Uganda Uganda, also known as the Republic of Uganda, is a country located in sub-Sahara Africa. It is located in east Africa and is landlocked along the equator. It is bordered by Sudan Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Democratic Republic of the Congo. Uganda's area is 91,134 square miles which makes it approximately twice the size of Pennsylvania (http://geography.howstuffworks.com). The country is largely situated on a plateau that drops from about 5,000 feet in the south to approximately 3,000 feet in the north and is rimmed by mountains old volcanoes and lakes. Uganda is a well-watered country that contains many lakes and rivers. Water makes up nearly one-fifth of the total area of Uganda. The main body of water is Lake Victoria which is the second largest fresh water lake in the world. It is located in southeastern Uganda and about half of the entire lake lies in Ugandan territory (www.eoearth.org). Lake Victoria is the source of a major river that runs through the country which is the Victoria Nile. This is a major headstream of the Nile River. The country also contains Lake Albert and Lake Edward which are two more of the African great lakes. Other geographical features include the Ruwenzori Mountains, in western Uganda, which are also known as the Mountains of the Moon. These mountains include Margherita Peak which is the highest point in Uganda. Uganda also has the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest which includes the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. This is where about half the population of the highly endangered Mountain Gorilla live (www.game-reserve.com). In eastern Uganda, the border with Kenya is marked by volcanic hills. The highest hill is Mount Elgon which is the cone of an extinct volcano. Rich soil has eroded from its slopes to the plains below. This allows people to farm easier in the region. Uganda has a tropical climate but due to its elevation it has slightly lower temperatures and less humidity than most tropical climates. Rain falls throughout the entire year but falls the heaviest from March through May and August through November (geography.howstuffworks.com. This allows them to grow different types of crops including coffee, cotton, tea, tobacco and others. They also have many natural resources including copper, cobalt, limestone, salt, gold and recently discovered oil (www.cia.gov). It is hard to determine the exact amount of oil in Uganda because it was discovered near the border of the Democratic Republic of Congo so it is has been hard to determine just how much is in Uganda. Uganda has a population of approximately 33 million people which makes it the 37th largest country in the world, slightly smaller than the population of Canada. The population is hard to estimate because of the excess mortality due to AIDS. The fertility rate is seven children born per woman and although there is a high infant mortality rate the population growth of Uganda is still rising. Their life expectancy is 53 years which is one of the lowest life expectancies in the world (www.cia.gov). There are over 40 different ethnicities that make up the people of Uganda. They form two major groups, the Nilotics in the north and the Bantu in the south. The Bantu have been more dominate mainly because while under British rule economic power and education were concentrated in the south. Today the Bantu occupy most of the high academic, judicial, bureaucratic, and religious positions and a whole range of other prestigious roles. However, the British recruited overwhelmingly from the north for the armed forces, police, and paramilitary forces. This meant that while economic power lay in the south, military power was concentrated in the north, and this imbalance has to a large extent shaped the political events of postcolonial Uganda (www.britannica.com). Although there are over 32 languages in Uganda, English is the national language and is taught in schools, written in newspapers and spoken on most radio broadcasts. Swahili also became an official language in 2005 (cia.gov). Because of Uganda’s location in the heart of Africa, it stayed out of the focus of other foreign countries for a long time. Eventually the British moved in and in 1894 Buganda, the most powerful kingdom, became a British protectorate. Two years later their control extended to most of the rest of region. It remained under British rule until 1962 and a federal republic was established with the king of Buganda as president (www.historyworld.net). In early 1966 the prime minister, Milton Obote, seized the presidency. In 1971 he was deposed in a military coup led by General Idi Amin. Under his rule was the genocide of hundreds of thousands Ugandans. Roughly 250,000-300,000 people were killed. Also he deported all residents of East Indian descent, who owned most of the nation’s businesses and the economy deteriorated after they left. In 1979 he was overthrown and Obote was reelected in 1980 in a corrupt election. Under his rule was the genocide of approximately 1 million people. He was overthrown in 1985 and the current president Yoweri Museveni came to power. He is still the president today and conditions are much better. However, there have still been issues with corruption and violation of free speech and press (www.somero-uganda.de). Yoweri is still the president today and the country is a republic. Their constitution was ratified in 1995 and amended in 2005. The legal system is based on English common law. There are executive, legislative and judicial branches of government. The country is mainly a rural population with only 13% urban population (www.cia.gov). It is not surprising that they have a large rural population because agriculture is such an important aspect in their lives. Agriculture is the most important sector of the economy, employing over 80% of the workforce. Coffee accounts for the majority of export revenues. Other major exports are gold, fish and fish products, cotton and tea. Even with these exports Uganda does not have a very strong economy. Their GDP is 208th in the world out of 229 countries (www.cia.gov). This shows how the economy is not strong and indicated that the country is poor. However, the upside is that the GDP continues to grow even through the global economic turndown. In the global context, Uganda is a third world country today. Although they are a third world country they are a member of the U.N. and also currently a member of the U.N. Security Council. No other country in their region of eastern Africa is a member of the U.N. Security Council. They, like many African nations, have struggled financially. They have also struggled fighting the AIDS epidemic. There are 940,000 people living with the disease in Uganda. Approximately 64,000 people died from AIDS in 2009 (www.cia.gov). However, Uganda has been the model for African nations fighting against AIDS. In 1991 15% of adults were living with AIDS now there are only 6.4% living with it (www.avert.org). This is still a large number but it is significantly less than in 1991 and that number is decreasing. Many African nations still have a rising number of people being infected but Uganda does not. This is a positive sign for the country. Another positive sign is that Uganda resolved the conflict in Northern Uganda. The conflict was with Lord’s Resistance Army who looted, kidnapped children to fight and murdered many (www.somero-uganda.de). The conflict has been resolved which is good for Uganda. Uganda is one of the stronger and stable countries in their region. They may also improve their position in years to come. Foreign investment rose 25% in 2009. This is a very large increase and shows that foreigners believe they can invest in the country, twenty five years ago that would have never happened but the country continues to improve and can bring in money from foreign investment. Finally they can improve their position in the global position because of the recent discovery of oil. Oil is obviously a very valuable commodity today. Some estimates predict that Uganda’s reserves are as large as Saudi Arabia’s (www.africanloft.com). This could bring wealth to the very poor country. However, they are going to have to resolve the border dispute about the oil and they are going to have to deal with the corruption that the oil will bring. One day they may no longer be a third world country. They have some promise and with this discovery of oil they can improve position in the global context.

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