Flag Description of Uganda:
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
Geography
Area: 241,040 sq. km. (93,070 sq. mi.); about the size of Oregon.
Cities: Capital--Kampala (2002 pop. 1.2 million). Other cities--Jinja,
Gulu, Mbale, Mbarara.
Terrain: 18% inland water and swamp; 12% national parks, forest, and game
reserves; 70% forest, woodland, grassland.
Climate: In the northeast, semi-arid--rainfall less than 50 cm. (20 in.); in
southwest, rainfall 130 cm. (50 in.) or more. Two dry seasons: Dec.-Feb. and
June-July.
People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Ugandan(s).
Population (2007): 30.9 million.
Annual growth rate (2004 est.): 4.0%.
Ethnic groups: African 99%, European, Asian, Arab 1%.
Religions (2007): Christian 85%, Muslim 12%, other 2%.
Languages: English (official); Luganda and Swahili widely used; other Bantu and
Nilotic languages.
Education: Attendance (2000; primary school enrollment, public and
private)--89%. Literacy (2003)--70%.
Health: Infant mortality rate--86/1,000. Life expectancy--45.3
yrs.
Government
Type: Republic.
Constitution: Ratified July 12, 1995; promulgated October 8, 1995.
Independence: October 9, 1962.
Branches: Executive--president, vice president, prime minister, cabinet.
Legislative--parliament. Judicial--Magistrate's Court, High Court,
Court of Appeals, Supreme Court.
Administrative subdivisions: 80 districts.
Political parties: In 2006, approximately 33 parties were allowed to function,
including political parties that existed in 1986, when the National Resistance
Movement assumed power.
Suffrage: Universal adult.
National holiday: Independence Day, October 9.
Economy
GDP (nominal, 2005/2006): $9.4 billion.
Inflation rate (annual headline or CPI, 2005/2006): 6.6%.
Natural resources: Copper, cobalt, limestone, phosphate, oil.
Agriculture: Cash crops--coffee, tea, cotton, tobacco, sugar cane, cut flowers,
vanilla. Food crops--bananas, corn, cassava, potatoes, millet, pulses. Livestock
and fisheries--beef, goat meat, milk, Nile perch, tilapia.
Industry: Types--processing of agricultural products (cotton ginning, coffee
curing), cement production, light consumer goods, textiles.
Trade: Exports (2005/2006)--$887.5 million: coffee, fish and fish products, tea,
electricity, horticultural products, vanilla, cut flowers, remittances from
abroad. Major markets--EU, Kenya, South Africa, U.K., U.S. Imports
(2005/2006)--$1.99 billion: capital equipment, vehicles, petroleum, medical
supplies, chemical, cereals. Major suppliers--OPEC countries, Kenya, EU, India,
South Africa, U.S.
Fiscal year: July 1-June 30.
PEOPLE AND HISTORY
Africans of three main ethnic groups--Bantu, Nilotic, and
Nilo-Hamitic--constitute most of the population. The Bantu are the most numerous
and include the Baganda, which, with 18% of the population, constitute the
largest single ethnic group. Individual ethnic groups in the southwest include
the Banyankole and Bahima, 10%; the Bakiga, 8%; the Banyarwanda, 6%; the Bunyoro,
3%; and the Batoro, 3%. Residents of the north, largely Nilotic, include the
Langi, 6%, and the Acholi, 4%. In the northwest are the Lugbara, 4%, and the
Karamojong, 2%, occupy the considerably drier, largely pastoral territory in the
northeast. The Basoga, 8% and the Bagisu, 5% are among ethnic groups in the
East. Europeans, Asians, and Arabs make up about 1% of the population with other
groups accounting for the remainder.
Uganda's population is predominately rural, and its population density
highest in the southern regions. Until 1972, Asians constituted the largest
nonindigenous ethnic group in Uganda. In that year, the Idi Amin regime expelled
50,000 Asians, who had been engaged in trade, industry, and various professions.
In the years since Amin's overthrow in 1979, Asians have slowly returned and now
number around 30,000. Other nonindigenous people in Uganda include Arabs,
Western missionaries, non-governmental organization (NGO) workers, diplomats,
and business people.
When Arab traders moved inland from their enclaves along the Indian Ocean coast of East Africa and reached the interior of Uganda in the 1830s, they found several African kingdoms with well-developed political institutions dating back several centuries. These traders were followed in the 1860s by British explorers searching for the source of the Nile River. Protestant missionaries entered the country in 1877, followed by Catholic missionaries in 1879.
In 1888, control of the emerging British "sphere of interest" in East Africa was assigned by royal charter to the Imperial British East Africa Company, an arrangement strengthened in 1890 by an Anglo-German agreement confirming British dominance over Kenya and Uganda. In 1894, the Kingdom of Buganda was placed under a formal British protectorate.
Britain granted internal self-government to Uganda in 1961, with the first elections held on March 1, 1961. Benedicto Kiwanuka of the Democratic Party became the first Chief Minister. Uganda maintained its Commonwealth membership. A second round of elections in April 1962 elected members to a new National Assembly. Milton Obote, leader of the majority coalition in the National Assembly, became prime minister and led Uganda to formal independence on October 9, 1962.
In succeeding years, supporters of a centralized state vied with those in favor of a loose federation and a strong role for tribally-based local kingdoms. Political maneuvering climaxed in February 1966, when Prime Minister Milton Obote suspended the constitution, assumed all government powers, and removed the ceremonial president and vice president. In September 1967, a new constitution proclaimed Uganda a republic, gave the president even greater powers, and abolished the traditional kingdoms. On January 25, 1971, Obote's government was ousted in a military coup led by armed forces commander Idi Amin Dada. Amin declared himself president, dissolved the parliament, and amended the constitution to give himself absolute power.
Idi Amin's 8-year rule produced economic decline, social disintegration, and massive human rights violations. The Acholi and Langi ethnic groups were particular objects of Amin's political persecution because they had supported Obote and made up a large part of the army. In 1978, the International Commission of Jurists estimated that more than 100,000 Ugandans had been murdered during Amin's reign of terror; some authorities place the figure much higher.
In October 1978, Tanzanian armed forces repulsed an incursion of Amin's troops into Tanzanian territory. The Tanzanian force, backed by Ugandan exiles, waged a war of liberation against Amin's troops and Libyan soldiers sent to help him. On April 11, 1979, Kampala was captured, and Amin fled with his remaining forces.
After Amin's removal, the Uganda National Liberation Front formed an interim government with Yusuf Lule as president. This government adopted a ministerial system of administration and created a quasi-parliamentary organ known as the National Consultative Commission (NCC). The NCC and the Lule cabinet reflected widely differing political views. In June 1979, following a dispute over the extent of presidential powers, the NCC replaced Lule with Godfrey Binaisa. In a continuing dispute over the powers of the interim presidency, Binaisa was removed in May 1980. Thereafter, Uganda was ruled by a military commission chaired by Paulo Muwanga. December 1980 elections returned the UPC to power under the leadership of President Obote, with Muwanga serving as vice president. Under Obote, the security forces had one of the world's worst human rights records. In their efforts to stamp out an insurgency led by Yoweri Museveni's National Resistance Army (NRA), they laid waste to a substantial section of the country, especially in the Luwero area north of Kampala.
Obote ruled until July 27, 1985, when an army brigade, composed mostly of ethnic Acholi troops and commanded by Lt. Gen. Basilio Olara-Okello, took Kampala and proclaimed a military government. Obote fled to exile in Zambia. The new regime, headed by former defense force commander Gen. Tito Okello (no relation to Lt. Gen. Olara-Okello), opened negotiations with Museveni's insurgent forces and pledged to improve respect for human rights, end tribal rivalry, and conduct free and fair elections. In the meantime, massive human rights violations continued as the Okello government murdered civilians and ravaged the countryside in order to destroy the NRA's support.
Negotiations between the Okello government and the NRA were conducted in
Nairobi in the fall of 1985, with Kenyan President Daniel Moi seeking a
cease-fire and a coalition government in Uganda. Although agreeing in late 1985
to a cease-fire, the NRA continued fighting, seized Kampala in late January
1986, and assumed control of the country, forcing Okello to flee north into
Sudan. Museveni's forces organized a government with Museveni as president and
dominated by the political grouping called the National Resistance Movement (NRM
or the "Movement").
A referendum was held in March 2000 on whether Uganda should retain the
Movement system, with limited operation of political parties, or adopt
multi-party politics. Although 70% of voters endorsed retention of the Movement
system, the referendum was widely criticized for low voter turnout and unfair
restrictions on Movement opponents. Museveni was reelected to a second five-year
term in March 2001. Parliamentary elections were held in June 2001, and more
than 50% of contested seats were won by newcomers. Movement supporters
nevertheless remained in firm control of the legislative branch. Observers
believed that the 2001 presidential and parliamentary elections generally
reflected the will of the electorate; however, both were marred by serious
irregularities, particularly in the period leading up to the elections, such as
restrictions on political party activities, incidents of violence, voter
intimidation, and fraud.
A Constitutional Review Commission (CRC) issued a report proposing comprehensive constitutional change in December 2003. The government, however, took issue with many CRC recommendations and made counter-proposals in September 2004. A July 2005 national referendum resulted in the adoption of a multiparty system of government and the subsequent inclusion of opposition parties in elections and government.
In February 2006, the country held its first multiparty general elections since President Museveni came to power in 1986. The election generally reflected the will of the people, although serious irregularities occurred. Ruling NRM candidate President Museveni was declared the winner with 59.26% of the vote, giving him a third term in office following the passage of a controversial amendment in June 2005 to eliminate presidential term limits. Opposition FDC leader Kizza Besigye captured 37.39% of the vote, while the remaining contestants received less than 2% of the vote each, according to official figures from the Electoral Commission.
GOVERNMENT
The 1995 constitution established Uganda as a republic with an executive,
legislative, and judicial branch. The constitution provides for an executive
president, to be elected every 5 years. President Yoweri Museveni, in power
since 1986, was elected in 1996 and reelected in 2001 and 2006. Legislative
responsibility is vested in the parliament; legislative elections were last held
February 2006. There currently are 332 members of parliament, of which 79 are
women. The Ugandan judiciary operates as an independent branch of government and
consists of magistrate's courts, high courts, courts of appeals, and the Supreme
Court. Parliament and the judiciary have significant amounts of independence and
wield significant power.
Principal Government Officials
President and Commander in Chief--Yoweri Kaguta Museveni
Vice President--Dr. Gilbert Bukenya
Prime Minister--Apollo Nsibambi
Foreign Minister--Sam Kutesa
Minister of Defense--Crispus Kiyonga
Ambassador to the United States--Perezi K. Kamunanwire
Uganda maintains an embassy in the United States at 5909 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011 (tel. 202-726-7100).
POLITICAL CONDITIONS
Since assuming power, Museveni and his government have largely put an end to the
human rights abuses of earlier governments, initiated substantial economic
liberalization and general press freedom, and instituted economic reforms in
accord with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, and donor
governments.
The vicious and cult-like Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), which seeks to overthrow the Ugandan Government, has murdered and kidnapped civilians in the north and east since 1986. Although the LRA does not threaten the stability of the government, LRA violence at one time displaced up to 1.7 million people, creating a humanitarian catastrophe, particularly when they were forced into internally displaced persons (IDP) camps for their own protection. The Uganda Peoples Defense Force (UPDF) launched "Operation Iron Fist" against LRA rebels in northern Uganda in 2002 and conducted operations against LRA sanctuaries in southern Sudan with the permission of the Sudanese Government. The Sudanese Government had previously supported the LRA.
There have been significant new developments in this conflict since January 2006. With the signing of the Sudanese "Comprehensive Peace Agreement," the Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) was created. To protect this fragile peace from LRA incursions in southern Sudan, Riek Machar, a GOSS Vice President, launched efforts to broker a peace agreement between the Government of Uganda and the LRA in July 2006. Those talks are ongoing and represent the first time there has been meaningful progress in ending this conflict. As a result, many northern Ugandans are leaving the IDP camps and returning to their villages.
In 1998, Uganda deployed a sizable military force to eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (D.R.C.), ostensibly to prevent attacks from Ugandan rebel groups operating there. There were widespread allegations that Ugandan military and civilian officials were involved in the illegal exploitation of D.R.C. natural resources. After much international pressure, Uganda withdrew its troops from D.R.C. in June 2003. Relations with the D.R.C., however, continue to be frosty. When the LRA left southern Sudan and relocated to eastern Congo in September 2005, Museveni threatened to enter D.R.C. and go after the LRA if neither Congo nor the UN peacekeepers in the region would take action. The recent peace talks have taken a lot of steam out of those threats, however, and Uganda seems focused on seeing the talks to conclusion.
ECONOMY
Uganda's economy has great potential. Endowed with significant natural
resources, including ample fertile land, regular rainfall, and mineral deposits,
it appeared poised for rapid economic growth and development at independence.
However, chronic political instability and erratic economic management produced
a record of persistent economic decline that left Uganda among the world's
poorest and least-developed countries.
Since assuming power in early 1986, Museveni's government has taken important
steps toward economic rehabilitation. The country's infrastructure--notably its
transportation and communications systems that were destroyed by war and
neglect--is being rebuilt. Recognizing the need for increased external support,
Uganda negotiated a policy framework paper with the IMF and the World Bank in
1987. It subsequently began implementing economic policies designed to restore
price stability and sustainable balance of payments, improve capacity
utilization, rehabilitate infrastructure, restore producer incentives through
proper price policies, and improve resource mobilization and allocation in the
public sector. These policies produced positive results. Inflation, which ran at
240% in 1987 and 42% in June 1992, was 5.4% for fiscal year 1995-96 and 5.1% in
2003.
Investment as a percentage of GDP was estimated at 20.3% in 2003 compared to 13.7% in 1999. Private sector investment, largely financed by private transfers from abroad, was 14.9% of GDP in 2002. Gross national savings as a percentage of GDP was estimated at 6.4% in 2003. The Ugandan Government has also worked with donor countries to reschedule or cancel substantial portions of the country's external debts.
Agricultural products supply nearly all of Uganda's foreign exchange earnings, with coffee (of which Uganda is Africa's leading producer) accounting for about 19% and fish 17% of the country's exports in 2002. Exports of non-traditional products, including apparel, hides, skins, vanilla, vegetables, fruits, cut flowers, and fish are growing, while traditional exports cotton, tea, and tobacco continue to be mainstays.
Most industry is related to agriculture. The industrial sector is being rehabilitated to resume production of building and construction materials, such as cement, reinforcing rods, corrugated roofing sheets, and paint. Domestically produced consumer goods include plastics, soap, cork, beer, and soft drinks.
Uganda has about 30,000 kilometers (18,750 mi.), of roads; some 2,800 kilometers (1,750 mi.) are paved. Most radiate from Kampala. The country has about 1,350 kilometers (800 mi.) of rail lines. A railroad originating at Mombasa on the Indian Ocean connects with Tororo, where it branches westward to Jinja, Kampala, and Kasese and northward to Mbale, Soroti, Lira, Gulu, and Kapwach, though the routes west of Kampala and north of Mbale currently are not in use. Uganda's important road and rail links to Mombasa serve its transport needs and also those of its neighbors-Rwanda, Burundi, and parts of Congo and Sudan. An international airport is at Entebbe on the shore of Lake Victoria, some 32 kilometers (20 mi.) south of Kampala.
FOREIGN RELATIONS
The Ugandan Government generally seeks good relations with other nations without
reference to ideological orientation. Relations with Rwanda, Congo and Sudan
have sometimes been strained because of security concerns. President Museveni
has been active in attempts implement a peace agreement Burundi and has
supported peace initiatives in Sudan and Somalia.
In the past, neighbors were concerned about Uganda's relationship with Libya, which had supplied military equipment and bartered fuel to Uganda. In addition to its friendly ties to Western nations, Uganda has maintained ties with North Korea. Uganda's has strained relations with Sudan because of past Sudanese support for the LRA. The LRA seeks to overthrow the Uganda Government and has inflicted brutal violence on the population in northern Uganda, including rape, kidnapping, torture, and murder. In 2002 Uganda and Sudan reestablished diplomatic ties and signed a protocol permitting the UPDF to enter southern Sudan and engage the LRA. The protocol must be renewed periodically.
Another rebel group operating in western Uganda and eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, near the Rwenzori Mountains, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), emerged as a localized threat in 1996 and inflicted substantial suffering on the population in the area. It has largely been defeated by the UPDF and the affected areas of western Uganda have been secured. Remnants of the ADF remain in eastern Congo.
DEFENSE
The Uganda Peoples Defense Force (UPDF)--previously the National Resistance
Army--constitutes the armed forces of Uganda. Prior to 2000, U.S. military
forces participated with the UPDF in training activities under the African
Crisis Response Initiative. U.S. military assistance was terminated in 2000 as a
result of the Ugandan incursion into the D.R.C. Following the June 2003 UPDF
withdrawal of troops from the D.R.C., the U.S. restarted limited nonlethal
military assistance.
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