Official Name: Republic of Uganda (UG)

Capital   : Kampala

Area: 241,038 km²

Population        : 42,500,000

Ethnicity: More than 40 ethnic groups live together in Uganda. Each of these ethnic groups has different languages, cultures and traditions, and some ethnic groups also have different religions.

More than half of the country's population, approximately 60 per cent, are members of the Bantu ethnic group. These communities are mainly settled south and west of Lake Kyoga.

Language : English, Ganda or Luganda, -Congo languages, Nile-Saharan languages, Swahili, Arabic

Religion: Roman Catholics 33%, Protestants 33%, Muslims 16%, local faiths 18%

Geographical Situation: Uganda is located in the central-central part of Africa, west of Kenya and east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The country, which has a total area of 241.038 km2, consists of 197.100 km2 of land and 43.938 km2 of water. It is neighboured by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania. The landlocked country is neighbouring Lake Victoria. In addition, there are many large and small lakes in the country. It generally has a tropical climate and the periods of December-February and June-August are rainy. The north-east of the country has a semi-arid climate. The highest point of the country, which has large plateaus neighbouring the foothills of the mountains, is the Margherita peak on Mount Stanley with a height of 5,110 m. The country's natural resources include copper, cobalt, hydro energy, limestone, salt and gold. Uganda is generally landlocked; it has a well-watered, fertile land structure with many lakes and rivers. The land suitable for agriculture constitutes 21.57 per cent of the surface area and the proportion of cultivated land is 8.92 per cent. However, excessive use of water for agricultural use, rapid deforestation, overgrazing, soil erosion and widespread poaching are environmental problems that Uganda is trying to solve.  

Mode of Government: Presidential Republic

Political and Administrative Structure Uganda declared its independence from the United Kingdom on 9 October 1962. 9 October is celebrated as National Independence Day.  Uganda is a unitary state governed by a presidential system. The president is elected by popular vote for a five-year term. The last election was held in February 2016 and Museveni has held the presidency since 26 January 1986. The president is both head of state and head of government. The prime minister and his cabinet are appointed by the president. The Prime Minister assists the President in the conduct of cabinet affairs. The term of office of deputies is 5 years. Parliamentary elections are held together with presidential elections. Local government in Uganda consists of 111 districts in four administrative regions and one province (the capital Kampala). Most of these districts were created by the division of large provinces since 2005. The creation of a large number of small local authorities was motivated by a concern to prevent a small number of large provinces from controlling the resources and wealth of the region

History: Yoweri Kaguta Museveni waged a successful guerrilla war with a small number of National Resistance Army troops and captured the capital Kampala in January 1986. Museveni declared himself president after this event without any elections being held. In Uganda, the first elections were held in February 1989 to form the provisional parliament, and in the first presidential elections held in May 1996, Museveni was officially elected president of the country by receiving 75% of the votes. In the elections held in March 2001, in which only the ruling party participated as a single party, Museveni, who obtained 69% of the votes, was re-elected to this office. With the 2005 amendment, party formation activities, which had been prohibited until then, were liberalised and more than one party was allowed to participate for the first time in the elections held in 2006. In the 2006 elections, Museveni, who could not legally run as a candidate because he had served two terms as the head of state, entered the elections by eliminating this situation with a new law enacted and was elected as the head of state for the third term with 59% of the votes.

In the new elections held on 18 February 2011, Museveni was elected for another five years after 25 years in power. While Museveni received 68.38% of the votes in these elections, although the elections took place in a calm environment in the country, there were clashes in April 2011, especially as a result of the detention of the opposition party leader Besigye. As a result of the expiry of this five-year period, Museveni, who was a candidate again in the new presidential elections held on 18 February 2016, successfully left these elections and had the opportunity to add another five-year period of rule to his thirty-year rule.

Internal Problems: Corruption continues to be a chronic problem of Uganda. The prison sentences introduced within the scope of the fight against corruption are not deterrent.

Economy: It has fertile soils with regular rainfall and important natural resources such as copper, gold, etc. mineral reserves and recently discovered oil deposits. Agriculture, where 82% of the labour force is employed, is the most important sector of the economy. Coffee exports account for the majority of export revenues. Changes in economic policies aim to reduce inflation and increase production and exports. After the 1990 economic reforms, incentive systems for infrastructure, investment, production and exports have been developed and a period of solid economic growth based on low inflation and remittances sent to the country by exiled Indo-Ugandan entrepreneurs has started. With the newly discovered oil reserves, it is expected that investments in the energy sector and thus revenues will increase. In the medium term, it is also possible that budget revenues will increase and the budget deficit will decrease slightly with the commercialisation of the discovered oil. In order to increase tax revenues, the government has made various adjustments by removing a number of tax exemptions.  At around 15 per cent, Uganda's tax-to-GDP ratio is one of the lowest in East Africa. On the other hand, high expenditures put a serious strain on public finances. Significant additional revenue is expected with the lifting of tax exemptions in agriculture, tourism and education, while some donor countries are expected to partially freeze aid for political reasons, leading to a slight decrease in foreign aid, which generally accounts for 25% to 30% of budget revenues. commercial interest rates are expected to remain high despite partial reductions due to insufficient competition. Uganda offers investors significant opportunities in the heart of Africa with its rich natural resources, dynamic economy and unique strategic location. As one of the fastest growing countries in Africa, especially in recent years, Uganda provides a favourable environment and a wide range of incentives to attract domestic and foreign capital. Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Agriculture and animal husbandry is the most important sector in Uganda. 71% of the labour force is employed in the agriculture and livestock sector, more than 60% of export revenues are obtained from agricultural products and 28.1% of GDP is generated from the agricultural sector. The most important agricultural products produced for export are coffee, tobacco, tea, cocoa, cut flowers, cane sugar, maize, pulses, palm oil, aquaculture and cotton. Mechanisation in the sector is insufficient and productivity is low. The main plant and animal products produced in Uganda: coffee, tea, cotton, cassava, potatoes, maize, corn, millet, sorghum, pulses, cut flowers, beef and goat meat, milk, poultry meat, and aquatic products. Half of Lake Victoria, the second largest lake in the world, is located within Uganda's borders. About 60 small lakes and many rivers are also within Uganda's borders. Tilapia fish (Oreochromis Niloticus) from Lake Victoria are in increasing demand, especially in European and American markets. Approximately 1 million people directly and indirectly earn their living from fisheries. Since aquaculture is a staple food for a significant portion of the population, domestic consumption is also quite high. Uganda's enormous freshwater resources offer great potential in the field of aquaculture. Dating back 15 years, Uganda's floriculture industry has become exporting over 50 million dollars annually. Currently, floriculture activities are carried out in 20 large farms. Forestry Especially the west of the country is rich in tropical forests. Although the forested areas are small compared to the total area of the country, the yield (16 tonnes per hectare per year) is quite high. The country's forests have significant potential for the manufacture of quality furniture, palm oil, timber and packaging materials. Mining While the mining sector accounted for 30 percent of the country's exports in the 1950s and 60s, this ratio later changed in favour of agricultural products. T.R. Ministry of Trade, 2021 Especially from the 1990s onwards, with the establishment of a favourable business and investment climate, private sector companies obtained mineral exploration and extraction licences and started operations, although their number has not yet reached the desired level. The mining sector has reached growth rates of over 10 per cent in some years, especially after the 2000s, and limestone and lime used in cement production are mostly consumed in the domestic market, while pebbles, gravel, small amounts of gold, tin and tungsten minerals are mostly exported. The most important mineral export of Uganda is gold, and gold exports have reached over 300 million dollars in some years. On the other hand, there is a great possibility that mineral reserves such as platinum, nickel and diamonds, which are mined in neighbouring countries with similar geological characteristics, can also be found in Uganda, and these mines are waiting to be discovered and extracted. More detailed information on investment opportunities in mining and other sectors in Uganda can be obtained from the Uganda Investment Authority, whose address is given below.

Energy: Uganda, with its rich water resources (rivers and lakes), has great potential for hydroelectric power plants and other renewable energy investments, and the Ugandan government encourages the provision of reliable and sufficient energy supply from domestic sources to meet the country's growing energy demand. Uganda's electricity generation is 3.5 billion kw/h, of which 75% is generated from hydroelectricity, 15% from fossil fuels and 10% from other renewable energy sources. 2.5 billion barrels of oil reserves and 15 billion cubic metres of natural gas reserves have been discovered in the country, but they are not yet produced. Over 2 billion barrels of oil reserves have been discovered in the Lake Albert basin in the west of the country. This figure is based on a survey of 30 per cent of the area between Kanungu and Nebbi in western Uganda. began to attract.

Currency: Uganda Shilling (UGX)

National Income per Capita: 912 USD[1]

Industry: The industrial sector in Uganda is in the early stages of development and has gained a certain level of momentum in recent years. In recent years, the development rate of the industrial sector has not exceeded 4%. The main industries established in the country are: sugar industry, tobacco industry, textile industry, cement industry, and steel production facilities. 21.1% of GDP comes from the industrial sector, while only 7% of the total labour force is employed in the industrial sector. 

Transport: There are 47 airports, but only 5 of them have paved runways. Entebbe, Arua, Gulu and Moyo airports have international flights. THY has regular flights to Entebbe airport. Uganda has 1.244 km of railway and 20 000 km of intercity roads except for intra-provincial transport. However, only ¼ of the highway is asphalted. Although there are many water resources in Uganda, water transport is not developed. Uganda's telecommunication infrastructure is also developing day by day. There are 263.000 fixed lines and approximately 25 million mobile phone line users in the country. There are 63 mobile lines per 100 people in the country. Mobile phone usage is increasing rapidly but the number of main lines is still insufficient. The national information and communication technology infrastructure is still being worked on and international telephone and internet connections are provided via satellite. There are over 18 million internet users in the country. 46 per cent of the population are internet subscribers

Education: Literacy rate, data for the total population aged 15 years and over: 66.8%.

Ethnic Distribution of Population: Baganda 17%, Karamojong 12%, Basogo 8%, Iteso 8%, Langi 6%, Rwanda 6%, Bagisu 5%, Acholi 4%, Lugbara 4%, Bunyoro 3%, Batoro 3%, non-Africans 1%, other 23%
Administrative Divisions: 45 districts; Adjumani, Apac, Arua, Bugiri, Bundibugyo, Bushenyi, Busia, Gulu, Hoima, Iganga, Jinja, Kabale, Kabarole, Kalangala, Kampala, Kamuli, Kapchorwa, Kasese, Katakwi, Kibale, Kiboga, Kisoro, Kitgum, Kotido, Kumi, Lira, Luwero, Masaka, Masindi, Mbale, Mbarara, Moroto, Moyo, Mpigi, Mubende, Mukono, Nakasongola, Nebbi, Ntungamo, Pallisa, Rakai, Rukungiri, Sembabule, Soroti, Tororo

Members of International Organisations: OIC[2], ACP, AfDB (African Development Bank), C,

Industry: Sugar, beer, tobacco, textiles, cement
Energy: Electricity production: 1.326 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity consumption:1.06 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity exports: 174 million kWh (1999)
Electricity imports:1 million kWh (1999)
Exports: Having a typical African country's foreign trade outlook, Uganda is a country with a significant foreign trade deficit.

Export products: Coffee, fish, tea, electrical products, iron and steel
Export partners: Spain, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Hungary, Kenya (1999)
Import products: Vehicles, petrol, medical supplies
Import partners: Kenya 27.5%, USA 21.2%, France 19.3%, UK 5%, India 4%.

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[1]    www.ticaret.gov.tr  (November-2021 Access)

[2]     www.oic-oci.org