British Indian Ocean Territory (2002) | Uganda (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | - | 56 districts; Adjumani, Apac, Arua, Bugiri, Bundibugyo, Bushenyi, Busia, Gulu, Hoima, Iganga, Jinja, Kabale, Kabarole, Kaberamaido, Kalangala, Kampala, Kamuli, Kamwenge, Kanungu, Kapchorwa, Kasese, Katakwi, Kayunga, Kibale, Kiboga, Kisoro, Kitgum, Kotido, Kumi, Kyenjojo, Lira, Luwero, Masaka, Masindi, Mayuge, Mbale, Mbarara, Moroto, Moyo, Mpigi, Mubende, Mukono, Nakapiripirit, Nakasongola, Nebbi, Ntungamo, Pader, Pallisa, Rakai, Rukungiri, Sembabule, Sironko, Soroti, Tororo, Wakiso, Yumbe |
Age structure | - | 0-14 years: 50.6% (male 6,696,193; female 6,653,764)
15-64 years: 47.1% (male 6,199,732; female 6,233,678) 65 years and over: 2.4% (male 269,990; female 351,186) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | coffee, tea, cotton, tobacco, cassava (tapioca), potatoes, corn, millet, pulses; beef, goat meat, milk, poultry, cut flowers |
Airports | 1 (2001) | 27 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 4
over 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 25
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 7 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 60 sq km
land: 60 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago |
total: 236,040 sq km
land: 199,710 sq km water: 36,330 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Oregon |
Background | Established as a territory of the UK in 1965, a number of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) islands were transferred to the Seychelles when it attained independence in 1976. Subsequently, BIOT has consisted only of the six main island groups comprising the Chagos Archipelago. The largest and most southerly of the islands, Diego Garcia, contains a joint UK-US naval support facility. All of the remaining islands are uninhabited. Former agricultural workers, earlier residents in the islands, were relocated primarily to Mauritius but also to the Seychelles, between 1967 and 1973. In 2000, a British High Court ruling invalidated the local immigration order which had excluded them from the archipelago, but upheld the special military status of Diego Garcia. | Uganda achieved independence from the UK in 1962. The dictatorial regime of Idi AMIN (1971-79) was responsible for the deaths of some 300,000 opponents; guerrilla war and human rights abuses under Milton OBOTE (1980-85) claimed at least another 100,000 lives. During the 1990s, the government promulgated non-party presidential and legislative elections. |
Birth rate | - | 46.31 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $1.123 billion
expenditures: $1.433 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY98/99 est.) (2003) |
Capital | - | Kampala |
Climate | tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds | tropical; generally rainy with two dry seasons (December to February, June to August); semiarid in northeast |
Coastline | 698 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | - | 8 October 1995; adopted by the interim, 284-member Constituent Assembly, charged with debating the draft constitution that had been proposed in May 1993; the Constituent Assembly was dissolved upon the promulgation of the constitution in October 1995 |
Country name | conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory
conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT |
conventional long form: Republic of Uganda
conventional short form: Uganda |
Currency | - | Ugandan shilling (UGX) |
Death rate | - | 16.61 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $3.818 billion (2003 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK; administered by a commissioner, resident in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador Jimmy KOLKER
embassy: 1577 Ggaba Rd., Kampala mailing address: P. O. Box 7007, Kampala telephone: [256] (41) 234-142 FAX: [256] (41) 258-451 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador Edith Grace SSEMPALA
chancery: 5911 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011 telephone: [1] (202) 726-7100 through 7102, 0416 FAX: [1] (202) 726-1727 |
Disputes - international | Mauritius and Seychelles claim the Chagos Archipelago and its former inhabitants, who reside chiefly in Mauritius, but in 2001 were granted UK citizenship and the right to repatriation since eviction in 1965; repatriation is complicated by the US military lease of Diego Garcia, the largest island in the chain | Tutsi, Hutu, Lendu, Hema, and other ethnic groups, associated political rebels, armed gangs, militias, 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; civil conflict in Sudan has extended Sudanese rebel forces and refugees into Uganda and given shelter to Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army soldiers in Sudan; Kenya and Uganda are working together to stem cattle rustling and violence by Lord's Resistance Army along the border |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $1.4 billion (2000) |
Economy - overview | All economic activity is concentrated on the largest island of Diego Garcia, where joint UK-US defense facilities are located. Construction projects and various services needed to support the military installations are done by military and contract employees from the UK, Mauritius, the Philippines, and the US. There are no industrial or agricultural activities on the islands. When the Ilois return, they plan to reestablish sugarcane production and fishing. | Uganda has substantial natural resources, including fertile soils, regular rainfall, and sizable mineral deposits of copper and cobalt. 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. Corruption within the government and slippage in the government's determination to press reforms raise doubts about the continuation of strong growth. In 2000, Uganda qualified for enhanced Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) 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. Growth for 2001-02 was solid despite continued decline in the price of coffee, Uganda's principal export. Solid growth in 2003 reflected an upturn in Uganda's export markets. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 1.62 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | - | 174 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | - | 1 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military | 1.928 billion kWh (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m |
lowest point: Lake Albert 621 m
highest point: Margherita Peak on Mount Stanley 5,110 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | draining of wetlands for agricultural use; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; water hyacinth infestation in Lake Victoria; poaching is widespread |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
Ethnic groups | - | 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% |
Exchange rates | - | Ugandan shillings per US dollar - 1,963.72 (2003), 1,797.55 (2002), 1,755.66 (2001), 1,644.48 (2000), 1,454.83 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
head of government: Commissioner Alan HUCKLE (since 2001); Administrator Louise SAVILL (since NA); note - both reside in the UK cabinet: NA elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; commissioner and administrator appointed by the monarch |
chief of state: President Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI (since seizing power 26 January 1986); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI (since seizing power 29 January 1986); Prime Minister Apollo NSIBAMBI (since 5 April 1999); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government; the prime minister assists the president in the supervision of the cabinet cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among elected legislators elections: president reelected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 12 March 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); note - first popular election for president since independence in 1962 was held in 1996; prime minister appointed by the president election results: Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI elected president; percent of vote - Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI 69.3%, Kizza BESIGYE 27.8% |
Exports | - | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | - | coffee, fish and fish products, tea; gold, cotton, flowers, horticultural products |
Exports - partners | - | Kenya 14.7%, Switzerland 13.7%, Netherlands 9.2%, UK 6.4%, South Africa 5.6% (2003) |
Fiscal year | - | 1 July - 30 June |
Flag description | white with six blue wavy horizontal stripes; the flag of the UK is in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the striped section bears a palm tree and yellow crown centered on the outer half of the flag | six equal horizontal bands of black (top), yellow, red, black, yellow, and red; a white disk is superimposed at the center and depicts a red-crested crane (the national symbol) facing the hoist side |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $36.1 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture: 36.1%
industry: 21.2% services: 42.8% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $1,400 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 4.4% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 6 00 S, 71 30 E | 1 00 N, 32 00 E |
Geography - note | archipelago of 2,300 islands; Diego Garcia, largest and southernmost island, occupies strategic location in central Indian Ocean; island is site of joint US-UK military facility | landlocked; fertile, well-watered country with many lakes and rivers |
Highways | total: NA km
paved: short stretch of paved road of NA km between port and airfield on Diego Garcia unpaved: NA km |
total: 27,000 km
paved: 1,809 km unpaved: 25,191 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: 4%
highest 10%: 21% (2000) |
Imports | - | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | - | capital equipment, vehicles, petroleum, medical supplies; cereals |
Imports - partners | - | Kenya 26%, India 7.4%, South Africa 7.2%, Japan 6.6%, UK 6.3%, UAE 5.8%, US 5.7%, China 5.1% (2003) |
Independence | - | 9 October 1962 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 5% (2003 est.) |
Industries | - | sugar, brewing, tobacco, cotton textiles, cement |
Infant mortality rate | - | total: 86.15 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 93.58 deaths/1,000 live births female: 78.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 7.9% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | - | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, EADB, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 0 sq km (1998 est.) | 90 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | - | Court of Appeal (judges are appointed by the president and approved by the legislature); High Court (judges are appointed by the president) |
Labor force | - | 12.09 million (2003 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture 82%, industry 5%, services 13% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 2,698 km
border countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 765 km, Kenya 933 km, Rwanda 169 km, Sudan 435 km, Tanzania 396 km |
Land use | arable land: NEGL
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 25.88%
permanent crops: 10.65% other: 63.47% (2001) |
Languages | - | English (official national language, taught in grade schools, used in courts of law and by most newspapers and some radio broadcasts), Ganda or Luganda (most widely used of the Niger-Congo languages, preferred for native language publications in the capital and may be taught in school), other Niger-Congo languages, Nilo-Saharan languages, Swahili, Arabic |
Legal system | the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply | in 1995, the government restored the legal system to one based on English common law and customary law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
Legislative branch | - | unicameral National Assembly (303 members - 214 directly elected by popular vote, 81 nominated by legally established special interest groups [women 56, army 10, disabled 5, youth 5, labor 5], 8 ex officio members; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 26 June 2001 (next to be held May or June 2006); election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; note - election campaigning by party was not permitted |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population: 45.28 years
male: 43.76 years female: 46.83 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 69.9% male: 79.5% female: 60.4% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern Asia, archipelago in the Indian Ocean, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia | Eastern Africa, west of Kenya |
Map references | Political Map of the World | Africa |
Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 3 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | - | total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 5,091 GRT/5,943 DWT
by type: roll on/roll off 3 (2003 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016 | - |
Military branches | - | Ugandan Peoples' Defense Force (UPDF): Army, Marine Unit, Air Wing |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $128.2 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 2.1% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 5,678,649 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 3,085,053 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | - | Independence Day, 9 October (1962) |
Nationality | - | noun: Ugandan(s)
adjective: Ugandan |
Natural hazards | NA | NA |
Natural resources | coconuts, fish, sugarcane | copper, cobalt, hydropower, limestone, salt, arable land |
Net migration rate | - | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: according to the UNHCR, by the end of 2001, Uganda was host to 178,815 refugees from a number of neighboring countries, including: Sudan 155,996, Rwanda 14,375, and Democratic Republic of the Congo 7,459 (2004 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | - | only one political organization, the Movement (formerly the NRM)[President MUSEVENI, chairman] is allowed to operate unfettered; note - the president maintains that the Movement is not a political party, but a mass organization, which claims the loyalty of all Ugandans
note: the constitution requires the suspension of political parties while the Movement organization is in governance; of the political parties that exist but are prohibited from sponsoring candidates, the most important are the Ugandan People's Congress or UPC [Milton OBOTE]; Democratic Party or DP [Paul SSEMOGERERE]; Conservative Party or CP [Ken LUKYAMUZI]; Justice Forum [Muhammad Kibirige MAYANJA]; and National Democrats Forum [Chapaa KARUHANGA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | Popular Resistance Against a Life President or PRALP |
Population | no indigenous inhabitants
note: approximately 1,200 former agricultural workers resident in the Chagos Archipelago, often referred to as Chagossians or Ilois, were relocated to Mauritius and the Seychelles around the time of the construction of UK-US military facilities; in 2001, there were approximately 1,500 UK and US military personnel and 2,000 civilian contractors living on the island of Diego Garcia (July 2002 est.) |
26,404,543
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | 35% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | - | 2.97% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Diego Garcia | Entebbe, Jinja, Port Bell |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 7, FM 33, shortwave 2 (2001) |
Radios | NA | - |
Railways | - | total: 1,241 km
narrow gauge: 1,241 km 1.000-m gauge (2003) |
Religions | - | Roman Catholic 33%, Protestant 33%, Muslim 16%, indigenous beliefs 18% |
Sex ratio | - | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | - | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: separate facilities for military and public needs are available
domestic: all commercial telephone services are available, including connection to the Internet international: international telephone service is carried by satellite (2000) |
general assessment: seriously inadequate; two cellular systems have been introduced, but a sharp increase in the number of main lines is essential; e-mail and Internet services are available
domestic: intercity traffic by wire, microwave radio relay, and radiotelephone communication stations, fixed and mobile cellular systems for short-range traffic international: country code - 256; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Inmarsat; analog links to Kenya and Tanzania |
Telephones - main lines in use | NA | 61,000 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 776,200 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 8 (plus one low-power repeater) (2001) |
Terrain | flat and low (most areas do not exceed four meters in elevation) | mostly plateau with rim of mountains |
Total fertility rate | - | 6.64 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | NA (2002 est.) |
Waterways | none | 300 km (on Lake Victoria, 200 km on Lake Albert, Lake Kyoga, and parts of Albert Nile) (2004 est.) |