note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.)
Currency:
Ugandan shilling (UGX)
Languages:
English (official national language, taught in grade schools, used in courts of law and by most newspapers and some radio broadcasts), Ganda or Luganda (most widely used of the Niger-Congo languages, preferred for native language publications in the capital and may be taught in school), other Niger-Congo languages, Nilo-Saharan languages, Swahili, Arabic
Elevation:
highest point: Margherita Peak on Mount Stanley 5,110 m
lowest point: Lake Albert 621 m
Climate:
tropical; generally rainy with two dry seasons (December to February, June to August); semiarid in northeast
Uganda has substantial natural resources, including fertile soils, regular rainfall, and sizable mineral deposits of copper and cobalt. Agriculture is the most important sector of the economy, employing over 80% of the work force. Coffee is the major export crop and accounts for the bulk of export revenues. Since 1986, the government - with the support of foreign countries and international agencies - has acted to rehabilitate and stabilize the economy by undertaking currency reform, raising producer prices on export crops, increasing prices of petroleum products, and improving civil service wages. The policy changes are especially aimed at dampening inflation and boosting production and export earnings. In 1990-2000, the economy turned in a solid performance based on continued investment in the rehabilitation of infrastructure, improved incentives for production and exports, reduced inflation, gradually improved domestic security, and the return of exiled Indian-Ugandan entrepreneurs. Ongoing Ugandan involvement in the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, corruption within the government, and slippage in the government's determination to press reforms raise doubts about the continuation of strong growth. In 2000, Uganda qualified for enhanced HIPC debt relief worth $1.3 billion and Paris Club debt relief worth $145 million. These amounts combined with the original Highly Indebted Poor Countries HIPC debt relief add up to about $2 billion. Growth for 2001 should be somewhat lower than in 2000, because of a decline in the price of coffee, Uganda's principal export.
A yellow fever vaccination certificate is required from travellers over 1 year of age coming from endemic areas.
Malaria:
Malaria risk—predominantly due to P. falciparum—exists throughout the year in the whole country including the main towns of Fort Portal, Jinja, Kampala, Mbale and parts of Kigezi. Resistance to chloroquine and sulfadoxine–pyrimethamine reported.
