Background
Uganda achieved independence from the UK in 1962. The dictatorial regime of Idi AMIN (1971 to 79) was responsible for the deaths of some 300,000 opponents; guerrilla war and human rights abuses under Milton OBOTE (1980 to 85) claimed at least another 100,000 lives. During the 1990s, the government promulgated non-party presidential and legislative elections.
Location
Eastern Africa, west of Kenya. Geographic coordinates 1 00 N, 32 00 E. Map references Africa. Area total 236,040 sq km. Land 199,710 sq km. Water 36,330 sq km. Land boundaries total 2,698 km. Uganda occupies a portion of eastern Africa comparative to the size of the United Kingdom. Ugandas' borders are Sudan, to the north, Lake Victoria, and Congo (formerly Zaire) to the west and Kenya to the east.
Environment
With its relatively low population density and scarcity of wildlife (the latter courtesy of the decimation that occurred during the bad old days), Uganda lacks many of the environmental pressures faced by other countries in East Africa. The national parks and wilderness areas are generally in good shape, and conditions are ideal for the native animals to re-establish themselves. The highest density of primates in the world live in Kibale National Park, while Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is one of the last remaining habitats of the mountain gorillas.
The bulk of the country enjoys a tropical climate tempered by altitude. The hottest months are from December to February, when it gets up to 29C (84F). The rainy seasons in the south are from April to May and October to November, the wettest month being April. In the north the wet season is from April to October.
About 25% of Uganda's land is fertile and arable, making the country quite capable of producing a food surplus. Lake Victoria and the Victoria Nile, which flows through much of the country, create one of the best irrigated areas of Africa. However, the growing problem of water hyacinth threatens the ecology of Lake Victoria and the livelihood of the people who live by its shores. This aquatic weed floats in large 'islands' on the lake surface and grows so prolifically that it chokes waterways and stops light from penetrating the lake surface, making it impossible for fish to live beneath it.
The land varies from the lush and fertile shores of Lake Victoria in the southeast, to semi-desert in the northeast. Uganda is fairly flat, with mountains only in the extreme east (Mt Elgon), far west (Rwenzori Mountains) and the beautiful southwest, close to the Rwandan border. Though flat, the country is high, with an average altitude of over 1000m (3280ft).
Transport
Total railways 1,241 km (2003).
Total highways 27,000 km; paved 1,809 km, unpaved, 25,191 km (1999 est.).
Waterways 300 km (on Lake Victoria, 200 km on Lake Albert, Lake Kyoga, and parts of Albert Nile) (2004 est.).
Ports and harbors Entebbe, Jinja, Port Bell.
Airports 29 (2004 est.); paved runways 4 x over 3,047m, 3 x 1,524 to 2,437m (2004 est.). Airports with unpaved runways total 25; 1 x 2,438 to 3,047 m, 6 x 1,524 to 2,437m, 11 x 914 to 1,523 m, 7 x under 914m (2004 est.).
Communication
Telephones x main lines in use 61,000 (2003)
Telephones x mobile cellular 776,200 (2003).
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. Satellite earth stations x 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Inmarsat; analog links to Kenya and Tanzania. Internet country code .ug. Internet hosts x 2,692 (2004). Internet users x 125,000 (2003)
Radio broadcast stations AM 7, FM 33, shortwave 2 (2001).
Television broadcast stations 8 (plus one low-power repeater) (2001).
Transnational Issues
International disputes; Uganda is subject to armed fighting among hostile ethnic groups, rebels, armed gangs, militias, and various government forces; Ugandan refugees have fled the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) into the southern Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo; LRA forces have also attacked Kenyan villages across the border.
Refugees and internally displaced persons and refugees (country of origin) 184,731 (Sudan) 18,000 (Rwanda). IDPs 1.4 million due to ongoing Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebellion, mainly in the north; LRA frequently attacks IDP camps (2004)
Last updated 26/05/2005.