Background on Uganda

Uganda is located in Eastern Africa just west of Kenya. It also shares borders with Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Tanzania. The country is 236,040 square km which is slightly smaller than the state of Oregon.

Uganda is located on the equator, but its tropical climate is moderated by altitude. The weather is generally rainy with two dry season (December to February, and June to August).

Uganda has a population of 28 million, nearly half of these are under the age of 15. There are many different ethnic groups and more than 30 distinct languages in Uganda. English, the language of the former colonial power, is generally used as the lingua franca.

Uganda has had it’s share of political turbulence since it’s independence in 1962. Idi Amin’s regime, which lasted from 1971 to 1979, was responsible for the deaths of approximately 300,000 citizens. Guerrilla war and human rights abuses throughout the early 1980s claimed another 100,000 lives. Today, Uganda is considerably calmer and more stable, although some parts of the country still experience rebel activity, particularly in the north (due to the Lord’s Resistance Army) and in the west along the border with Congo. Today’s president, Yoweri Museveni, has been in power since 1986.

Uganda has been recognized as a success story in the fight against HIV and AIDS, widely being viewed as having the most effective national response to the pandemic in Africa. Adult HIV infection rates have been reduced by half over the past 10 years. Even so, over half a million Ugandans are living with HIV/AIDS, and the social, economic, and personal costs of the epidemic in Uganda have been great.

Uganda by the numbers: (compare to USA figures in parentheses)

  • GDP per capita: $1,088 ($43,500)
  • Infant mortality: 66.15 deaths/1,000 live births (6.43)
  • Life expectancy: 48 for men, 51 for women (77.85)
  • Birth rates: 6.71 children born/woman (2.09)
  • HIV/AIDS prevalence: 4.1% (0.6%)
  • Literacy: 69.9%–79.5% men, 60.4% women (99% for both men and women)

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