Uganda

Background
Uganda is a landlocked country in east
Africa. Uganda is bordered by South
Sudan to the north, the democratic
republic of Congo to the west, Rwanda
and Tanzania to the south and Kenya to
the east.
Uganda became a British territory in
1890. It became independent in 1962.
Since the late 1980s Uganda has rebuilt
from an abyss of civil war and economic
catastrophe to become a relatively
stable, peaceful and prosperous country.
In the 1970s and 1980s Uganda was
notorious for its human rights abuses,
first during the military dictatorship of
Idi Amin from 1971-79 and then after
the return to power of Milton Obote, who
had been ousted by Amin. During this time up to half a million people were killed in statesponsored violence. The dictatorial regime of Idi Amin from 1971-79 was responsible for the
deaths of 300,000 opponents and guerrilla war and human rights abuses under Milton Obote
from 1980-85 claimed at around another 200,000 lives.
When Idi Amin overthrew the government in 1971 there was a long period of violence and civil
war. This increased the demand for weapons. Amin borrowed $1 million to pay for weapons
leaving the country in huge debt. Amin also expelled the wealthy Asians who had been brought
over by the British Empire at the beginning of the 20th century to build infrastructure such as
railways. These Asians had often become good business owners, the expulsion of these
businesses lead to a collapse in government tax revenue.
Since becoming president in 1986 Yoweri Museveni has introduced democratic reforms at a
steady pace and been credited with substantially improving human rights, notably by reducing
abuses by the army and the police. Musevini made Uganda into a one party state but multi-party
politics was restored in 2005. The opposition accuses President Museveni of authoritarian
tendencies.
This galvanised the opposition, which disputed Mr Museveni's victory in the 2011 presidential
elections and went to organise street protests about the cost of living and political freedoms.
However, EU observers said that had been improvements in the conduct of elections in Uganda

since the 2006 elections. The president has also come under fire for Uganda's military
involvement, along with five other countries, in neighbouring DR Congo's 1998-2003 civil war.
Facts

Capital is Kampala. Kampala had a population of 1.535 million in

2009.

The south of Uganda is heavily influenced by Lake Victoria, one

of the worlds biggest lakes. Lake Victoria prevents
temperatures from varying significantly and moderates
precipitation. Most cities are located in the south.

The area of Uganda is 241,038 square kilometres (93,072

miles). This means that Uganda is the 81st biggest country in
the world, being just slightly smaller than the UK.

Uganda is the second most populous land locked country in the

world. Although landlocked, Uganda contains many large lakes.
Besides, Lake Victoria there is Lake Albert, Lake Kyoga, Lake Edward and many others.

Uganda has a tropical climate. It is generally rainy with two dry seasons from December to
February and June to August. The north-east is semi-arid.

Uganda has substantial natural resources. Natural resources in Uganda include; copper,
cobalt, hydropower, limestone, salt, fertile arable land, recently discovered oil and gold.

27.94% of land in Uganda is used for agriculture. There is 144.2 square km of irrigated land
in Uganda.

Total renewable water resources were 66 cubic kilometres in 2011

Major religions are Christianity and Islam

Major languages are English, Swahili, Laguna, Vanuatu Banu and Nilone languages.

Environmental issues include; drainage of wetlands for agriculture, deforestation,

overgrazing, desertification, soil erosion and poaching.

20% of Ugandans are said to be undernourished.

Uganda has an estimate population of 35.9 million meaning it has the 36 th biggest population
in the world.

With a population growth rate of 3.24%, Uganda has the 9 th fastest growing population in
the world.

With a birth rate of 44.17 births per 1000 of the population, Uganda has the 3 rd highest
birth rate in the world.

Net outmigration rate of -0.76 migrants per 1000 of the population in 2014.

13.5% of the population lived in urban areas in 2011. The rate of urbanisation is 5.74%.

9.5% of GDP is spent on healthcare. In 2005 there were 0.12 doctors per 1,000 of the
population. There were 0.5 hospital beds per 1,000 of the population in 2010.

91.3% of the urban population have access to improved water supply. 71.7% of the rural
population have access to improved water supply.

33.9% of the urban population have access to improved sanitation. 35.2% of the rural
population have access to improved sanitation.

In 2012 7.2% of adults were living with HIV/AIDs, the 10 th highest rate in the world.
1,549,200 people were living with HIV/AIDs in 2013, the 6 th most people living with
HIV/AIDs in a country. 63,300 died in 2012 of HIV/AIDs in Uganda.

Only 4.3% of adults are obese.

14.1% of under 5s were underweight in 2011. This is a problem as it can cause stunted
growth which can cause problems in later life.

3.3% of GDP was spent on education.

A of children aged 5-17 were working in 2010 in Uganda. Many work on tobacco farms.

24.5% live below the poverty line.

There were 16.355 million mobile phones in 2013.

Uganda has 60 protected areas including 10 natural parks. Bwinda impenetrable Natural Park
and Ruwenzori mountains Natural Park are both UNESCO world heritage sites.

Key stats
Population

(July 2014 estimate) 35.9 million

(2012 UN) 35.6 million

GNI per capita

(2011) $1,124
(1990) $517
(1990) $517
(2011) $1328
(2013) $54.34 billion
(2012) $51.47 billion
(2011) $50.08 billion
(2013) 5.6%
(2012) 2.8%
(2011) 6.2%
(2013) $1,500
(2005) 12.31 cubic m/yr
CIA world fact book (2005)
41% used for domestic purposes
10% used for industry
43% used for agriculture
(2014)
0-14 48.7%
15-24 21.2%
25-54 25.7%
55-64 2.1%
65+ 2.1%
103.3%
98.42%
15.5 years
(1990) 3.5%
(2011) 3.2%
(2013) 3.2%
44.17 births per 1000 of the population
Net outmigration rate of -0.76 migrants per

GNI per capita (PPP)

GDP (PPP)

GDP growth rate

GDP per capita

Water withdrawal per capita
Water withdrawal

Age structure

Dependency ratio
Youth dependency ratio
Median age
Population growth rate

Birth rate
Migration rate

1000 of the population in 2014.

Maternal mortality rate

Life expectancy at birth

Fertility rate
Adult literacy

Labour force
Under five mortality rate
HIV prevalence

Urban population (% of people living in urban

areas)
Urbanisation rate
Total external debt
Debt interest (% of GDP per year )
Debt as a % of GDP

Government spending (% of GDP)

(1990) 670 deaths per 100,000 live births

(2008) 430 deaths per 100,000 live births
(2010) 310 deaths per 100,000 live births
(1990) 47.4 years
(2011) 54.1 years
(2014) 54.48 years men- 53.1 years
Women- 55.86 years
5.97 children on average born to every woman
73.6% of the population over 15 can read and
write.
82.6% of men
64.6% of women.
(2013) 17.4 million
(1990) 184 deaths per 1000 live births
(2009) 128 deaths per 1000 live births
(1990) 10.2%
(2005) 6.3%
(2009) 6.5%
(2012) 7.2%
(1990) 11.1%
(2011) 13.5%
5.74%. (2011)
(1990) 2.6 billion
(2010) 3 billion
(1990) 0.8%
(2010 0.1%
(1990) 61 %
(2010) 18%
(1990) 7.5%
(2010) 11.8%

Economy
Uganda is vulnerable to changes in the world price of
coffee, its main export earner. Oil discoveries have
boosted prospects. Western-backed economic reforms
produced solid growth and falls in inflation in the
1990s, and the discovery of oil and gas in the west of
the country boosted confidence. The global economic
turndown of 2008 hit Uganda hard, given its continuing
dependence on primary products, and pushed up food
prices.

GNI has more than doubled from $517 per capita in 1990 to $1124 in 2011.
Real GDP growth in Uganda averaged 7% a year in the 1990s and 2000s. This was well above the
sub-Saharan African average. The GDP growth rate has allowed the government to try to reach
some of the millennium development goals.
23.1% of GDP came from agriculture, 26.9% from industry and 50% from the service sector in
2013.

Uganda is a net importer. Exports were worth $3.156 billion in 2013 ($2.811 billion in 2012).
Main exports are coffee, fish and fish products, tea, cotton, flowers, horticultural products and
gold. Main export partners are Kenya (12.3%), Rwanda (10.3%), the United Arab Emirates
(10.2%), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (8.4%), the Netherlands (6.1%), Germany (5.6%)
and Italy (4.4%)
Imports were worth $4.858 billion in 2013 ($5.187 billion in 2012). Main imports are; vehicles,
petroleum, medical supplies and cereals. Main import partners are; Kenya (15.6%), The United
Arab Emirates (15.4%), China (12.8%), India (11.7), South Africa (4.1) and Japan (4%).
Ugandas debt is still greater than its imports and exports. Public debt was 30.7% of GDP in
2013. The budget deficit was -2.7% of GDP in 2013.
The recent discovery of oil could help the development of Uganda.
Agriculture
Agriculture is the most important sector of the economy, employing over 80% of the workforce.
Main agricultural products are; coffee, tea, cotton, tobacco, cassava, tapioca, potatoes, corn,
millet, pulses, cut flowers, beef, goat meat, milk and poultry.
Just 13% of farmers in Uganda buy improved seed from formal markets, the rest rely on seeds
saved from previous seasons or trade informally with their neighbours. However, such seeds
produce much lower yields than modern types. The influx of fake seeds that fail to germinate
are forcing many Ugandans into further poverty.
Industry
Main industries include; sugar, brewing, tobacco, cotton textiles, cement and steel production.
Industrial production grew 3.8% in 2013.
Energy
Uganda has a much more stable power supply from the Bujugagli hydropower plant in 2012. This
has caused electricity prices to decrease.
Electricity production in 2010 was 2.406 billion kWh. Electricity consumption in 2010 was 2.192
kWh.

In 2010 there were thought to be 2.5 billion bbl reserves of crude oil and 14.16 billion cubic
metres of proved natural gas reserves in 2013. This may help with Ugandas development.

HIPC scheme
Debt reduction (the HIPC scheme)
The HIPC initiative was launched in 1996 by the international monetary fund and the World
Bank. According to the IMF the aim of the HIPC initiative is to ensure that no poor country
faces a debt burden it cannot manage. It was the first multilateral international response to
provide comprehensive debt relief to the worlds most heavily indebted countries. Since 1996
the international financial community, including multilateral organisations and governments have
worked together to reduce the external debt burden to the most heavily indebted poor
countries of the world.
As of October 2013 HIPC initiatives have been used in 36 countries, 30 of these countries in
Africa. The HIPC has provided around 75 billion US dollars worth of debt relief since it was
first begun. Thirty-nine countries have been helped with debt reduction by the HIPC these are;
Afghanistan, Benin, Bolivia, Burkina-Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, chad, the central African republic,
Comoros, the democratic republic of Congo, cote divoire, Ethiopia, Eritrea, the Gambia, Ghana,
Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania,
Mozambique, Nicaragua, Niger, Rwanda, Sao tome, Senegal, sierra Leone, Somalia, the Sudan,
Tanzania, Togo, Uganda and Zambia.
To be considered for HIPC initiative assistance a country must fulfil the following four
conditions;
1.

Be eligible to borrow from the World Banks international development agency which
provides interest-free loans and grants to the worlds poorest countries and from the
IMFs poverty reduction and growth trust which provides loans to low income countries
at subsidised rates.

2. The country has to be facing an unsustainable debt burden that cannot be addressed
through traditional debt relief mechanisms.
3. The country has developed a poverty reduction strategy paper (PRSP) through a broad
based participatory process in the country.
Uganda was the first country to benefit from the HIPC initiative. The Ugandan government had
to demonstrate; good financial management, lack of corruption and ensure that money was being
spent on poverty reduction, health and education. In Uganda out of a debt service of 2 million,
the World Bank provided 1 million in debt relief. Uganda has seen some benefits of the HIPC
scheme such as being able to spend 20%v more on public services, having a higher enrolment on
children in primary education (2.6 million children in 1997 and 7.3 million pupils in 2002
increasing female enrolment to 92% the same as boys) and overall poverty levels reducing from
56% in 1991 to 35% in 2000. It is believed factors such as these will help Uganda to establish
higher rates of food security, however there are still many problems in Uganda such as and poor
sanitation and primitive healthcare.

Strengths
HIV/ AIDs
Uganda has won praise for its vigorous campaign against HIV/Aids. Campaigns around sex
education and sexual health have helped to reduce the prevalence of the virus - which reached
30% of the population in the 1990s to single-digit figures.
In 1990 1 in 5 Ugandans had HIV/AIDs. However, the government got behind the fight against
aid with sexual health campaigns and sex education and in 2005 the HIV rate was brought down
to 6.3%. However, in recent years the number of people with HIV has begun to rise again to
7.2% in 2012. Once again the government is trying to bring down this total. Billboards and
posters urge people take tests. Even the president and his wife have taken public tests for HIV
to encourage others to get tested. The idea is that once people find out they are HIV positive
they can be put onto anti-retroviral drugs and be counselled so they dont spread the disease.
However, the massive social stigma means that many are scared to be tested. A survey of more
than 1,000 Ugandans living with HIV and AIDs was conducted by the National Forum of People
Living with HIV/AIDs found that more than 60% of them experienced stigma by either being
shunned by relatives or friends, or losing or failing to gain a job. Many in Uganda still see HIV as
the disease as the immoral and those who live a promiscuous life. Employers are often not willing
to employ HIV positive people as they fear they will be less productive. This stigma makes HIV
positive people more likely to ignore the fact they have HIV, ignore health treatment and
passing the virus onto others. It was reported in 2014 that private doctors are selling fake HIV
negative certificates to help people retain and get jobs.
Poverty reduction
The population of people living in poverty decreased to 54.5% in 2009/10. The 2011/12 Ugandan
national household survey released in November 2013 indicated that 22%. This meant that
Uganda has surpassed the 2015 Millennium Development Goal of halving the 56% poverty rate
recorded in 1992/3
Millennium development goals

Threats
Security and the Lords Resistant Army
Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) was forced out of northern Uganda in 2005/06 and has been
under military pressure in border regions in recent years. Until relatively recently, the lives of
hundreds of thousands of people in northern Uganda were blighted by one of Africa's most
brutal rebellions. The LRA are thought to have left thousands dead and millions displaced.
The cult-like Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), led by Joseph Kony, began its activities more than
20 years ago and its forces became notorious for abducting children to serve as sex slaves and
fighters. At the height of the conflict, nearly two million people in northern Uganda were
displaced. It was involved in guerrilla conflict in Uganda from 1987. The conflict has significant
ethnic dimensions.
The LRA was forced out of Uganda in 2005/06 and since then has wreaked havoc in the Central
African Republic, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
With the LRA's departure, northern Uganda has undergone a positive transformation.
Thousands of former LRA fighters and abductees have left the group and been reintegrated
through Uganda's Amnesty Commission.

Some critics have wondered why the conflict went on for so long and questioned Mr Museveni's
commitment to ending the insurgency. The government in turn has pointed to progress since
2011, when the US committed itself to tracking down LRA bases in nearby countries.
Internal strife
The colonial boundaries created by Britain grouped together a wide range of ethnic groups with
different ideas of how their country should be governed and different cultures. These
differences have been argued to be partially why Uganda has found it so hard to develop.
Conflict between rebel forces, armed gangs, military factions and ethnic groups have disrupted
agriculture and trade increasing the risk of food insecurity and holding back development.
As well as internal strife due to the Lords Resistant Army, civil war in Uganda (the Ugandan
bush war) waged between 1981 and 1986)

International relations
There is tension between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Uganda has been
actively involved in the DR Congo conflict. Lord Resistance Army leaders are wanted by the
International Criminal Court for war crimes. DR Congo accuses Uganda of maintaining its
influence in the mineral-rich east of the country. Uganda says DR Congo has failed to disarm
Ugandan rebels on its soil.
There is tension between Uganda and Tanzania. They fought a war between 1978 and 1979.
Uganda was also involved in the devastating Rwandan civil war from 1990 and 1993.
Human rights
In 2014 Uganda passed a bill to make being homosexual punishment by life in prison. A number
of gays and lesbians have been believed to be murdered.
The World Bank has postponed a $90 million loan to Uganda due to their anti-homosexuality
laws. Also Denmark, the Netherlands & Sweden are withholding aid to Uganda due to antihomosexuality laws.
Press freedom
In May 2013, the government temporarily shut two newspapers after they published a letter
suggesting president Museveni was grooming his son for power.
Population pyramid

Climate change
Severe floods affected Uganda in September 2011. Floods are believed to increase in frequency
and magnitude due to climate change in east Africa which could cause problems for development.
The northeast region of Karamoja region has the driest climate and is prone to droughts. The
frequency and magnitudes of droughts could increase in Uganda due to climate change.
Environmental issues
Environmental issues include; drainage of wetlands for agriculture, deforestation, overgrazing,
desertification, soil erosion and poaching.
Education
Even though education is supposed to be free, in reality there are few government schools. This
means that parents have to pay fees which are usually the equivalent of 20 a term for each
child which for many people is too much to afford. For this reason boys are often more likely to
receive an education than girls.
Healthcare
Only 41% of births are attended by a skilled professional leaving Uganda with a high maternal
and infant mortality rate.
Gender inequality
Women in Uganda are the poorest in the country. Women rarely own the land and are most likely
to work as landless labourers. Women gain respect by having as many children as possible, even
though the maternal mortality rate is high.

Corruption
Uganda is rated as very corrupt by transparency international.

Terrorism
In 2010 bomb attacks in Kampala killed over 70 people. The attacks were blamed on the
fundamentalist Islamic militant group Al-Shabaab.