Republic of Uganda
Kampala
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania
tropical; generally rainy with two dry seasons (December to February, June to August); semiarid in northeast
Baganda 16.9%, Banyakole 9.5%, Basoga 8.4%, Bakiga 6.9%, Iteso 6.4%, Langi 6.1%, Acholi 4.7%, Bagisu 4.6%, Lugbara 4.2%, Bunyoro 2.7%, other 29.6%
roman catholic 41.9%, protestant 42%, muslim 12.1%
english
ugandan shilling (UGX)
46 airports, railway network: 1,244 km, road network: 70,746km
After independence in 1962, ending a period of colonization that began in 1885, there was little indication that the country was headed for social and political upheaval. Instead, Uganda appeared to be a model of stability and progress. It had no white settler class attempting to monopolize the cash crop economy, and there was no legacy of conflict. It was the African producers who grew the cotton and coffee that brought a higher standard of living, financed education, and led to high expectations for the future. Independence arrived without a national struggle against the British, who devised a timetable for withdrawal before local groups had organized a nationalist movement. This near absence of nationalism among the country's ethnic groups led to a series of political compromises.
Most food is produced domestically. Uganda exports various foodstuffs, including fish and fish products, corn, coffee, and tea. The environment provides good grazing land for cattle, sheep, and goats. Agriculture is the most important sector of the economy, employing over 80 percent of the workforce. Much production is organized by farmers' cooperatives. In the 1980s, the government provided aid to farmers, and by the middle of the decade nearly a hundred ranches had been restocked with cattle. Lakes, rivers and swamps cover about 20 percent of the land surface, and fishing is an important rural industry.
