Location: Uganda is a country in East Africa bordered to the west by the Democratic Republic of Congo, to the north by Sudan, to the southwest by Rwanda, to the south by Tanzania, and to the East by Kenya. Uganda lies across the Equator.
Geographic Features: More than one-half of Lake Victoria lies in Uganda and it is considered to be the source of river Nile. The country is divided by different water bodies and it also has mountains both in the west and east. Uganda has tropical rain forests and the Savannah Mountains. It has an equatorial climate.
Languages: There are three major ethnic groups and each has different languages. These include the Bantu, such as the Buganda, who live mainly in the southern part of the country and the Nilotic and Central Sudanic groups, mainly located in the northern part of the country. Other ethnic groups include the Nubi and the Nilotes.
English is the official language; Swahili and Luganda (Bantu language) are widely spoken.
Major Religions: Christianity, Islam, traditional beliefs
Education: Ugandan education is divided into four sections. The first section is the nursery and this takes three years, meant for children between three to six years old. The next section is the primary level which takes seven years. Secondary level takes six years. This level is divided into two subsections: that is ordinary level and advanced level. The last level is the university level or college level.
Economy: Uganda's economy depends on agriculture. The major crops exported are coffee, tea, tobacco, cotton. The major subsistence crops include plantains, cassava, maize, sorghum, beans, groundnuts, sweet potatoes and many others.
The country has two dams which generate electricity and oil was discovered in the western part of the country. They also have a tourism industry.
History: The first group of people to migrate and settle in Uganda was the Bantu. Uganda was colonized by Britain in 1894 and it gained its independence on the 9th of October, 1962. The first president of Uganda after independence was Sir Edward Muteesa II who was then the King of Buganda Kingdom. President Milton Obote, President Idi Amin, President Yusuf Lule, General Tito Okello, President Godfrey Binaisa and President Yoweri Kagutta Museveni (the current one) have ruled Uganda since independence.
Though this page has been carefully researched, the author does not claim expertise on the Uganda.
Please send questions, comments, and corrections to emuseum@mnsu.edu and include the URL of this page.
Sources
Infoplease
2005 Uganda: History, Geography, Government, and Culture. Electronic document, http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108066.html, accessed April 2009.
The Library of Congress
2009 A Country Study: Uganda. Electronic document, http://africanhistory.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ/Ya&sdn=africanhistory&zu=http%3A%2F%2Flcweb2.loc.gov%2Ffrd%2Fcs%2Fugtoc.html, accessed April 2009.
UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office
2008 Sub Saharan Africa: Uganda. Electronic document, http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-the-fco/country-profiles/sub-saharan-africa/uganda, accessed April 2009.
Written by Esther Nalubwama, 2009.