Uganda (2006) | Nepal (2003) | |
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
note: as of a July 2005, 13 new districts were reportedly added bringing the total up to 69; the new districts are Amolatar, Amuria, Budaka, Butaleja, Ibanda, Kaabong, Kabingo, Kaliro, Kiruhura, Koboko, Manafwa, Mityana, Nakaseke; a total of nine more districts are in the process of being added |
14 zones (anchal, singular and plural); Bagmati, Bheri, Dhawalagiri, Gandaki, Janakpur, Karnali, Kosi, Lumbini, Mahakali, Mechi, Narayani, Rapti, Sagarmatha, Seti |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 50% (male 7,091,763/female 6,996,385)
15-64 years: 47.8% (male 6,762,071/female 6,727,230) 65 years and over: 2.2% (male 266,931/female 351,374) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 39.7% (male 5,424,396; female 5,080,171)
15-64 years: 56.7% (male 7,692,134; female 7,320,059) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 468,697; female 484,112) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, tea, cotton, tobacco, cassava (tapioca), potatoes, corn, millet, pulses, cut flowers; beef, goat meat, milk, poultry | rice, corn, wheat, sugarcane, root crops; milk, water buffalo meat |
Airports | 31 (2006) | 45 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 5
over 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 9
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 7 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 26
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 8 (2006) |
total: 36
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 28 (2002) |
Area | total: 236,040 sq km
land: 199,710 sq km water: 36,330 sq km |
total: 140,800 sq km
land: 136,800 sq km water: 4,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Oregon | slightly larger than Arkansas |
Background | The colonial boundaries created by Britain to delimit Uganda grouped together a wide range of ethnic groups with different political systems and cultures. These differences prevented the establishment of a working political community after independence was achieved 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. The rule of Yoweri MUSEVENI since 1986 has brought relative stability and economic growth to Uganda. During the 1990s, the government promulgated non-party presidential and legislative elections. | In 1951, the Nepalese monarch ended the century-old system of rule by hereditary premiers and instituted a cabinet system of government. Reforms in 1990 established a multiparty democracy within the framework of a constitutional monarchy. A Maoist insurgency, launched in 1996, has gained traction and is threatening to bring down the regime. In 2001, the Crown Prince massacred ten members of the royal family, including the king and queen, and then took his own life. In October 2002, the new king dismissed the prime minister and his cabinet for "incompetence" after they dissolved the parliament and were subsequently unable to hold elections because of the ongoing insurgency. The country is now governed by the king and his appointed cabinet, which has negotiated a cease-fire with the Maoist insurgents, until elections can be held at some unspecified future date. |
Birth rate | 47.35 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 32.46 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.845 billion
expenditures: $1.904 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
revenues: $665 million
expenditures: $1.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY 99/00 est.) |
Capital | name: Kampala
geographic coordinates: 0 19 N, 32 25 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Kathmandu |
Climate | tropical; generally rainy with two dry seasons (December to February, June to August); semiarid in northeast | varies from cool summers and severe winters in north to subtropical summers and mild winters in south |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 8 October 1995; in 2005 the constitution was amended removing presidential term limits and legalizing a multiparty political system | 9 November 1990 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Uganda
conventional short form: Uganda |
conventional long form: Kingdom of Nepal
conventional short form: Nepal |
Currency | - | Nepalese rupee (NPR) |
Death rate | 12.24 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 9.84 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $4.973 billion (2005 est.) | $2.55 billion (FY 00/01) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires William FITZGERALD
embassy: 1577 Ggaba Rd., Kampala mailing address: P. O. Box 7007, Kampala telephone: [256] (41) 234-142 FAX: [256] (41) 258-451 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Michael E. MALINOWSKI
embassy: Panipokhari, Kathmandu mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [977] (1) 411179 FAX: [977] (1) 419963 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Edith G. SSEMPALA
chancery: 5911 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011 telephone: [1] (202) 726-7100 through 7102, 0416 FAX: [1] (202) 726-1727 |
chief of mission: Ambassador-designate Jai Pratap RANA
chancery: 2131 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 667-4550 FAX: [1] (202) 667-5534 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | Uganda is subject to armed fighting among hostile ethnic groups, rebels, armed gangs, militias, and various government forces; Ugandan refugees have fled the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) into the southern Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo; LRA forces have attacked Kenyan villages across the border | joint border commission continues to work on small disputed sections of boundary with India; India has instituted a stricter border regime to restrict transit of Maoist insurgents |
Economic aid - recipient | $959 million (2003) | $424 million (FY 00/01) |
Economy - overview | 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. 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. Growth in 2003-05 reflected an upturn in Uganda's export markets. | Nepal is among the poorest and least developed countries in the world with 42% of its population living below the poverty line. Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, providing a livelihood for over 80% of the population and accounting for 40% of GDP. Industrial activity mainly involves the processing of agricultural produce including jute, sugarcane, tobacco, and grain. Textile and carpet production, accounting for about 80% of foreign exchange earnings in recent years, contracted in 2001-02 due to the overall slowdown in the world economy and pressures by Maoist insurgents on factory owners and workers. Security concerns in the wake of the Maoist conflict and the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the US have led to a decrease in tourism, another key source of foreign exchange. Since 1991, the government has been moving forward with economic reforms, e.g., by reducing business licenses and registration requirements to simplify investment procedures, reducing subsidies, privatizing state industries, and laying off civil servants. Nepal has considerable scope for exploiting its potential in hydropower and tourism, areas of recent foreign investment interest. Prospects for foreign trade or investment in other sectors will remain poor, however, because of the small size of the economy, its technological backwardness, its remoteness, its landlocked geographic location, and its susceptibility to natural disaster. The international community's role of funding more than 60% of Nepal's development budget and more than 28% of total budgetary expenditures will likely continue as a major ingredient of growth. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.448 billion kWh (2003) | 1.764 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 160 million kWh (2003) | 95 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | 227 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 1.729 billion kWh (2003) | 1.755 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 8.5%
hydro: 91.5% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Lake Albert 621 m
highest point: Margherita Peak on Mount Stanley 5,110 m |
lowest point: Kanchan Kalan 70 m
highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m (1999) |
Environment - current issues | draining of wetlands for agricultural use; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; water hyacinth infestation in Lake Victoria; poaching is widespread | deforestation (overuse of wood for fuel and lack of alternatives); contaminated water (with human and animal wastes, agricultural runoff, and industrial effluents); wildlife conservation; vehicular emissions |
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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation |
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% | Brahman, Chetri, Newar, Gurung, Magar, Tamang, Rai, Limbu, Sherpa, Tharu, and others (1995) |
Exchange rates | Ugandan shillings per US dollar - 1,780.7 (2005), 1,810.3 (2004), 1,963.7 (2003), 1,797.6 (2002), 1,755.7 (2001) | Nepalese rupees per US dollar - 77.88 (2002), 74.95 (2001), 71.09 (2000), 68.24 (1999), 65.98 (1998) |
Executive branch | 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 23 February 2006 (next to be held in 2011) election results: Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI elected president; percent of vote - Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI 59.3%, Kizza BESIGYE 37.4%, other 3.3% |
chief of state: King GYANENDRA Bir Bikram Shah (succeeded to the throne 4 June 2001 following the death of his nephew, King DIPENDRA Bir Bikram Shah)
head of government: Prime Minister Surya Bahadur THAPA (since 4 June 2003); note - Prime Minister CHAND resigned 30 May 2003 cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch note: King BIRENDRA Bir Bikram Shah Dev died in a bloody shooting at the royal palace on 1 June 2001 that also claimed the lives of most of the royal family; King BIRENDRA's son, Crown Price DIPENDRA, is believed to have been responsible for the shootings before fatally wounding himself; immediately following the shootings and while still clinging to life, DIPENDRA was crowned king; he died three days later and was succeeded by his uncle |
Exports | NA bbl/day | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, fish and fish products, tea, cotton, flowers, horticultural products; gold | carpets, clothing, leather goods, jute goods, grain |
Exports - partners | Kenya 15.1%, Belgium 9.9%, Netherlands 9.7%, France 7.1%, Germany 5.1%, Rwanda 4% (2005) | India 47.5%, US 27.6%, Germany 7.5% (2002) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | 16 July - 15 July |
Flag description | 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 | red with a blue border around the unique shape of two overlapping right triangles; the smaller, upper triangle bears a white stylized moon and the larger, lower triangle bears a white 12-pointed sun |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $37.32 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 31.1%
industry: 22.2% services: 46.9% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 40%
industry: 20% services: 40% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $1,400 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2005 est.) | -0.6% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 1 00 N, 32 00 E | 28 00 N, 84 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; fertile, well-watered country with many lakes and rivers | landlocked; strategic location between China and India; contains eight of world's 10 highest peaks, including Mount Everest - the world's tallest - on the border with China |
Highways | - | total: 13,223 km
paved: 4,073 km unpaved: 9,150 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 4%
highest 10%: 21% (2000) |
lowest 10%: 3.2%
highest 10%: 29.8% (1995-96) |
Illicit drugs | - | illicit producer of cannabis for the domestic and international drug markets; transit point for opiates from Southeast Asia to the West |
Imports | NA bbl/day | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | capital equipment, vehicles, petroleum, medical supplies; cereals | gold, machinery and equipment, petroleum products, fertilizer |
Imports - partners | Kenya 32%, UAE 8.6%, South Africa 6.4%, India 5.7%, China 5.2%, UK 4.4%, US 4.1%, Japan 4% (2005) | India 21.2%, China 13%, UAE 11.1%, Singapore 8.5%, Hong Kong 5.9%, Saudi Arabia 4.9%, Kuwait 4.1% (2002) |
Independence | 9 October 1962 (from UK) | 1768 (unified by Prithvi Narayan Shah) |
Industrial production growth rate | 9% (2005 est.) | 8.7% (FY 99/00) |
Industries | sugar, brewing, tobacco, cotton textiles; cement, steel production | tourism, carpet, textile; small rice, jute, sugar, and oilseed mills; cigarette; cement and brick production |
Infant mortality rate | total: 66.15 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 69.51 deaths/1,000 live births female: 62.69 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
total: 70.57 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 68.95 deaths/1,000 live births female: 72.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 8.1% (2005 est.) | 2.8% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, COMESA, EADB, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIS, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | AsDB, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, MONUC, NAM, OPCW, SAARC, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMISET, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 6 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 90 sq km (2003) | 11,350 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) | Supreme Court or Sarbochha Adalat (chief justice is appointed by the monarch on recommendation of the Constitutional Council; the other judges are appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the Judicial Council) |
Labor force | 13.17 million (2005 est.) | 10 million
note: severe lack of skilled labor (1996 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 82%
industry: 5% services: 13% (1999 est.) |
agriculture 81%, services 16%, industry 3% |
Land boundaries | 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 |
total: 2,926 km
border countries: China 1,236 km, India 1,690 km |
Land use | arable land: 21.57%
permanent crops: 8.92% other: 69.51% (2005) |
arable land: 20.27%
permanent crops: 0.49% other: 79.24% (1998 est.) |
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 | Nepali (official; spoken by 90% of the population), about a dozen other languages and about 30 major dialects; note - many in government and business also speak English (1995) |
Legal system | in 1995, the government restored the legal system to one based on English common law and customary law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on Hindu legal concepts and English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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 23 February 2006 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; note - election results had not been posted as of March 2006 |
bicameral Parliament consists of the National Council (60 seats; 35 appointed by the House of Representatives, 10 by the king, and 15 elected by an electoral college; one-third of the members elected every two years to serve six-year terms) and the House of Representatives (205 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 3 and 17 May 1999 (next election NA) note: Nepal's Parliament was dissolved on 22 May 2002 election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NC 37.3%, CPN/UML 31.6%, NDP 10.4%, NSP 3.2%, Rastriya Jana Morcha 1.4%, Samyukta Janmorcha Nepal 0.8%, NWPP 0.5%, others 14.8%; seats by party - NC 113, CPN/UML 69, NDP 11, NSP 5, Rastriya Jana Morcha 5, Samyukta Janmorcha Nepal 1, NWPP 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 52.67 years
male: 51.68 years female: 53.69 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 59 years
male: 59.36 years female: 58.63 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 69.9% male: 79.5% female: 60.4% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 45.2% male: 62.7% female: 27.6% (2003 est.) |
Location | Eastern Africa, west of Kenya | Southern Asia, between China and India |
Map references | Africa | Asia |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
Military branches | Ugandan Peoples' Defense Force (UPDF): Army, Marine Unit, Air Wing | Royal Nepalese Army (includes Royal Nepalese Army Air Service), Nepalese Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $192.8 million (2005 est.) | $57.22 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.2% (2005 est.) | 1.1% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 6,674,014 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 3,467,511 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 17 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 303,222 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 9 October (1962) | Birthday of King GYANENDRA, 7 July (1946) |
Nationality | noun: Ugandan(s)
adjective: Ugandan |
noun: Nepalese (singular and plural)
adjective: Nepalese |
Natural hazards | NA | severe thunderstorms, flooding, landslides, drought, and famine depending on the timing, intensity, and duration of the summer monsoons |
Natural resources | copper, cobalt, hydropower, limestone, salt, arable land | quartz, water, timber, hydropower, scenic beauty, small deposits of lignite, copper, cobalt, iron ore |
Net migration rate | -1.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Conservative Party or CP [Ken LUKYAMUZI]; Democratic Party or DP [Kizito SSEBAANA]; Forum for Democratic Change or FDC [Kizza BESIGYE]; Justice Forum or JEEMA [Muhammad Kibirige MAYANJA]; National Democrats Forum [Chapaa KARUHANGA]; National Resistance Movement or NRM [Yoweri MUSEVENI]; Ugandan People's Congress or UPC [Miria OBOTE]
note: a national referendum in July 2005 opened the way for Uganda's transition to a multi-party political system |
Communist Party of Nepal/United Marxist-Leninist or CPN/UML [Madhav Kumar NEPAL, general secretary]; National Democratic Party or NDP (also called Rastriya Prajantra Party or RPP) [Surya Bahadur THAPA, chairman]; National People's Front (Rastriya Jana Morcha) [Chitra Bahadur, chairman]; Nepal Sadbhavana (Goodwill) Party or NSP [Bhadri Prasad MANDAL, acting party president]; Nepal Workers and Peasants Party or NWPP [Narayan Man BIJUKCHHE, party chairman]; Nepali Congress or NC [Girija Prasad KOIRALA, party president; Sushil KOIRALA, general secretary]; Samyukta Janmorcha Nepal [Lila Mani POKHAREL, general secretary] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Popular Resistance Against a Life President or PRALP | Maoist guerrilla-based insurgency [Pushpa Kamal DAHAL also known as Prahanda, chairman; and chief negotiator, Dr. Baburam BHATTARAI, from Communist Party of Nepal/Maoist]; numerous small, left-leaning student groups in the capital; several small, radical Nepalese antimonarchist groups |
Population | 28,195,754
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 2006 est.) |
26,469,569 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 35% (2001 est.) | 42% (1995-96) |
Population growth rate | 3.37% (2006 est.) | 2.26% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 7, FM 33, shortwave 2 (2001) | AM 6, FM 5, shortwave 1 (January 2000) |
Railways | total: 1,244 km
narrow gauge: 1,244 km 1.000-m gauge (2005) |
total: 59 km
narrow gauge: 59 km 0.762-m gauge (2002) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 33%, Protestant 33%, Muslim 16%, indigenous beliefs 18% | Hinduism 86.2%, Buddhism 7.8%, Islam 3.8%, other 2.2%
note: only official Hindu state in the world (1995) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | 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 |
general assessment: poor telephone and telegraph service; fair radiotelephone communication service and mobile cellular telephone network
domestic: NA international: radiotelephone communications; microwave landline to India; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 100,800 (2005) | 236,816 (January 2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.525 million (2005) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 8 (plus one low-power repeater) (2001) | 1 (plus 9 repeaters) (1998) |
Terrain | mostly plateau with rim of mountains | Terai or flat river plain of the Ganges in south, central hill region, rugged Himalayas in north |
Total fertility rate | 6.71 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 4.39 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 47% (2001 est.) |
Waterways | on Lake Victoria, 200 km on Lake Albert, Lake Kyoga, and parts of Albert Nile (2005) | none |