In this post, I’ve shared some of the interesting facts about Uganda.
Uganda is an East African country that is landlocked. It shares borders with Kenya, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Tanzania. The country’s southern region includes a large portion of Lake Victoria, which it shares with Kenya and Tanzania. Uganda is located in Africa’s Great Lakes area.
21 Facts about Uganda
- According to World Population Review, Uganda has a population of more than 48 million people as of April 2022.
2. Uganda’s capital and largest city is Kampala. with a population of around 3.6 million inhabitants
3. Uganda was named after the Buganda kingdom, which encompasses much of the country’s south, including the largest city Kampala.
4. Uganda gained independence from the United Kingdom on October 9, 1962, with Milton Obote serving as the country’s first Prime Minister. Obote, on the other hand, suspended the Constitution, removed the Prime Minister’s role, and declared himself President. The position of Prime Minister was re-established in 1980.
5. Uganda is almost entirely encompassed inside the Nile basin. The Victoria Nile flows from Lake Victoria to Lake Kyoga, then to Lake Albert at the Congo’s border. Then it heads north towards South Sudan. The Katonga River is Uganda’s longest river that is completely in the country
6. Uganda became a republic in 1963, but it remained a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.
7. English was the only official language until the constitution was amended in 2005, when Swahili was approved as the country’s second official national language, despite the fact that Swahili is not popular among Ugandans in the country’s south and south-west. Instead, Luganda, a central region-based language, is extensively spoken throughout the country’s Central and South Eastern areas, and numerous other languages, including Runyoro, Lusoga, Lango, Acholi, Rutooro, Runyankole Luo, Rukiga,, Samia, and Jopadhola, are also spoken.
8. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Tibuhaburwa is Uganda’s current president. He took over power in January 1986 after a six-year guerrilla war. Following constitutional amendments that removed term and age limits for the president, he was able to run for presidency of Uganda in the general elections of 2011, 2016, and 2021. Uganda’s general elections, which have been held since 2011, have been marred by “illegalities and irregularities.”
9. The President of Uganda serves as both the country’s head of state and the country’s head of government. To assist him in governing, the president appoints a vice president and a prime minister.
10. Uganda’s landscape includes volcanic hills, mountains, and lakes. The country is 900 meters above sea level on average. Uganda has mountains on both its eastern and western borders. The highest peak in Uganda is found in the Ruwenzori mountain range.
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11.Uganda has many large lakes despite being landlocked. These lakes include Lake Albert, Lake Edward, and the smaller Lake George, in addition to Victoria and Kyoga.
12. Uganda is almost entirely encompassed inside the Nile basin. The Victoria Nile flows from Lake Victoria to Lake Kyoga, then to Lake Albert at the Congo’s border. Then it heads north towards South Sudan. The Katonga River is Uganda’s longest river that is completely in the country
13. The Uganda Wildlife Authority manages 10 National Parks, 12 Wildlife Reserves, 5 Community Wildlife Management Areas, and 13 Wildlife Sanctuaries out of the 60 protected areas in the country. Rwenzori Mountains, Queen Elizabeth, Kidepo Valley, Lake Mburo, Kidepo Valley, Murchison Falls, Kibale, Mount Elgon, Semuliki, Gorilla, Mgahinga and Bwindi Impenetrable National Parks are among the 10. These are among the top parks in East Africa. Their Rift Valley sceneries and tropical forests provide spectacular backgrounds for a diverse range of flora and fauna.
14. Uganda’s national bird is the Grey Crowned Crane.
15. Uganda is a member of the East African Community. The EAC is an intergovernmental organisation composed of seven countries in the African Great Lakes region in East Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Free trade and free movement of persons are protected in the East African Common Market Protocol of 2010, which also includes the freedom to work in another member country.
16. Uganda exports mostly agricultural products, accounting for 80 percent of total exports. Coffee, tea, cotton, copper, oil, and fish are the most important exports.
16. Uganda is one of the most corrupt countries in the world. In 2021, Transparency International ranked Uganda 144 out of 180 corrupt countries, with a score of 27 out of 100.
17. According to Human Rights Watch, there are several human rights violations in Uganda (World report 2022), Uganda’s human rights environment has deteriorated noticeably. President Yoweri Museveni was re-elected in a general election plagued by massive fraud in January 2021. Security forces unjustly detained and assaulted opposition sympathizers and journalists, killed protestors, and obstructed opposition gatherings. The authorities shut down the internet for five days before the elections and restricted access to social media sites such as Twitter and YouTube for a month. The authorities suspended Facebook access indefinitely after the network declared that it had removed a network of accounts and pages linked to the government.
18. In Uganda, same sex sexual relations is illegal under the Penal Code 1950, which punishes acts of ‘carnal knowledge against the order of nature’ and ‘gross indecency.’ The maximum penalty under this law is life imprisonment. This criminal law was enforced on Uganda during the British colonial era. Uganda kept the clause after gaining independence and continues to criminalize same-sex sexual activity to this day.
19. The Ugandan shilling is the country’s currency. The Bank of Uganda is the country’s central bank, in charge of monetary policy as well as printing money.
20. The Uganda People’s Defence Force is the name given to the country’s military forces. The UPDF has a specialist unit called the Special Forces Command (SFC) that is tasked with performing specialized missions or operations on short notice.
21. The Uganda national football team, popularly known as ‘The Cranes’, represents Uganda in men’s international football and is managed by the Federation of Uganda Football Associations, a member of CAF. In 1978, they finished second in the Africa Cup of Nations which is their best finish till date.
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