|RNational holiday:|N Independence Day, October 9.
|RNature and climate:|N A hilly highland plateau at an elevation of 1500 m.a.s.l. in the south and 1000 metres in the north. Mighty mountainchains in the east, Mount Elgon reaching 4321 m.a.s.l. and in the west, Ruwenzori, reaching 5109 m.a.s.l.
Part of Lake Victoria is within Uganda.
Most of the plateau is covered by savannah or bushsteppes. There are also tropical rainforests and many areas with papyrusswamps.
Very rich fauna, especially in the national parks, with lions, leopards, elephants, buffaloes, rhinoceros, giraffes, zebroes, antilopes, hippopotamus, crocodiles and gorillas.
Average temperature throughout the year between 20 and 25°C.
Percipitation between 1000 and 1500 mm, but in the most northern parts only 500 mm.
|RPeople:|N Two thirds of the population are Bantu-people, most of them of the Baganda-tribe. In the north also Nilotic, Nico-Hamitic and Sudanic tribes.
|REconomy:|N Half of the population is of working age and more than 90% of them are occupied in self-subsistence activities, only 6% are wage-earners.
More than 80% of the population is depending of agriculture. Bananas, rootfruits, maize and millet are grown for domestic consumption and coffee, tea, cotton and tobacco for export. Coffee accounts for 90% of the export revenues.
Uganda have copper, cobalt, limestone and salt.
Most export via railroad to Kenyan harbour Mombasa.
|RHistory:|N Todays Uganda was the site of several important kingdoms. Bunyoro was the most important before the 17th century AD. the kingdom Buganda was a vassal-state that from the 17th century grew stronger and at the beginning of the 19th century was the dominating power around Lake Victoria.
Foreign influence in the second half of the 19th century from both Muslim and Christian missionaries caused religious tensions and ultimately civil wars.
In 1890 the British East Africa Company gained control over Buganda and a British protectorate was established in 1894.
In the following years the protectorate was expanded with several kingdoms in the area and by 1900 the protectorate had the borders of todays Uganda.
Each of the kingdoms were allowed to keep their own local government under the British protectorate.
In the 1950:s Kabaka Mutesa II of Buganda tried to liberate his country from the British but failed.
In 1955 a local parliamentary government was established and in 1962 Uganda became independent within the Commonwealth of Nations. All the former kingdoms retained local autonomy, but through a number of constitutional changes the power was concentrated to the president.
1970 a campaign for nationalizing banks and industry started but it came to an end after a military coup led by Idi Amin Dada in 1971.
Idi Amin soon assumed absolute powers and his reign was marked by extreme violence and persecution of political and tribal opponents. In his reign the prosperous agricultural and commercial economy, as well as the well developed infrastructure and high education declined and fell in ruins.
In 1978 Amin, with help of Libyan forces invaded neighbouring Tanzania. In 1979, a Ugandan liberation movement based in tanzania, with help of Tanzanian forces, invaded Uganda, conquered capital Kampala and forced Idi Amin in exile.
The early 1980:s were marked by rebellions and in 1986 the National Resistance Army, NRA, organized a new government and has begun to rebuild the ruined society.
Drought and an extensive epidemic of AIDS now threatens the country.
