General
Information
 Official
Language: English; Hours ahead of GMT: 3;
Monetary Unit: Uganda Shilling ( approximately
3,500 Shillings = One Pound); Banking Hours:
Monday to Friday 9am to 3pm (more and more banks are
now offering extended hours and Saturday morning opening).
Credit Cards: Accepted at most hotels and major
stores, but often charging a hefty surcharge. Cash is
best in most places. Visa Electron
cards may be used for drawing cash from many ATMs. International
Dialing Code: +256; National Holidays: 1st
January, 26th January, 8th March, Good Friday, Easter
Monday, 1st May, 3rd June, 9th June, 9th October, 25th
& 26th December.
Economy
Uganda
is largely a free market economy and in recent years
has 
maintained a growth rate of about 5% per annum. Agriculture
provides about 60% of GDP and over 80% of the adult
population are either subsistence farmers or work in
agriculture related fields. Major export crops
include coffee, tea and tobacco.
Industry
is diverse and centred around Kampala. It is mainly
small scale and aimed at supplying the domestic market
with basic products. The majority of manufactured goods
are imported. 
Investment
opportunities exist in most sectors, especially agriculture
and horticulture, fish processing and fish farming,
cotton and textiles, foods and beverages, secondary
and higher education and training, fruit and vegetable
processing, the dairy industry and tourism.
Government
and Judiciary
The
government is headed by President Yoweri Museveni
who has been in power since 1986. The President is deputised
by the Vice President. Below the Vice President
is the Prime Minister. Cabinet ministers follow the
Prime Minister in hierarchy. Cabinet ministers are deputised
by State Ministers.
The
Parliament is the legislative arm of the government.
It consists of 280 members. The present Parliament (the
sixth) is largely independent of the executive.
The
Judiciary is formed by the various courts of judicature
which are independent of the other arms of government.
They comprise the magisterial courts, High Court, Court
of Appeal and the Supreme Court. As and when the need
arises the Constitutional Court can be constituted.
Geography
Uganda
lies between the two arms of the Great Rift Valley in
East Africa. It is crossed by the equator. It
is roughly the same size as Great Britain having an
area of 241,139 sq. km. Of this 17% sq km is made up
of swamps and open fresh water bodies, 12% forest reserves
and game parks. It is bordered by Kenya to the East,
Sudan to the North, DRC to the West and Tanzania and
Rwanda to the south.
The
country has an average elevation of 1200m above sea
level. Mountain areas are 
the Rwenzori mountains (5000m) with permanent snow cover
and Mount Elgon (4300m).
Uganda's
climate is equatorial but this is tempered by its elevated
altitude and average daytime temperatures range between
20C and 27C. Average annual rainfall is in the region
of 1000mm. There are two rainy seasons - March
to early May and September to December.
 Lake
Victoria is the largest lake in Africa and second largest
in the world. It is also the source of the River Nile.
Lakes Edward and Albert lie to the west of the country.
The
landscape and vegetation have exceptional diversity.
Uganda lies at the overlap between tropical East African
savannah and the West African rainforest zones. The
south of the country is mostly covered by forest and
sub-tropical cultivation (plantains, coffee and tea).
There are woodland and open savannah grassland areas.
The north is drier than the rest of the country. It
is covered in semi-desert and dry acacia woodland, which
lacks the heavy intertwining canopy 
found in tropical forests.
The
population of Uganda is about 25,000,000 according to
year 2006 estimates. Kampala
city, the capital has a population of around 2,000,000.
Approximately 51% are female The percentage of
urban and rural population is 14% and 86% respectively.
Annual population growth rate (natural increase) is
2.7% and the annual death rate is 21 per 1000 people.
History
Uganda
was under British rule between 1900 and 1962. Prior
to that it had for many centuries been made up of a
number of separate kingdoms divided mainly along tribal
lines.
Post independent Uganda had a turbulent history under
a number of Presidents until President Yoweri Museveni
gained control in 1986 and managed to bring a war torn
and divided country together.
Since that time the country has been
largely trouble free with the exception of occasional
local disturbances and, as a result, has enjoyed rapid
economic growth.
Travel
and Accommodation
The
main airport is at Entebbe which is about a forty minute
drive from the capital city Kampala. British Airways
operates several direct weekly flights from and to London
and many other international airlines also operate regular
flights. 
There
is no shortage of hotels of all qualities in Kampala
and Entebbe. Most other towns can also offer a choice
of hotel accommodation. In and near the National
Parks there is a wide choice of accommodation options.
Travel
within Uganda is relatively straight forward, most roads
being in good or reasonable condition.
Further
Information
-
FCO
web page on Uganda - General information &
travel advise from the Foreign Office
- EnterUganda
- A general information site with up to date information
on Uganda
- New
Vision
- A major Ugandan English language newspaper online.
- Uganda
Holiday
- A guide to some of the best companies in the leisure
& holiday business.
Please
click on thumbnail pictures to enlarge.
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