The country
Uganda is a landlocked country in East Africa, bordered by Kenya, Tanzania, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. At 236,000 square kilometres area it’s slightly smaller than the UK (244,820 sq km); about 20% of Uganda is inland water and swamps, with the rest being forest, and savannah grasslands; there are mountains to the west and east, and Lake Victoria forms the southern border. The climate is tropical, except for the north east which is semi-arid. The former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill called Uganda the ‘Pearl of Africa’ because of its great natural beauty - the countryside is green with plentiful water and rolling hills. It is claimed that the Source of the Nile lies in Uganda, at Jinja, east of Kampala. Both the Albert and Victoria Nile, also run through the country. There are many lakes and the two wet seasons mean the country is well-supplied with water.

The country obtained its independence from the colonial power, Britain, on October 9 1962. Its official title is the Republic of Uganda, its currency the Ugandan shilling, and its national symbol the red crested crane.

The people
The population is approximately 27 million, with just over half aged 14 and under, and just under half aged 15-64. The average age is about 15 years, and only 2.4% of people are aged 65 and over, compared with 16% in Britain, where the average age is 39 years.

There are about thirty different tribes in Uganda, plus small Asian and European communities. There are four main linguistic groups, which can be divided roughly by region - Luganda is spoken in the central area, Luo in the north, Ateso in the east and Ruynakole in the west, but there are also a number of other indigenous languages. The official language is English. Around two thirds of the people are Christian, 16% Muslim and 18% follow indigenous religions.

History
Before the arrival of Arab traders and then Europeans, Uganda consisted of several kingdoms - Toro, Ankole, Bunyoro, Busoga and Buganda - the last of which Uganda gets its name from. It was declared a British protectorate in 1894; the colonial administration introduced coffee and cotton as cash crops; but the traditional kingdoms were granted a wide degree of administrative autonomy. The foundations of inter-tribal conflict were laid in colonial times with British policy favouring certain tribes, especially the Buganda, over others.

After independence, between 1962 and 1986 there was a succession of governments. The most notorious of these is probably that of Idi Amin whose regime wrecked the economy and was responsible for the deaths of up to 300,000 people. The National Resistance Army(NRA) was founded in 1982 by Yoweri Museveni; it fought a guerilla war against Obote government troops; Obote was forced into exile and Museveni took power in January 1986.

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