"text":"The colonial boundaries created by Britain to delimit Uganda grouped together a wide range of ethnic groups with different political systems and cultures. These differences complicated the establishment of a working political community after independence was achieved in 1962. The dictatorial regime of Idi AMIN (1971-79) was responsible for the deaths of some 300,000 opponents; guerrilla war and human rights abuses under Milton OBOTE (1980-85) claimed at least another 100,000 lives. The rule of Yoweri MUSEVENI since 1986 has brought relative stability and economic growth to Uganda. A constitutional referendum in 2005 cancelled a 19-year ban on multi-party politics and lifted presidential term limits."
"text":"draining of wetlands for agricultural use; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; water hyacinth infestation in Lake Victoria; widespread poaching"
},
"Environment - international agreements":{
"party to":{
"text":"Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands"
},
"signed, but not ratified":{
"text":"Environmental Modification"
}
},
"Geography - note":{
"text":"landlocked; fertile, well-watered country with many lakes and rivers"
"text":"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, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2016 est.)"
"text":"English (official national language, taught in grade schools, used in courts of law and by most newspapers and some radio broadcasts), Ganda or Luganda (most widely used of the Niger-Congo languages, preferred for native language publications in the capital and may be taught in school), other Niger-Congo languages, Nilo-Saharan languages, Swahili, Arabic"
"text":"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, health care, 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 businesspeople 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."
"text":"from the Swahili \"Buganda,\" adopted by the British as the name for their East African colony in 1894; Buganda had been a powerful East African state during the 18th and 19th centuries"
"text":"President Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI (since seizing power on 26 January 1986); Vice President Edward SSEKANDI (since 24 May 2011); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government"
"text":"President Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI (since seizing power on 26 January 1986); Vice President Edward SSEKANDI (since 24 May 2011); Prime Minister Ruhakana RUGUNDA (since 19 September 2014); First Deputy Prime Minister Moses ALI (since 6 June 2016); Second Deputy Prime Minister Kirunda KIVEJINJA (since 6 June 2016); Third Deputy Prime Minister Kirunda KIVEJINJA (since 6 June 2016)"
"text":"Cabinet appointed by the president from among elected members of the National Assembly or persons who qualify to be elected as members of the National Assembly"
"text":"president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (no term limit); election last held on 18 February 2016 (next to be held in February 2021)"
"text":"unicameral National Assembly or Parliament (427 seats; 290 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote, 112 for women directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote, and 25 \"representatives\" reserved for special interest groups - army 10, disabled 5, youth 5, labor 5; there are 13 ex-officio members appointed by the president; members serve 5-year terms)"
"text":"justices appointed by the president of the republic in consultation with the Judicial Service Commission (a 9-member independent advisory body) and approved by the National Assembly; justices serve until mandatory retirement at age 70"
"text":"Court of Appeal (also sits as the Constitutional Court); High Court (includes 12 High Court Circuits and 8 High Court Divisions); Industrial Court; Chief Magistrate Grade One and Grade Two Courts throughout the country; qadhis courts ; local council courts; family and children courts"
"text":"Conservative Party or CP [Ken LUKYAMUZI] ++ Democratic Party or DP [Norbert MAO] ++ Forum for Democratic Change or FDC [Mugisha MUNTU] ++ Justice Forum or JEEMA [Asuman BASALIRWA] ++ National Resistance Movement or NRM [Yoweri MUSEVENI] ++ Ugandan People's Congress or UPC [Olara OTUNNU]"
"text":"National Association of Women Organizations in Uganda or NAWOU [Florence NEKYON] ++ Parliamentary Advocacy Forum or PAFO ++ Ugandan Coalition for Political Accountability to Women or COPAW"
"text":"six equal horizontal bands of black (top), yellow, red, black, yellow, and red; a white disk is superimposed at the center and depicts a grey crowned crane (the national symbol) facing the hoist side; black symbolizes the African people, yellow sunshine and vitality, red African brotherhood; the crane was the military badge of Ugandan soldiers under the UK"
},
"National symbol(s)":{
"text":"grey crowned crane; national colors: black, yellow, red"
"text":"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 one third of the work force. Coffee accounts for the bulk of export revenues. Uganda’s economy remains predominantly agricultural with 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. 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 are especially aimed at dampening inflation while encouraging foreign investment to boost production and export earnings. 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, better domestic security, and the return of exiled Indian-Ugandan entrepreneurs. ++ ++ The global economic downturn in 2008 hurt Uganda's exports; however, Uganda's GDP growth has largely 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 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. During 2015 the Uganda shilling depreciated 22% against the dollar, and inflation rose from 3% to 9%, which led to the Bank of Uganda hiking interest rates from 11% to 17%. As a result, inflation remained below double digits; however, trade and capital-intensive industries were negatively impacted. ++ ++ The budget for FY 2015/16 is dominated by energy and road infrastructure spending, while relying on donor support for long-term economic 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 in 2016/2017 by 22% and consume 15% the domestic budget."
"text":"mobile cellular service is increasing rapidly, but the number of main lines is still deficient; work underway on a national backbone information and communications technology infrastructure; international phone networks and Internet connectivity provided through satellite and fiber-optic cables through Kenya and the Indian Ocean"
"text":"intercity traffic by wire, microwave radio relay, and radiotelephone communication stations, fixed-line and mobile-cellular systems for short-range traffic; mobile-cellular teledensity about 55 per 100 persons"
"text":"country code - 256; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Inmarsat; analog and digital links to Kenya and Tanzania (2015)"
"text":"public broadcaster, Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC), operates radio and TV networks; Uganda first began licensing privately owned stations in the 1990s; by 2007, there were nearly 150 radio and 35 TV stations, mostly based in and around Kampala; transmissions of multiple international broadcasters are available in Kampala (2007)"
"text":"(there are no long navigable stretches of river in Uganda; parts of the Albert Nile that flow out of Lake Albert in the northwestern part of the country are navigable; several lakes including Lake Victoria and Lake Kyoga have substantial traffic; Lake Albert is navigable along a 200-km stretch from its northern tip to its southern shores) (2011)"
},
"Ports and terminals":{
"lake port(s)":{
"text":"Entebbe, Jinja, Port Bell (Lake Victoria)"
"text":"Uganda People's Defense Force (UPDF): Land Forces (includes Marine Unit), Uganda Air Force (2013)"
},
"Military service age and obligation":{
"text":"18-26 years of age for voluntary military duty; 18-30 years of age for professionals; no conscription; 9-year service obligation; the government has stated that while recruitment under 18 years of age could occur with proper consent, \"no person under the apparent age of 18 years shall be enrolled in the armed forces\"; Ugandan citizenship and secondary education required (2012)"
},
"Military expenditures":{
"text":"2.2% of GDP (2013) ++ 1.45% of GDP (2012) ++ 3.73% of GDP (2011) ++ 1.45% of GDP (2010)"
}
},
"Transnational Issues":{
"Disputes - international":{
"text":"Uganda is subject to armed fighting among hostile ethnic groups, rebels, armed gangs, militias, and various government forces that extend across its borders; Ugandan refugees as well as members of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) seek shelter in southern Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo's Garamba National Park; LRA forces have also attacked Kenyan villages across the border"
"text":"503,977 (South Sudan) (refugees and asylum seekers); 222,650 (Democratic Republic of the Congo); 41,748 (Burundi); 29,292 (Somalia); 15,226 (Rwanda) (2016)"
"text":"30,000 (displaced in northern Uganda because of fighting between government forces and the Lord's Resistance Army; as of 2011, most of the 1.8 million people displaced to IDP camps at the height of the conflict had returned home or resettled, but many had not found durable solutions; intercommunal violence and cattle raids) (2015)"
