Uganda





__Background and Climate__ Famous for the Pearl of Africa beacuse of variety and beauty of its land, Uganda covers 91,135 square miles.Around one-fourth of the land is for crop growing and 12 percent is for national parks and forests. Uganda's climate comes from its closeness to the equator, mountains on the eastern and western borders, and large bodies of water. Uganda has two rainy seasons, March–July and September–October. The northeast has frequent droughts. Temperatures range between 72 and 92°F depending on the region and season. Areas around Lake Victoria tend to be cooler even in the dry season. The Ruwenzori and Kigezi Mountains in southwest Uganda are cold and misty most of the year.

__Religion__ Most Ugandans are Christian; Catholics and Protestants. Pentecostals and other smaller groups are growing. Sudanic peoples are mostly Muslim. Islam was introduced by Arab traders in the early 19th century, while Christianity came to Uganda in 1875. Most Christian churches built schools and health centers, so many people converted to Christianity even though they continued indigenous practices. Many Christians and Muslims today maintain indigenous beliefs, performing rituals for ancestors and gods at private shrines. Some people practice traditional rites exclusively. Regardless of religion, most Ugandans respect and fear spirits, demons, and God.
 * Capital:** Kampala
 * Population:** 31,367,972 (rank=39)
 * Population Growth Rate**: 3.603%
 * Area, sq. mi.:** 91,135 (rank=81)
 * Area, sq. km.:** 236,040
 * Real GDP per capita:** $1,454
 * Adult literacy rate:** 77% (male); 58% (female)
 * Infant mortality rate:** 79 per 1,000 births
 * Life expectancy:** 49 (male); 50 (female)
 * Currency:** Ugandan shilling
 * Net Migration Rate**: 0.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population
 * Government Type:** Republic
 * Independance:** October 9th 1962
 * Suffrage:** 18 years of age
 * Unemployment Rate:** NA%
 * Military Expenditures:** 2.2% of GDP

__Language__ English is the official language for Uganda. Baganda speak Luganda, a dominant language in the center and west, and Acholi and Lango speak Luo. Kiswahili joins Luo as prominent in the north. Generally, people speak their own native language or dialect first, a regional tongue, and then English if educated. Those who speak English well are highly respected. Most languages are named for the tribes that speak them.

__Ethnic Groups__ Baganda 16.9%, Banyakole 9.5%, Basoga 8.4%, Bakiga 6.9%, Iteso 6.4%, Langi 6.1%, Acholi 4.7%, Bagisu 4.6%, Lugbara 4.2%, Bunyoro 2.7%, other 29.6%

__Economy__ Uganda has substantial natural resources, including fertile soils, regular rainfall, and sizable mineral deposits of copper, cobalt, gold, and other minerals. Agriculture is the most important sector of the economy, employing over 80% of the work force. Coffee accounts for the bulk of export revenues. 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 and boosting production and export earnings. 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. Growth continues to be solid, despite variability in the price of coffee, Uganda's principal export, and a consistent upturn in Uganda's export markets. In 2000, Uganda qualified for enhanced Highly Indebted Poor Countries debt relief 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.

__Education__ Children begin school by age six, attending primary school for seven years. About 40 percent of these students go on to secondary school ordinary level (senior 1–4), and some finish the advanced level (senior 5–6). After each division, students sit for a national exam to determine their advancement. The government pays school fees for four natural children in each family, but rural schools lack materials and facilities. Makerere University is the most prestigious institution of higher education. Christians are usually more likely to have a formal education than Muslims, who often emphasize schooling that focuses on the study of the Koran.

__Industries__ sugar, brewing, tobacco, cotton textiles; cement, and steel production

__Agriculture Products__ coffee, tea, cotton, tobacco, cassava (tapioca), potatoes, corn, millet, pulses, cut flowers; beef, goat meat, milk,and poultry

__Exports__ coffee, fish and fish products, tea, cotton, flowers, horticultural productsand gold.

__Imports__ capital equipment, vehicles, petroleum, medical supplies and cereals

__Location__ east-central Africa, situated north and northwest of Lake Victoria

__Borders__ Tanzania and Rwanda to the south, Zaire to the west, Sudan to the north, and Kenya to the east

__Terrain__ mostly plateau with rim of mountains

__Natural Resources__ Copper, cobalt, hydropower, limestone, salt, arable land

__Land Use__ In the southern half of the country, rich soil and rainfall permit extensive agriculture, and in the drier and less fertile northern areas, pastoral economies are common. 21 percent of the land is cultivated and 45 percent is woodland and grassland, some have been cleared for roads, settlements, and farmland.13 percent of the land is set aside as national parks, forests, and game reserves. Swampland by lakes in the southern and central regions have an abundance of papyrus growth. The central region's woodlands and savanna give way to acacia and cactus growth in the north. Valuable seams of copper, cobalt, and other minerals have been revealed along the southeast and southwest

__Natural Hazards__ unknown

__Environmental issues__ uncontrolled expansion of agricultural land, the erosion of soils and a decline in their fertility, scarce amount of water, decline of wetlands, loss of forest reserves; deforestation and the overgrazing of rangelands; and the invasion of weed species and bushes

__Leader__ Yoweri Museveni

__Industries__ oil and gas

__Illicit drugs__ herbal cannabis, heroin, cocaine, methaqualone, and khat


 * 1500** - Bito dynasties of Buganda, Bunyoro and Ankole founded by Nilotic-speaking immigrants from present-day southeastern Sudan.
 * 1700** - Buganda begins to expand at the expense of Bunyoro.
 * 1800** - Buganda controls territory bordering Lake Victoria from the Victoria Nile to the Kagera river.
 * 1840s** - Muslim traders from the Indian Ocean coast exchange firearms, cloth and beads for the ivory and slaves of Buganda.
 * 1862** - British explorer John Hanning Speke becomes the first European to visit Buganda.
 * 1875** - Bugandan King Mutesa I allows Christian missionaries to enter his realm.
 * British influence**
 * 1877** - Members of the British Missionary Society arrive in Buganda.
 * 1879** - Members of the French Roman Catholic White Fathers arrive.
 * 1890** - Britain and Germany sign treaty giving Britain rights to what was to become Uganda.
 * 1892** - British East India Company agent Frederick Lugard extends the company's control to southern Uganda and helps the Protestant missionaries defeat their Catholic counterparts, who had been competing with them, in Buganda.

__Current Event__ H1N1 has probably become endemic in East Africa, with statistics from the World Health Organization showing that the region has reported the highest number of confirmed cases on the continent outside South Africa. According to the WHO figures for the period running to October 4, Uganda had confirmed 61 people having swine flu.
 * //Swine flu now endemic in East Africa, says who//**

__Works Sited__ __[]__ __[]__ __[]__ [] [] [|http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/news/-/2558/673394/-/qxq79vz/-/][]