victoria, including the
   capital Kampala and the nearby city of Entebbe.

Administrative divisions

   Map of Uganda
   Enlarge
   Map of Uganda

   Uganda is divided into seventy districts, spread across four
   administrative regions: Northern, Eastern, Central and Western. The
   districts are subdivided into counties. A number of districts have been
   added in the past few years, and eight others were added on July 1,
   2006. Most districts are named after their main commercial and
   administrative towns. Each district is divided into sub-districts,
   counties, sub-counties like Rukoni, parishes and villages.

Economy

   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, with coffee accounting for the bulk of export
   revenues. Since 1986, the government (with the support of foreign
   countries and international agencies) has acted to rehabilitate an
   economy decimated during the regime of Idi Amin and subsequent civil
   war.

   During 1990-2001, 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 the
   enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt relief initiative
   worth $1.3 billion and Paris Club debt relief worth $145 million. These
   amounts combined with the original HIPC debt relief added up to about
   $2 billion. Growth for 2001-02 was solid despite continued decline in
   the price of coffee, Uganda's principal export. According to IMF
   statistics, in 2004 Uganda's GDP per-capita reached 300 dollars, a much
   higher level than in the Eighties but still at half of Sub-Saharan
   African average income of 600 dollars per year. Total GDP crossed the 8
   billion dollar mark in the same year.

Demographics

   Ethnolinguistic map of Uganda.
   Enlarge
   Ethnolinguistic map of Uganda.

   Uganda is home to many different ethnic groups, none of whom form a
   majority of the population. Around forty different languages are
   regularly and currently in use in the country. English became the
   official language of Uganda after independence.

   The most widely spoken language in Uganda is Luganda, spoken
   predominantly in the urban concentrations of Kampala, the capital city,
   and in towns and localities in the Buganda region of Uganda which
   encompasses Kampala. This is also the primary language through which
   commercial transactions are coordinated, in large part because over 50%
   of Ugandan commerce is transacted in Kampala. The Ateso language
   follows, spoken by about 4.2 million people covering seven Districts in
   the Eastern part of the country.

   Swahili, a widely used language throughout eastern and central Africa,
   has had little relevance in Uganda where it has been used primarily in
   military circles and in the police. Though important in Kenya and
   Tanzania, Swahili has not been accepted in Uganda. Although few people
   in Uganda speak it, the decision by Parliament to make Swahili a second
   official national language was perhaps motivated by the intentions of
   politicians to continue efforts to compel Ugandans to speak it.
   Uganda's 1995 constitution did not originally recognize the official
   and national status of Swahili as it was controversial and many
   delegates voted it down, though many people made attempts to introduce
   it as a second national language. The parliament voted in September
   2005 to once again make Swahili the country's second official national
   language.

   The average age in Uganda is 15, the lowest in the world.

Religion

   Muslim traders and Christian missionaries first arrived in the 1860s,
   attempting to convert the Bugandan king.

   The National Census of October 2002 resulted in the clearest and most
   detailed information yet gathered on the religious composition of
   Uganda. According to the Census, Christians of all denominations made
   up 85.1% of Uganda's population. The Catholic Church has the largest
   number of adherents (41.9%), followed by the Anglican Church of Uganda,
   a part of the worldwide Anglican communion (35.9%). Minor Christian
   groups include Pentecostals (4.6%) and Seventh-Day Adventists (1.5%),
   while 1.0% were grouped under the category "Other Christians".

   The second most popular religion of Uganda is Islam, with Muslims
   representing 12.1% of the population, according to the Census. The CIA
   Factbook estimate for the number of Muslims is 16%. While Muslims today
   appear to be experiencing some degree of discrimination, they were in
   the seventies the most favoured group under the rule of President Idi
   Amin, himself a Muslim, under whose government the number of Muslims
   had significantly grown.

   Only 1% of Uganda's population follow Traditional Religions and 0.7%
   are classified as 'Other Non-Christians,' including Hindus.

   One of only seven Bahá'í Houses of Worship, known as Mother Temple of
   Africa, is located on the outskirts of Kampala.

   Judaism is also practiced in Uganda by a small number of native
   Ugandans known to most people as the Abayudaya. However, their
   population, estimated at 750 is insignificant and many Ugandans are not
   aware of this Jewish presence. Initially numbering as many as 3,000
   individuals, the community drastically shrunk in size to 300 when Idi
   Amin came to power and outlawed Judaism, destroying all the synagogues
   in the country. Since then, the community has established links to Jews
   worldwide and has grown in size and strength. They operate several
   schools which enroll Muslim, Jewish and Christian students.

AIDS-prevention

   Uganda has been hailed as a rare success story in the fight against HIV
   and AIDS, widely being viewed as the most effective national response
   to the pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa. President Museveni established
   the AIDS Control Program (ACP) within the Ministry of Health (MOH) to
   create policy guidelines for Uganda’s fight against HIV/AIDS. Uganda
   quickly realized that HIV/AIDS was more than a ‘health’ issue and in
   1992 created a “Multi-sectoral AIDS Control Approach.” In addition, the
   Uganda AIDS Commission, also founded in 1992, has been instrumental in
   developing a national HIV/AIDS policy. A variety of approaches to AIDS
   education have been employed, ranging from the promotion of condom use
   to 'abstinence only' programmes. To further Uganda's efforts in
   establishing a comprehensive HIV/AIDS program, in 2000 the MOH birth
   practicies and safe infant feeding counseling. According to the WHO,
   around 41,000 women received PMTCT services in 2001. Uganda was the
   first country to open a VCT clinic in Africa and pioneered the concept
   of voluntary HIV testing centers in Sub-Saharan Africa. The scope of
   Uganda's success has come under scrutiny from new research. Research
   published in The Lancet medical journal in 2002 questions the dramatic
   decline reported. It is claimed statistics have been distorted through
   the inaccurate extrapolation of data from small urban clinics to the
   entire population, nearly 90 per cent of whom live in rural areas.
   Also, recent trials of the HIV drug nevirapine have come under intense
   scrutiny and criticism; see this excerpt of an article from Harper's
   Magazine: Out of Control.

   US-sponsored abstinence promotions have received recent criticism from
   observers for denying young people information about any method of HIV
   prevention other than sexual abstinence until marriage. Human Rights
   Watch says that such programmes "leave Uganda’s children at risk of
   HIV". Alternatively, Human Life International says that "condoms are
   adding to the problem, not solving it" and that "The government of
   Uganda believes its people have the human capacity to change their
   risky behaviors."

Culture and sport

   A Ugandan bicycle-taxi
   Enlarge
   A Ugandan bicycle-taxi

   Due to the large number of ethnic communities, culture within Uganda is
   diverse. Many Asians (mostly from India) who were expelled during the
   regime of Amin have returned to Uganda.
     * Music of Uganda
     * List of writers from Uganda

Human rights

   Respect for human rights in Uganda has been advanced significantly
   since the mid-1980s. There are, however, numerous areas which continue
   to attract concern.

   Conflict in the northern parts of the country continues to generate
   reports of abuses by both the rebel Lord's Resistance Army and the
   Ugandan army. Torture continues to be a widespread practice amongst
   security organisations. Attacks on political freedom in the country,
   including the arrest and beating of opposition Members of Parliament,
   has led to international criticism, culminating in May 2005 in a
   decision by the British government to withhold part of its aid to the
   country. The arrest of the main opposition leader Kizza Besigye and the
   besiegement of the High Court during a hearing of Besigye's case by a
   heavily armed security forces – before the February 2006 elections –
   led to condemnation.

Geographic locale

   Flag of Sudan  Sudan
   Flag of Democratic Republic of the Congo  Democratic Republic of the
   Congo North Flag of Kenya  Kenya
   West    Flag of Uganda  Uganda     East
   South
   Flag of Rwanda  Rwanda Flag of Tanzania  Tanzania

                              Ugandan topics
   Communications • Economy • History • Military • Transport

   Politics and people
   Foreign relations • Human rights • Political parties
   Idi Amin • Milton Obote • Yoweri Museveni • Tito Okello

   Geography
   Cities and towns • Demographics • Districts and counties

   Culture
   Education • Islam • Judaism • Languages
                        Countries of East Africa
   Djibouti •

   Eritrea • Ethiopia • Kenya • Somalia • Tanzania • Uganda
    Countries of Africa
   Sovereign states:

   Algeria • Angola • Benin • Botswana • Burkina Faso • Burundi • Cameroon
   • Cape Verde • Central African Republic • Chad • Democratic Republic of
   the Congo • Republic of the Congo • Comoros • Côte d'Ivoire • Djibouti
   • Egypt ^1 • Equatorial Guinea • Eritrea • Ethiopia • France ^2 • Gabon
   • The Gambia • Ghana • Guinea-Bissau • Guinea • Kenya • Lesotho •
   Liberia • Libya • Madagascar • Malawi • Mali • Mauritania • Mauritius •
   Morocco • Mozambique • Namibia • Niger • Nigeria • Portugal ^2 • Rwanda
   • Senegal • Seychelles • Sierra Leone • Somalia • South Africa • Spain
   ^2 • Sudan • Swaziland • São Tomé and Príncipe • Tanzania • Togo •
   Tunisia • Uganda • Yemen ^3 • Zambia • Zimbabwe

   Dependencies: British Indian Ocean Territory (UK) • French Southern
   Territories (France) • Mayotte (France) • Réunion (France) • Saint
   Helena ^4 (UK)

   ^1  Partly in Asia. ^2  Mostly in Europe. ^3  Mostly in Asia.
   ^4 Includes the dependencies of Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha.
   Member states of the African Union

   Algeria • Angola • Benin • Botswana • Burkina Faso • Burundi •
   Cameroon • Cape Verde • Central African Republic • Chad • Comoros •
   Democratic Republic of the Congo • Republic of the Congo •
   Côte d'Ivoire • Djibouti • Egypt • Eritrea • Ethiopia •
   Equatorial Guinea • Gabon • The Gambia • Ghana • Guinea •
   Guinea-Bissau • Kenya • Lesotho • Liberia • Libya • Madagascar •
   Malawi • Mali • Mauritania • Mauritius • Mozambique • Namibia • Niger •
   Nigeria • Rwanda • São Tomé and Príncipe • Senegal • Seychelles •
   Sierra Leone • Somalia • South Africa • Sudan • Swaziland • Tanzania •
   Togo • Tunisia • Uganda • Western Sahara  (SADR) • Zambia • Zimbabwe
     Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC)
   Flag of the OIC

   Afghanistan • Albania • Algeria • Azerbaijan • Bahrain • Bangladesh •
   Benin • Burkina Faso • Brunei • Cameroon • Chad • Comoros •
   Côte d'Ivoire • Djibouti • Egypt • Gabon • Gambia • Guinea •
   Guinea-Bissau • Guyana • Indonesia • Iran • Iraq • Jordan • Kuwait •
   Kazakhstan • Kyrgyzstan • Lebanon • Libya • Maldives • Malaysia •
   Mali • Mauritania • Morocco • Mozambique • Niger • Nigeria • Oman •
   Pakistan • State of Palestine • Qatar • Saudi Arabia • Senegal •
   Sierra Leone • Somalia • Sudan • Surinam • Syria • Tajikistan •
   Turkey • Tunisia • Togo • Turkmenistan • Uganda • Uzbekistan •
   United Arab Emirates • Yemen

   Observer countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina • Central African Republic •
   Russia • Thailand • Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

   Observer Muslim organizations and communities:
   Moro National Liberation Front

   Observer international organizations:
   Economic Cooperation Organization • Organisation of African Unity •
   League of Arab States • Non-Aligned Movement • United Nations
   Commonwealth of Nations

   Antigua and Barbuda • Australia • Bahamas • Bangladesh • Barbados •
   Belize • Botswana • Brunei • Cameroon • Canada • Cyprus • Dominica •
   Fiji • The Gambia • Ghana • Grenada • Guyana • India • Jamaica • Kenya
   • Kiribati • Lesotho • Malawi • Malaysia • Maldives • Malta • Mauritius
   • Mozambique • Namibia • Nauru • New Zealand • Nigeria • Pakistan •
   Papua New Guinea • Saint Kitts and Nevis • Saint Lucia • Saint Vincent
   and the Grenadines • Samoa • Seychelles • Sierra Leone • Singapore •
   Solomon Islands • South Africa • Sri Lanka • Swaziland • Tanzania •
   Tonga • Trinidad and Tobago • Tuvalu • Uganda • United Kingdom •
   Vanuatu • Zambia
        Niger-Congo-speaking nations
   class="navbox collapsible autocollapse"
                 Kordofanian
   Flag of Sudan  Sudan
                                     Mande
   Flag of The Gambia  The Gambia • Flag of Guinea  Guinea • Flag of
   Guinea-Bissau  Guinea-Bissau • Flag of Mali  Mali • Flag of Mauritania
    Mauritania • Flag of Senegal  Senegal • Flag of Sierra Leone  Sierra
   Leone
                                   Atlantic-Congo
   Atlantic

   Flag of Benin  Benin • Flag of Burkina Faso  Burkina Faso • Flag of
   Cameroon  Cameroon • Flag of Central African Republic  Central African
   Republic • Flag of Chad  Chad • Flag of Côte d'Ivoire  Côte d'Ivoire •
   Flag of The Gambia  The Gambia • Flag of Guinea  Guinea • Flag of
   Guinea-Bissau  Guinea-Bissau • Flag of Liberia  Liberia • Flag of Mali
    Mali • Flag of Mauritania  Mauritania • Flag of Niger  Niger • Flag of
   Senegal  Senegal • Flag of Sierra Leone  Sierra Leone • Flag of Sudan
   Sudan • Flag of Togo  Togo

   Ijoid: Flag of Nigeria  Nigeria - Dogon: Flag of Mali  Mali
                                    Volta-Congo
   Senufo: Flag of Benin  Benin • Flag of Côte d'Ivoire  Côte d'Ivoire •
   Flag of Mali  Mali

   Gur: Flag of Benin  Benin • Flag of Burkina Faso  Burkina Faso • Flag
   of Côte d'Ivoire  Côte d'Ivoire • Flag of Ghana  Ghana • Flag of Mali
   Mali • Flag of Nigeria  Nigeria • Flag of Togo  Togo

   Adamawa-Ubangi: Flag of Cameroon  Cameroon • Flag of Central African
   Republic  Central African Republic • Flag of Chad  Chad • Flag of
   Nigeria  Nigeria

   Kru: Flag of Burkina Faso  Burkina Faso • Flag of Côte d'Ivoire  Côte
   d'Ivoire • Flag of Liberia  Liberia

   Kwa: Flag of Benin  Benin • Flag of Côte d'Ivoire  Côte d'Ivoire • Flag
   of Ghana  Ghana • Flag of Nigeria  Nigeria • Flag of Togo  Togo
                                   Benue-Congo
   Bantu

   Flag of Angola  Angola • Flag of Botswana  Botswana • Flag of Burundi
   Burundi • Flag of Cameroon  Cameroon • Flag of Democratic Republic of
   the Congo  Democratic Republic of the Congo • Flag of Republic of the
   Congo  Republic of the Congo • Flag of Equatorial Guinea  Equatorial
   Guinea • Flag of Gabon  Gabon • Flag of Kenya  Kenya • Flag of Nigeria
    Nigeria • Flag of Malawi  Malawi • Flag of Mozambique  Mozambique •
   Flag of Namibia  Namibia • Flag of Rwanda  Rwanda • Flag of Somalia
   Somalia • Flag of South Africa  South Africa • Flag of Swaziland
   Swaziland • Flag of Tanzania  Tanzania • Flag of Uganda  Uganda • Flag
   of Zambia  Zambia • Flag of Zimbabwe  Zimbabwe

   Yoruba and Igbo: Flag of Nigeria  Nigeria

   |}
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