Facts and Figures about Uganda.
Landlocked fertile, well watered ( with many lakes and rivers including the source of the Nile) country, in East Africa, which shares a boundry with the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan and Tanzania. Lake Victoria is shared by 3 East African Countries, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
Population; 33 million
Capital; Kampala
Area; 241,038 Square Kilometres.
Official Languages; English, luganda, Swahili.
Major Religions, predominantly Christain with a minority muslim population.
Currency Uganda Shilling.
Sovereign credit rating; B+/Stable (Standard and Poor’s)
Natural Resources
Copper, cobalt, oil, hydropower, limestone, salt, phosphate for fertilizer , arable land, gold. Natural gas,tin,uranium,marble,timber,sand,iron ore, Also several mountains including Mount Rwenzori, which is snow capped.
Airport
Entebbe Airport approximately 21 miles to Kampala.Regional airports include Mbale,Gulu,Arua,Kisoro and Soroti.
Political climate
For Many years Uganda’s economy suffered but with the advent of the NRM regime, under the leadership of President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, Uganda has made a remarkable transformation. The economy has been growing between 6 to 8 per cent for the last 15 years and with the discovery of oil and gas will continue to grow despite financial turmoil around the world. Uganda has multiparty politics and the NRM won and President Museveni was elected as the leader by a majority of 67 per cent of the population during the February 2010 democratically held elections.
Tourism
Known as ‘the pearl of Africa’, Uganda has many challenging mountains for hiking, and incredible wild life and scenic beauty is to be found at national parks such as Queen Elizabeth National Park and Murchison Falls National Park. The latter has one of the most magnificent rugged natural waterfalls in the world. Other parks with Primates include Kibale National Park, where one can trek to see chimpanzees. The jewel in Uganda’s wildlife is the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, where half the world’s mountain gorillas live. Bwindi is also a UNESCO world heritage site and home to many other animals. White water rafting is available in Jinja where the river Nile, which is 6695 kilometres, begins its long journey to Egypt and the Mediteranian sea . Uganda, with its unspoilt scenic beauty offers a wide range of bird species and eco_tourism. Several tour companies are available to do packages to Uganda.
Investment opportunities
Uganda has a choice of investment opportunities and Uganda’s existing comparative advantage is heavily concentrated in agricultural resources and primary processing.Agriculture remains the backbone to Uganda’s economy. It contributes 15 per cent of the GDP and provides 47 per cent of all exports. These opportunities include, Horticulture Floriculture, Forestry, Fruits and Vegetables, Coffee and Tea processing , Fish and Fish Farming, Bee Keeping, Livestocks, Mining, Cotton and Textiles, Edible Oil, Foods and Beverages, Leather, Dairy and Dairy products, Ostrich farming, Crocodile farming, poultry, livestock, ICT Call Centres, Data Centres and e_translation, Packaging, Pharmaceuticals, Metal/Metal products, Iron and Steel, Building and Construction, Energy, Storage, Transport and Communications, Financial Services, Health Care, Tourism and Educational Services. Infrastructural developments projects are also required for such areas as Transport, both water and inland, road building the railways. With the discovery of oil in the Albertine region some companies will start refining oil and processing gas. 15 fields have been discovered with recoverable volumes of about 1.0 billion barrels of oil.175 companies have petroleum operating licenses. Regional markets remain important and Uganda is a member of the East African Community comprising of Uganda, Kenya,Tanzania Rwanda and Burundi. The East Africa Customs Union entered its final phase of full implementation on 1st January 2010 after 5 years of transitional arrangements.Uganda is also a member of COMESA made up of Eastern and Southern African States.
Main Exports
The main exports include coffee, cotton, tea, Cocoa, horticultural products such as cut flowers, fish, vanilla, Hides and skin, Copper, Tobacco and tourism sector. Oil discovery shall also generate revenue for the country. Regional exports include fruits, maize, beans, peanuts and simsim, cereals, and pulses.
Main Imports
Machinery, manufactured goods, processed food, electronics, computers, Pharmaceuticals, textiles, stationary, books, shoes, leather products, fuel, and all types of vehicles, motorcycles etc.
Uganda’s Social Sector
a) Education. Uganda has free compulsory universal primary education for 4 children per family and in many schools, universal secondary education is also being implemented. The total number of universities in Uganda is 27 out of which 5 are government and 22 are privately owned. In 1997 Primary School enrolement was 3,068,625 children. By financial year 2008/09 it had increased to 8,197,267.Universal Secondary Education covering senior ¼ is being implemented in Government schools.
b) Health . There are several hospitals both government funded and private. At present rehabilitation of 11 referral hospitals is continuing and several health centres are emerging.There is tremendous potential for investment in the health sector.
c) Water. Uganda has a large share of a fresh water lake, Lake Victoria , which has a surface area of 68800 square Kilometers, is the largest lake in Africa and the largest tropical lake in the world. It is also the source of the River Nile. The urban water coverage is 63 per cent and rural coverage is 61 per cent. Several water projects , including rainfall harnessing, are being considered.