COUNTRY PROFILE : The Republic of Uganda

Background
Current government officials
President: Yoweri Museveni (1986)
Prime Minister: Apolo Nsibambi (1999)

Land area: 77,108 sq mi (199,710 sq km); total area: 91,135 sq mi (236,040 sq km)
Population (2007 est.): 30,262,610 (growth rate: 3.6%); birth rate: 48.1/1000; infant mortality rate: 67.2/1000; life expectancy: 51.8; density per sq mi: 392
Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Kampala, 1,461,600 (metro. area), 1,244,000 (city proper)
Monetary unit: Ugandan new shilling
Languages: English (official), Ganda or Luganda, other Niger-Congo languages, Nilo-Saharan languages, Swahili, Arabic
Ethnicity/race: Baganda 17%, Ankole 8%, Basoga 8%, Iteso 8%, Bakiga 7%, Langi 6%, Rwanda 6%, Bagisu 5%, Acholi 4%, Lugbara 4%, Batoro 3%, Bunyoro 3%, Alur 2%, Bagwere 2%, Bakonjo 2%, Jopodhola 2%, Karamojong 2%, Rundi 2%, non-African (European, Asian, Arab) 1%, other 8%
Religions: Roman Catholic 33%, Protestant 33%, Islam 16%, indigenous beliefs 18%
Literacy rate: 70% (2003 est.)

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Economic summary:
GDP/PPP (2005 est.): $46.06 billion; per capita $1,700.
Real growth rate: 9%. Inflation: 9.7%.
Unemployment: n.a. Arable land: 22%.
Agriculture: coffee, tea, cotton, tobacco, cassava (tapioca), potatoes, corn, millet, pulses, cut flowers; beef, goat meat, milk, poultry. Labor force: 13.17 million; agriculture 82%, industry 5%, services 13% (1999 est.).
Industries: sugar, brewing, tobacco, cotton textiles; cement, steel production. Natural resources: copper, cobalt, hydropower, limestone, salt, arable land.
Exports: $768 million f.o.b. (2005 est.): coffee, fish and fish products, tea, cotton, flowers, horticultural products; gold. Imports: $1.608 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): capital equipment, vehicles, petroleum, medical supplies; cereals.
Major trading partners: Kenya, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Rwanda, U.S., UAE, South Africa, India, China, UK, Japan (2004).

Member of the Commonwealth of Nations

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Communications:
Telephones: main lines in use: 50,074; however, 80,868 main lines were installed (1998); mobile cellular: 9,000 (1998). Radio broadcast stations: AM 7, FM 33, shortwave 2 (2001). Radios: 5 million (2001). Television broadcast stations: 8 (plus one low-power repeater) (2001). Televisions: 500,000 (2001). Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 2 (2000). Internet users: 60,000 (2002).

Transportation:
Railways: total: 1,241 km (2002). Highways: total: 27,000 km; paved: 1,809 km; unpaved: 25,191 km (1999 est.). Waterways: Lake Victoria, Lake Albert, Lake Kyoga, Lake George, Lake Edward, Victoria Nile, Albert Nile. Ports and harbors: Entebbe, Jinja, Port Bell. Airports: 27 (2002).

International disputes: Tutsi, Hutu, and other ethnic groups, associated political rebels, armed gangs, and various government forces continue fighting in the Great Lakes region, transcending the boundaries of Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda to gain control over populated areas and natural resources; government heads pledge to end conflict, but localized violence continues despite UN peacekeeping efforts; conflict in Sudan has extended rebel forces and refugees into Uganda.
(Sources: McGill, Infoplease}

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National demographic and socio-economic profile of Uganda
Briefly, the demographics of Uganda suggest the following:
• Uganda has a generalised epidemic.
• There are 29 million people in the country. The Total Fertility Rate is 6.711. The population Growth Rate stands at 3.2(4)% per annum, one of the highest in the world.
• Life expectancy at birth is: Male = 48 years, Female = 50 years; projected to be 55 years without AIDS. The infant mortality rate (IMR) is: 76 per 1000 live births.

At the socio-economic level, the following is evident:
• Uganda has experienced solid economic growth of 6-7% per annum over the last decade but this is not reflected in the quality of life for most people, particularly the 20% poorest people12;
• The Human Development Index position is 145/177 (2006 ranking);
• Uganda is a low income country with a per capita GDP of $300/annum; with 31% of its people living below the poverty line (2006)13;
• There has been a marked increase in inequality (Gini coefficient increasing from 0.35 in 1997/8 to 0.43 in 2003) primarily due to a slowdown in agricultural growth, insecurity, and population growth rate at 3.2% per annum;
• Significant adult underemployment is pervasive in Uganda;
• It is generally a peaceful country with insecurity and conflict concentrated in the northern part of the country.
(Source: Uganda AIDS Commission, National HIV/AIDS Strategic Plan 2007/8 – 2011/12)

Map of Africa Showing Uganda

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At a Glance: Current Situation
Over the past fifteen years, Uganda has reduced poverty from 56% to 31%. At the same time, coverage of basic services in health and education has also been rapidly expanded. This has been achieved despite a rapidly growing population, from 16.8 million to 27 million over the same period. However, poverty reduction has not been evenly distributed across regions or social groups.

While Central and Western areas have benefited most, poverty in the conflict-affected North, at 61%, is almost twice the national average. Groups such as the disabled, widows, and some ethnic minorities, are far more likely to be among the poor. There is increasing evidence that many of these groups are missing out on government development programmes. (Source: DFID Uganda, Social Development Factsheet)

Challenges
Chronic Poverty and Exclusion
• An estimated 26% (around 7 million) of Uganda’s population lives in chronic poverty, poverty which is passed on from one generation to the next. This includes approximately 3.5 million children. The deepest and severest poverty is found among child-headed households, households with single parents, and households headed by an elderly person or widow/widower. Chronic poverty is contributing to stagnation in primary school enrolment rates, and to difficulties in accessing health care, since many of these households cannot meet the associated costs of these services.
• Government policy has tended to focus on the “active poor”, those who are able to participate in development programmes, although some social protection programmes are in place.
Gender
• Uganda has made progress on gender equality: girls and boys are equally likely to enroll in primary education, although girls are more likely to drop out; 30% of MPs are women. But women’s economic rights are insecure, and their ability to control their sexual and reproductive life is limited.
Domestic and sexual violence are significant problems. About half of married women and one quarter of married men have experienced physical or sexual violence by their partner. Uganda is ranked 108th out of 136 countries in the UN Gender and Development Index for 2006.
.(Source: DFID Uganda, Social Development Factsheet)

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Why are so many people in chronic poverty?
People are in chronic poverty for many reasons. These include: (Source: Chronic Poverty research Centre Uganda, June 2006)
* lack of ownership or access to assets (such as land or cattle) at individual, household or community levels;
* lack of opportunities for employment, production or income generation;
* lack of education, and constraints on other forms of human capital;
* demographic factors such as high dependency rates or increasing household size;
* chronic illness, aggravated by the HIV/AIDS scourge;
* insecurity at both household and community levels;
* poor service delivery and remoteness;
* exclusion and self-exclusion from decision-making and development initiatives are also key factors in chronic poverty; and,
* long-term processes of impoverishment, such as land fragmentation.

References
DFID Uganda. Social Development Factsheet. www.dfid.gov.uk

Chronic Poverty research Centre Uganda(June 2006), Policy Brief No.2/2006, www.chronicpoverty.org

Uganda AIDS Commission, National HIV/AIDS Strategic Plan 2007/8 – 2011/12, p.19. http://siteresources.worldbank.org UgandaNSP25Oct07.pdf

Infoplease, http://www.infoplease.com/world/leaders/uganda.html

Infoplease, www.infoplease.com/pa/A0108066.html

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