Uganda
Location:
East Africa
Capital City:
Kampala
Area:
total: 241,038 sq km
land: 197,100 sq km
water: 43,938 sq km
Land boundaries:
Total: 2,729 km
border countries (5):
The Democratic Republic of the Congo 877 km,
Kenya 814 km,
Rwanda 172 km,
South Sudan 475 km,
Tanzania 391 km
Coastline: 0 km
Total: 2729 km

uganda


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:
mean elevation: NA
elevation extremes: lowest point: Albert Nile 614 m
highest point: Margherita Peak on Mount Stanley 5,110 m
Natural resources:
copper, cobalt, hydropower, limestone, salt, arable land, gold
Land use:
agricultural land: 71.2%
arable land 34.3%; permanent crops 11.3%; permanent pasture 25.6%
forest: 14.5%
other: 14.3% (2011 est.)
Irrigated land:
140 sq km (2012)
Population – distribution:
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
Natural hazards:
droughts;
floods;
earthquakes;
landslides;
hailstorms
People and Society
Uganda has one of the youngest and most rapidly growing populations in the world; its total fertility rate is among the world’s highest at 5.8 children per woman. Except in urban areas, actual fertility exceeds women’s desired fertility by one or two children, which is indicative of the widespread unmet need for contraception, lack of government support for family planning, and a cultural preference for large families. High numbers of births, short birth intervals, and the early age of childbearing contribute to Uganda’s high maternal mortality rate. Gender inequities also make fertility reduction difficult; women on average are less-educated, participate less in paid employment, and often have little say in decisions over childbearing and their own reproductive health. However, even if the birth rate were significantly reduced, Uganda’s large pool of women entering reproductive age ensures rapid population growth for decades to come.
Unchecked, population increase will further strain the availability of arable land and natural resources and overwhelm the country’s limited means for providing food, employment, education, healthcare, housing, and basic services. The country’s north and northeast lag even further behind developmentally than the rest of the country as a result of long-term conflict (the Ugandan Bush War 1981-1986 and more than 20 years of fighting between the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and Ugandan Government forces), ongoing inter-communal violence, and periodic natural disasters.
Uganda has been both a source of refugees and migrants and a host country for refugees. In 1972, then President Idi Amin in his drive to return Uganda to Ugandans expelled the South Asian population that composed a large share of the country’s business people and bankers. Since the 1970s, thousands of Ugandans have emigrated, mainly to southern Africa or the West, for security reasons, to escape poverty, to search for jobs, and for access to natural resources. The emigration of Ugandan doctors and nurses due to low wages is a particular concern given the country’s shortage of skilled health care workers. Africans escaping conflicts in neighboring states have found refuge in Uganda since the 1950s; the country currently struggles to host tens of thousands from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, and other nearby countries.
Population:
39,570,125
Nationality:
Ugandan(s)
Ethnic groups:
Baganda 16.5%, Banyankole 9.6%, Basoga 8.8%, Bakiga 7.1%, Iteso 7%, Langi 6.3%, Bagisu 4.9%, Acholi 4.4%, Lugbara 3.3%, other 32.1% (2014 est.)
Languages:
English (official national language), Ganda or Luganda (most widely used of the Niger-Congo languages), other Niger-Congo languages, Nilo-Saharan languages, Swahili, Arabic
Religions:
Protestant 45.1% (Anglican 32.0%, Pentecostal/Born Again/Evangelical 11.1%, Seventh Day Adventist 1.7%, Baptist .3%), Roman Catholic 39.3%, Muslim 13.7%, other 1.6%, none 0.2% (2014 est.)
Ugandans continued to take pride in their family histories, and government officials, like many other people, continued to consider ethnic factors in decision making. Moreover, much of Uganda’s internal upheaval traditionally was based in part on historical differences among ethnic groups. The forty or more distinct societies that constitute the Ugandan nation are usually classified according to linguistic similarities. Most Ugandans speak either Nilo-Saharan or Congo-Kordofanian languages. Nilo-Saharan languages, spoken across the north, are further classified as Eastern Nilotic (formerly Nilo-Hamitic), Western Nilotic, and Central Sudanic. The many Bantu languages in the south are within the much larger Congo-Kordofanian language grouping. Lake Kyoga in central Uganda serves as a rough boundary between the Bantu-speaking south and the Nilotic and Central Sudanic language speakers in the north.
Bantu-speakers probably entered southern Uganda by the end of the first millennium A.D. and developed centralized kingdoms by the fifteenth or sixteenth century. Bantu-language speakers comprised roughly two-thirds of the population. They were classified as Eastern Lacustrine and Western Lacustrine Bantu, referring to the populous region around East Africa’s Great Lakes (Victoria, Kyoga, Edward, and Albert in Uganda; Kivu and Tanganyika to the south). Eastern Lacustrine Bantu-speakers included the Baganda (people of Buganda, whose language is Luganda), Basoga, and many smaller societies in Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya. Western Lacustrine Bantu-speakers included the Banyoro (people of Bunyoro), Batoro, Banyankole, and several smaller populations (see fig 5). Nilotic-language speakers probably entered the area from the north beginning about A.D. 1000. They were the first catde-herding people in the area but relied on crop cultivation to supplement livestock herding for subsistence.
The largest Nilotic populations in Uganda in the 1980s were the Iteso and Karamojong cluster of ethnic groups, who speak Eastern Nilotic languages, and the Acholi, Langi, and Alur, who speak Western Nilotic languages. 50 The Society and Its Environment Central Sudanic languages, which also arrived in Uganda from the north over a period of centuries, are spoken by the Lugbara, Madi, and a few small groups in the northwestern corner of the country. One of the most recent major languages to arrive in Uganda is English. Introduced by the British in the late nineteenth century, it was the language of the colonial administration. After independence English became the official language of Uganda; it is used in government and commerce and is the primary medium of educational instruction.

Education
Children usually start at the age of three and complete nursery school by the age of six. Until recently rural areas like Katine sub-county did not have nursery schools. But more and more villagers, inspired by the early start in the education of children in towns, are wanting nurseries for their children. Katine has at least one nursery, located within the premises of a charitable organization.
In Uganda, there are seven primary school years, from primary one to primary seven. With normal annual progression, this means primary school should last seven years, but many pupils drop out part way through and return later, so it is not unusual to find teenagers sitting primary exams. At the end of primary seven, pupils sit their first major national exams – the primary leaving examinations (PLE). Presently PLE has four examinable subjects – English language, mathematics, science and social studies. The best possible mark pupils can achieve is a total of four (which means one point – a distinction – in each subject), while the worst is a total of 36 (nine points for each subject, which means a fail).
Primary school tuition has been free in government schools in Uganda since 1997. Besides government schools, there are many expensive days and boarding private schools at all levels, where wealthier or more ambitious parents send their children. Pupils who pass their PLE can progress to secondary school. This has two stages; the first four years, senior one (S1) to senior four (S4), constitute the O-level period. At the end of S4, students sit the second major national exams known as the Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) or simply O-level examinations.
Students who pass their A-levels may choose to progress to university, where they can study for degrees, or to other tertiary institutions that award diplomas and certificates. Some wealthier parents send their children to universities and colleges abroad. The government gives about 4,000 university scholarships each year and sponsors thousands of other students in other tertiary institutions. But tens of thousands of students who do not get the competitive government scholarships depend on their parents and guardians to pay their tuition and upkeep.
The University College of East Africa (founded 1921), became Makerere University in 1970. Situated on the outskirts of Kampala, it prepares students for degrees in the arts, sciences, and agriculture and for advanced diplomas in medicine, education, engineering, law, and veterinary science. Other universities include Mbale Islamic University and the Mbarara University of Science and Technology. There are also a number of religious colleges, 5 commercial colleges, 52 technical schools, and 71 colleges for teachers. In 2003, it was estimated that about 3% of the tertiary age population were enrolled in tertiary education programs. The adult literacy rate for 2004 was estimated at about 68.9%, with 78.8% for men and 59.2% for women

Economy
Uganda has substantial natural resources, including fertile soils, regular rainfall, small deposits of copper, gold, and other minerals, and recently discovered oil. Agriculture is the most important sector of the economy, employing more than one-third of the workforce. Coffee accounts for the bulk of export revenues. Uganda has a small industrial sector that is dependent on imported inputs like oil and equipment. Overall productivity is hampered by a number of supply-side constraints, including underinvestment in an agricultural sector that continues to rely on rudimentary technology.
Since 1990, economic reforms ushered in an era of solid economic growth based on continued investment in infrastructure, improved incentives for production and exports, lower inflation, and better domestic security.T he global economic downturn in 2008 hurt Uganda’s exports; however, Uganda’s GDP growth has recovered due to past reforms and a rapidly growing urban consumer population. Oil revenues and taxes are expected to become a larger source of government funding as production starts in the next five to 10 years. However, lower oil prices since 2014 and protracted negotiations and legal disputes between the Ugandan government and oil companies may prove a stumbling block to further exploration and development.
Uganda faces many economic challenges. Instability in South Sudan has led to a sharp increase in Sudanese refugees and is disrupting Uganda’s main export market. High energy costs, inadequate transportation and energy infrastructure, insufficient budgetary discipline, and corruption inhibit economic development and investor confidence. Between 2015 and 2017, the Uganda shilling depreciated 50% against the dollar. The budget is dominated by energy and road infrastructure spending, while relying on donor support for long-term drivers of growth, including agriculture, health, and education. The largest infrastructure projects are externally financed through low-interest concessional loans. As a result, debt servicing for these loans is expected to rise.
Uganda has a large diaspora, residing mainly in the United States and the United Kingdom. This diaspora has contributed enormously to Uganda’s economic growth through remittances and other investments (especially property). According to the World Bank, Uganda received in 2016 the estimated US $1.099 billion in remittances from abroad, second only to Kenya $1.574 billion in the East African Community. Uganda also serves as an economic hub for a number of neighboring countries like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, and Rwanda.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$88.61 billion (2017 est.)
$84.84 billion (2016 est.)
$82.91 billion (2015 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate):
$26.39 billion (2017 est.)
GDP – real growth rate:
4.4% (2017 est.)
2.3% (2016 est.)
5.7% (2015 est.)
GDP – per capita (PPP):
$2,400 (2017 est.)
$2,300 (2016 est.)
$2,300 (2015 est.)
Gross national saving:
19.8% of GDP (2017 est.)
20.1% of GDP (2016 est.)
17.7% of GDP (2015 est.)
GDP – composition, by sector of origin:
agriculture: 24.5%
industry: 23.2%
services: 52.3% (2017 est.)
Agriculture – products:
coffee, tea, cotton, tobacco, cassava (manioc, tapioca), potatoes, corn, millet, pulses, cut flowers; beef, goat meat, milk, poultry, and fish
Industries:
sugar processing, brewing, tobacco, cotton textiles; cement, steel production
Population below poverty line:
19.7% (2013 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $4.019 billion
expenditures: $5.268 billion (2017 est.)


Agriculture
Agriculture is a core sector of Uganda’s economy and the largest employer. Over 80 percent of women are employed in the sector and contribute about 75 percent of agricultural production. Plantains, cassava, sweet potato, and maize are major subsistence crops. The major export crop is coffee, but tea, tobacco, and cotton are also important.
Despite the enormous progress in poverty reduction, about 40 percent of all rural people still live below the poverty line; the poorest regions being in the north and north-east, where civil conflict has severely disrupted the lives and agricultural production of small farmers. With many people returning to their homes and finding that boundaries have been moved and entire swathes of land have been grabbed, resolving conflict is also a major challenge.
Livestock is an important element of the livelihoods of many Ugandan households. But despite increasing livestock numbers of cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and poultry, livestock productivity has declined due to cattle rustling, disease outbreaks and lack of pasture. The dairy sector has also been hampered by low prices for milk, high costs for veterinary drugs and transportation problems. Having attained high quality and safety standards for production and export, fish exports are the second largest export earner for Uganda.
Uganda is one of the world’s major Robusta coffee producers but some Arabica is also grown, primarily on the slopes of Mount Elgon and Mount Rwenzori, and coffee contributes between 20-30 percent of the country’s foreign exchange earnings. The sector is also almost entirely dependent on smallholder farmers, who generally intercrop coffee with food crops such as bananas and beans.
According to Uganda’s latest National Development Plan, sustainable economic and social development largely depends on the exploitation of the country’s environmental and natural resources. But the increasing degradation of these resources, coupled with climate change, is seriously impacting Uganda’s development and the livelihoods of millions of people. The government has therefore concluded that investing in agriculture to achieve higher growth rates is the most effective way of reducing poverty.
To tackle these challenges, the government is working to strengthen the national agricultural research system, provide farmers with quality advice, improve detection and control of pests and diseases and encourage more sustainable land use and better management of soil and water resources. Plans are also underway to rehabilitate and establish irrigation schemes, rehabilitate rural infrastructure, improve access to markets, strengthen farmers’ organisations, and improve regulation and enforcement of food and safety standards to enable greater levels of export.
Electricity access:
population without electricity: 32,100,000
electrification – total population: 15%
electrification – urban areas: 55%
electrification – rural areas: 7% (2013)
Electricity – production:
3.235 billion kWh (2015 est.)
Electricity – consumption:
2.936 billion kWh (2015 est.)
Electricity – exports:
121 million kWh (2015 est.)
Electricity – imports:
48 million kWh (2015 est.)
Electricity – installed generating capacity:
922,000 kW (2015 est.)
Electricity – from fossil fuels:
14.8% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)
Electricity – from nuclear fuels:
0% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)
Telephones – fixed lines:
total subscriptions: 368,243
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 1 (July 2016 est.)
Telephones – mobile cellular:
total: 22,838,486
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 58 (July 2016 est.)
Internet country code:
.ug
Internet users:
total: 18,148,923
percent of population: 45.9%; note – more than 80% are mobile Internet subscribers (September 2017)
Manufacturing
Industrial growth is impeded by high-costs due to poor infrastructure, low levels of private investment, and the depreciation of the Ugandan shilling. 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 were especially aimed at dampening inflation while encouraging foreign investment to boost production and export earnings.
Uganda holds the 123rd most competitive economy in the world (2012–13, World Economic Forum, Global Competitiveness Report) with manufacturing contributing 8.2% of GDP in 2011 (value added figure, World Bank). It is classified first out of 120 countries by the World Bank for ease of doing business, a ranking based on how conducive the regulatory environment is to the opening and operation of a local firm. Industry workers made up 6% of total employment in 2009 (World Bank) and industrial production was estimated to be growing at a rate of 3% in 2012 (CIA World Factbook). The majority of the labour force is employed within the agricultural sector.
Uganda’s main industries include steel production, cement, cotton, tobacco, sugar and breweries. The industry sector overall is small in relation to more developed countries, dominated by multinational corporations through subsidiaries. Intermittent power supplies and the high cost of electricity make production difficult, and the size of the industry had suffered as a result. High levels of poverty impact negatively on the domestic market’s purchasing power. The government is constantly in the process of implementing long and short term projects to tackle challenges facing the industry.
Exports are estimated to have contributed US$2.804 billion to the Ugandan economy in 2012, up from $2.519 billion in 2011 (CIA World Factbook). Main exports include coffee, tea, fish products, gold and horticultural products. The country’s main export partners are Kenya and Rwanda, although many products and services are also exported to the United Arab Emirates and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In 2012, Uganda was estimated to be the 131st largest exporter in the world (CIA).
The World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report gives Uganda a production process sophistication value of 2.8 out of 7 where 7 is the most sophisticated, ranking it 122 out of 144 countries.


Banking and Finance
The Bank of Uganda was established on 16 May 1966 as the bank of issue, undertaking the function previously served by the East African Currency Board in Nairobi. The government-owned Uganda Commercial Bank (UCB) provided a full commercial banking service, complementary to and in competition with other commercial banks in the country. Uganda was rocked by a banking scandal in 1989. Lack of public confidence in the system was compounded by a prolonged period of high inflation, which caused rapid erosion in the value of money, and by the liquidity and insolvency problems of some banks. These problems remained unresolved through the 1990s.
In 1998, the financial sector included the Bank of Uganda together with 18 commercial banks and 2 development banks. In addition to the UCB, major commercial banks included Crane Bank Limited, Stanbic, Bank of Baroda, Standard Chartered Bank, Nile Bank, and Barclays Bank. The Uganda Development Bank is a government bank that channels long-term loans from foreign sources to Ugandan businesses. The East African Development Bank, the last remnant of the defunct East African Community, obtains funds from abroad for Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. The International Monetary Fund reports that in 2001, currency and demand deposits—an aggregate is commonly known as M1—were equal to $517.6 million. In that same year, M2—an aggregate equal to M1 plus savings deposits, small time deposits, and money market mutual funds—was $938.8 million. The discount rate, the interest rate at which the central bank lends to financial institutions in the short term, was 9%.
The government supported the establishment of a stock exchange in Kampala, and it inaugurated the Capital Markets Authority in 1995/96. The initial stage of capital market development concentrated on the interbank market and the sale of treasury bills, which the Bank of Uganda started selling in 1992 at weekly auctions. The exchange was officially opened in 1997, but in 1999, had not been active since inception.
As of 1997, the government-owned National Insurance Corp. of Uganda, the Uganda American Insurance Co., and the East Africa General Insurance Co. were doing business in Uganda. Some 27 insurance companies were operating in Uganda in 1998.
Tourism
Uganda is the place, where the safari holiday takes place floating down the crocodile-flanked Nile, fishing on Lake Victoria, wandering among the elephant herds of Queen Elizabeth National Park or listening to the roar of mighty Murchison Falls.
UGANDA, “THE PEARL OF AFRICA” As a tourism destination, Uganda is blessed with natural advantages. Located at the heart of Africa, the country is rich in wildlife, nature, culture, heritage, and history. Its biological and cultural diversity is unmatched for a country the size of Great Britain or the US state of Oregon.
Eleven percent of all birds in the world can be found in Uganda. In fact, Uganda has more species of birds per square kilometer than anywhere else in the world. It is a bird’s haven for bird enthusiasts. Uganda is the home of the world’s largest population of gorillas and other primates as well as a range of other wildlife including the Big Five, reptiles and over 1,000 species of birds (50 percent of Africa’s birds and butterfly species).
With almost 40 percent of its land mass is covered by water, rivers, and wetlands, it is little wonder that Uganda is home to the source of the Nile, the world’s longest river. Temperatures all year round average 25-30c. And for those who like to socialize, this is the land of some of the friendliest people anywhere. Kampala is known for it entertainment earning it the title entertainment capital of East Africa.
What Uganda lacks in volume (it’s about the same size as Oregon or Cambodia) it more than makes up with variety, an incredible array of landscapes that range from the snowcapped Mountains of the Moon and the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest to the semi-desert northeast and water-spangled lake district.
Major Attraction
With more than 1.6 million people, Kampala is one of the fastest growing cities on the continent.
Nearby Entebbe, set on a peninsula stretching into Lake Victoria, is about as laid back as it gets in Africa.
Queen Elizabeth National Park nurtures healthy populations of elephant, lion, hippo and other large mammals, and is a major stop on the migratory bird route up the Great Rift Valley.
Home to 13 different primate species, Kibale National Park is one of the best places in Africa to see chimpanzees in the wild.
Murchison Falls National Park is flush with hippo, crocodile and other animals that live in or near the water.
The holy grail of Uganda wildlife watching is Bwindi Forest, where roughly half of the world’s mountain gorillas reside.