Uganda

Facts & Figures

Map of Uganda

President: Yoweri Museveni (1986)

Prime Minister: Amama Mbabazi (2011)

Land area: 77,108 sq mi (199,710 sq km); total area: 91,135 sq mi (236,040 sq km)

Population (2012 est.): 33,640,833 (growth rate: 3.3%); birth rate: 45.8/1000; infant mortality rate: 64.2/1000; life expectancy: 53.45

Capital and largest city (2011 est.): Kampala, 1.659 million

Monetary unit: Ugandan new shilling

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Geography

Uganda, twice the size of Pennsylvania, is in East Africa. It is bordered on the west by Congo, on the north by the Sudan, on the east by Kenya, and on the south by Tanzania and Rwanda. The country, which lies across the equator, is divided into three main areas—swampy lowlands, a fertile plateau with wooded hills, and a desert region. Lake Victoria forms part of the southern border.

Government

Multiparty democractic republic.

History

About 500 B.C. Bantu-speaking peoples migrated to the area now called Uganda. By the 14th century, three kingdoms dominated, Buganda (meaning "state of the Gandas"), Bunyoro, and Ankole. Uganda was first explored by Europeans as well as Arab traders in 1844. An Anglo-German agreement of 1890 declared it to be in the British sphere of influence in Africa, and the Imperial British East Africa Company was chartered to develop the area. The company did not prosper financially, and in 1894 a British protectorate was proclaimed. Few Europeans permanently settled in Uganda, but it attracted many Indians, who became important players in Ugandan commerce.

Uganda became independent on Oct. 9, 1962. Sir Edward Mutesa, the king of Buganda (Mutesa II), was elected the first president, and Milton Obote the first prime minister, of the newly independent country. With the help of a young army officer, Col. Idi Amin, Prime Minister Obote seized control of the government from President Mutesa four years later.