Travel Guide

Background Facts: Uganda

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.

Information supplied courtesy of: CIA World Factbook

Location	Eastern Africa, west of Kenya
Geographic Coordinates	1 00 N, 32 00 E
Geographical Area
Land	236,040 Sq Km.
Water	199,710 Sq Km.
Land Boundary	2,698 Km.
Border Countries
Congo (DRC)	765 Km.
Kenya	933 Km.
Rwanda	169 Km.
Sudan	435 Km.
Tanzania	396 Km.
Length of coastline	Unknown
Terrain	Mostly plateau with rim of mountains.
Elevation Extremes
Lowest Point	Lake Albert 621 m
Highest Point	Margherita on Mount Stanley 5,110 m
Natural Resources	Copper, cobalt, hydropower, limestone, salt, arable land
Land Use
Arable Land	22%
Permanent Crops	9%
Other	70%
Irrigated Land	90 Sq Km.
Natural Hazards
Environmental Issues	Draining of wetlands for agricultural use; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; water hyacinth infestation in Lake Victoria; poaching is widespread.