| |
Uganda |
New Zealand |
| Capital |
Kampala |
Wellington |
| Population |
33 million |
4.3 million |
| Official languages |
English; Swahili |
English; Maori; NZ Sign |
GNI per capita
NZ$1= US$0.71 (2010) |
US$490
NZ$690 |
US$29,050
NZ$40,915 |
| Life expectancy |
54 years |
81 years |
| Under 5 mortality rate |
99/1000 |
6/1000 |
| Adult literacy rate |
73% |
99% |
| Source: Unicef,
2010 |
People
Uganda has three main ethnic groups and more than 30 different
languages. Half of the population is under the age of 15 years.
About 85 per cent of Ugandans are Christian, 12 per cent are Muslim
and 3 per cent follow traditional religions.
History
Before Uganda came under British control in 1894, it consisted
of several separate kingdoms. The name Uganda was derived from one
of these, Buganda, which means the state of the Ganda people. Since
independence in 1962, the country has had a troubled political
history, including Idi Amin's cruel regime of the I970s, which
shattered the economy and perpetrated shocking human rights
violations. Conflict with rebel groups continues. The most
notorious is the extremely violent LRA whose campaign of murdering
people and kidnapping children has displaced 1.6 million northern
Ugandans. In 2006, negotiations between the LRA and the Government
brought some peace.
Geography
Lying astride the equator, Uganda is on a fertile plateau with
mountains on three sides. Although the climate is mostly tropical,
temperatures can be quite cool in places owing to the country's
high altitude - the average altitude is I,000m. Rainy seasons are
March to May and October to November. About one-sixth of the
country is swamps, lakes, such as the famous Lake Victoria, and
rivers, including the Nile.
Economy
Uganda's economy was devastated during the Idi Amin regime and
the subsequent conflicts. Economic recovery began in the mid19805;
however Uganda still relies heavily on international aid, and it
has received significant debt relief. Coffee is the main export,
others include fish, gold, tea, cotton, tobacco and high value
export crops such as cut flowers and asparagus. With a more stable
political environment and improved facilities, tourism is
increasing.
Education
Ugandan children begin school at 6 years. In 1997, the
Government began providing free primary education for up to four
children from each family. The move has increased primary school
attendance to 87 per cent of children. However, drop-out rates are
high and the country's few secondary schools only cater for
one-third of students. Many schools lack sufficient staff,
classrooms, furniture and books.
HIV and AIDS
The Government has committed significant effort to face the
challenge of HIV and AIDS, The prevalence rate has dropped from a
high of 30 per cent in the early 1990s to 6.7 per cent. Although
this is encouraging, AIDS has orphaned 1 million children and made
many more vulnerable.
Health
Less than half of the population has access to healthcare and
people often travel for long distances to reach it. Doctors,
nurses, equipment and medicines are in short supply. Safe water is
available to 56 per cent of people and sanitary latrines to only 41
per cent. Major health issues include diarrhoea, malnutrition,
malaria, cholera, tuberculosis and respiratory infections.
Uganda at a glance
Winston Churchill referred to Uganda as the pearl of Africa.
Situated in the Great Lakes region of Africa, the country has
beautiful mountains, fertile soils, regular rainfall and sizeable
mineral deposits. It also has significant levels of poverty - 38
per cent of the people live below the poverty line.
