Uganda
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| National motto: For God and My Country | ||||||
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| Principal language | English | |||||
| Capital | Kampala | |||||
| President | Yoweri Museveni | |||||
| Prime minister | Apolo Nsibambi | |||||
| Area - Total - Water | Ranked 81st 236,040 km² 36,330 km² | |||||
| Population - Total (2000) - Density | Ranked 42nd 24,699,073 105/km² | |||||
| Independence | 1962 | |||||
| Currency | Ugandan shilling | |||||
| Time zone | Universal Time +3 | |||||
| National anthem | Oh Uganda, Land of Beauty | |||||
| Internet TLD | .ug | |||||
| Country calling code | 256 | |||||
The Republic of Uganda, or Uganda, is a country in East Africa, bordered to the east by Kenya, on the north by Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda on the southwest, and Tanzania to the south. The southern part of the country includes a substantial portion of Lake Victoria, within which it shares borders with Kenya and Tanzania. Most of Uganda (usually pronounced yoo-GAN-duh) lies within a basin formed within two branches of Africa's Great Rift Valley and is larger in size than Minnesota but with a population, at nearly 25 million, greater than Texas'.
Uganda takes its name from the Buganda (boo-GAN-duh) kingdom, which encompasses a portion of the south of the country, including the capital, Kampala. Due to its distance from the coasts where Western and Arab traders operated, the history of slavery in this region of Africa was minimal, allowing the Buganda kingdom to grow and prosper while several others on the continent collapsed.
Uganda is often called the Heart of Africa, not only for its slight cartographic resemblance in shape to the human organ, but also because of its position in the continent's interior and for the suffering its people have endured, particularly in its religious and recent political history.
Geography
Though Uganda has no direct navigable outlet to the sea, it is incorrect to describe the country as landlocked since it shares borders with Kenya and Tanzania in the midst of Lake Victoria, the world's second-largest freshwater lake (after Lake Superior), and the border with the Congo traverses two smaller Rift Valley lakes, Edward and Albert.
The water of all three lakes passes through the middle of Uganda, with the river flowing north out of Lake Victoria called the Victoria Nile until it empties into Lake Albert and then named the Albert Nile from the mouth of that lake until it reaches Sudan. Lake Victoria was once considered the source of the Nile, but it has since been discovered that the true source lies farther south in Burundi, where the farthest waters begin the long northbound journey through Uganda and on to the Mediterranean Sea.
Uganda is located on the East African plateau, averaging about 900 m above sea level. Although generally tropical in nature, the climate differs between parts of the country. Scores of islands lie offshore in Lake Victoria. Most important cities are located in the south, near Lake Victoria, including Kampala and the nearby city of Entebbe. The Equator runs through the country's south, close to Entebbe, at one of Uganda's widest points.
The land bordering Lake Victoria and the other lakes is extremely fertile, with a growing season lasting the whole year. There is a local saying that if you stick an iron bar into the soil, it will grow nails. Winston Churchill, who visited Uganda about 1900, is known to have called the area "the pearl of Africa."
History
Little is known about the history of the region now covered by Uganda until the arrival of the Arabs and Europeans in the mid-1800s. Humans are known to have lived in the area since at least the first millennium B.C.E.
When Arabs and Europeans arrived in the 19th century, they encountered a number of kingdoms in the area. They included Ankole, Buganda, Bunyoro, Toro and a large fiefdom of clans in Busoga. The largest of these kingdoms was Buganda, which exists as part of Uganda today. Islam and Christianity were introduced to these kingdoms. The Buganda king felt threatened by the Catholic and Anglican faiths, leading to the martyrdom of many, including 22 Catholics burned to death outside Kampala in 1886. These martyrs were declared saints and Pope Paul VI, the first modern pontiff to visit Africa, came initially to the Namugongo Martyrs Shrine in 1969.
The area was placed under the charter of the British East Africa Company in 1888 and was ruled as a protectorate by the U.K. from 1894. As several other territories and chiefdoms were integrated, the final protectorate called Uganda took shape in 1914.
By 1966, the first prime minister, Milton Obote, had overthrown the constitution and declared himself president, ushering in an era of coups and counter-coups which would last until the mid-1980s. Idi Amin took power in 1971, ruling the country with the military for the next decade. Idi Amin had delusions of grandeur, having himself declared Field Marshall and President for Life.
Idi Amin's rule cost an estimated 300,000 Ugandans' lives. In 1972 he declared 'Economic War' and forcibly removed 50,000 of the entrepreneurial East Indian minority from Uganda, decimating the economy. One of the early victories in the War on Terrorism was when Israeli commandos rescued their fellow citizens in the raid on Entebbe in July 1976. His rule ended with 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.
The current president, Yoweri Museveni, has been in power since 1986 and was viewed as being part of a new generation of African leaders. There is controversy, however, about the change to the constitution that allows him to run for a third term. Relative stability has been brought to the country with the exception of the north, which continues to struggle with a rebel insurgency called the Lord's Resistance Army.
Politics
In a measure ostensibly designed to reduce sectarian violence, political parties were restricted in their activities after 1986. In the non-partisan "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 19-year ban on multi-party politics in 2005.
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 workforce, 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. Stabilising measures have included currency reform, raising producer prices on export crops, rising prices for petroleum products, and improving civil service wages. The policy changes are especially aimed at dampening inflation, boosting production and improving the balance of payments.
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 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.
According to IMF statistics, in 2004 Uganda's GDP per-capita reached $300, a much higher level than in the 1980s but still half of the sub-Saharan African average income of $600 per year.
Demographics
Uganda is home to many different ethnic groups, none of whom forms a majority of the population. Around 40 different languages are currently in use. English became the official language of Uganda after independence. The language with the largest number of native speakers is Luganda, spoken in the Buganda region, which encompasses Kampala. Ateso follows, spoken by about 4.2 million people covering much of the eastern part of the country. Kiswahili is widely used as a basic trade language.
Religion
Christian and Muslim 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 ever given on the religious composition of Uganda.
According to the census, Christians of all denominations made up 85% of Uganda's population. The Catholic Church has the largest number of adherents (42%), followed by the Church of Uganda — a local Anglican denomination — (32%). Minor Christian groups include Pentecostals (5%) and Adventists (2%), while 1% were grouped under the category "other Christians."
The second religion of Uganda is Islam, with Muslims representing 12% of the population. While Muslims today appear to be experiencing some degree of discrimination, in the 1970s they were the most favored group under the rule of Idi Amin, himself a Muslim, under whose government the number of Muslims had significantly grown. Only 1% of Uganda's population follows traditional religions and 1% is classified as "other non-Christians."
Also of note is that Uganda hosts one of only seven Bahá'í Houses of Worship in the world. It is known as the Mother Temple of Africa, is located on a hill on the outskirts of Kampala, and was dedicated in 1961.
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. A variety of approaches to AIDS education have been employed, ranging from the promotion of condom use to "abstinence only" programs. The scope of Uganda's success has come under scrutiny from new research. That 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% of whom live in rural areas.
The main supporter of the anti-HIV/AIDS program has been President Yoweri Museveni. He has spoken in every part of the country, and in other lands, concerning the ABC Program. A means abstinence—if you don't engage in sexual activity, there is a high probablity that you will not contract HIV/AIDS. B means be faithful—if you do engage in sex, keep it focused on one person, and make sure that that person keeps you as their only sexual partner. C means condoms—if you cannot be abstinent or be faithful to one person, than always use condoms in any sexual activity.
U.S.-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.
Culture
Due to the large number of ethnic communities, many still living within their own kingdoms, culture within Uganda is diverse. Many Asians (mostly from India) expelled during the regime of Amin are returning to Uganda.
Human rights
Respect for human rights in Uganda has been advanced significantly since the mid-1980s. There are, however, numerous areas that continue to attract concern.
The conflict in the north continues to generate reports of abuses by both the rebel Lord's Resistance Army and the Uganda People's Defence Force. Torture continues to be a widespread practice amongst security organizations. Attacks on political freedom in the country, including the arrest and beating of opposition members of parliament, have led to international criticism, culminating in a 2005 decision by the British government to withhold part of its aid to the country.
See also
Government
- Government of Uganda official site
- Parliament of the Republic of Uganda official site
- Uganda Tourist Board official site
- Uganda Bureau of Statistics official site
News
- allAfrica.com - Uganda news headline links
- East African Procurement News business weekly
- Monitor independent national newspaper
- My Uganda news and community
- New Vision government-owned national newspaper
- Uganda News The Top headlines from the major Ugandan newspapers.
Overviews
- BBC News Country Profile - Uganda
- CIA World Factbook - Uganda
- Open Directory Project - Uganda directory category
- US State Department - Uganda includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports
Other
- Uganda Conflict Action Network working for peace in northern Uganda
- Refugee Law Project An organisation working with refugees and the conflict in northern Uganda
Tourism
- Uganda Tourist Board
- Lonely Planet Uganda Guide
- Uganda Travel Directory - aboutuganda travel guide
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