Uganda

The toponym "Uganda", which is the name of the state of Buganda in the Swahili language, was used by the British in 1894 when creating a protectorate with a center in Buganda . The name in Swahili includes the prefix y- , used in the designation of territories, and the basis of the ganda - the name of the Bantus people , one of the most numerous peoples of the country, and thus means "the country of the ganda people" ^[5] .

On March 1, 1962, Great Britain granted Uganda self-government, and on October 9, 1962, complete independence. Uganda was proclaimed a unitary state, but at the same time 4 kingdoms ( Buganda , Bunyoro , Toro , Ankole ) and the territory of Busog received autonomous status.

The government of Uganda was led by Obote, Milton , the leader of the Uganda People’s Congress Party. Since 1963, he also held the posts of ministers of defense and foreign affairs. The King of Uganda Mutes II was appointed President of Uganda.

Immediately after independence in Uganda, problems arose - inter-ethnic clashes, riots in the army, the mass departure of Europeans. Obote introduced state economic planning, expanded the state and cooperative sectors.

In early 1966, Obote ousted King Mutesu from power, arrested several ministers, and appointed himself president of Uganda. September 8, 1967 Obote proclaimed Uganda a republic, abolished all the kingdoms and the power of tribal leaders. Obote conducted nationalization in the economic sector, and created “collective farms” in agriculture. To carry out these reforms, Obote created the paramilitary “National Youth Service” in 1968.

In December 1969, at the conference of the ruling party of the NKU, the "Charter of the Common Man" was announced - the program for building communism in Uganda. In August 1970, officially, by a decision of the Uganda People’s Congress, a one-party regime was established.

On January 25, 1971, when Obote was traveling abroad, the Ugandan army carried out a coup. The military dismissed the parliament , dispersed local councils in areas of the country. The head of state was the 45-year-old Major General Idi Amin Dada of the Kakva tribe, a professional military man who had served in the British Army colonial forces since 1946 and had been involved in suppressing the Mau Mau uprising in Kenya .

In August 1972, Amin announced the course of "Ugandanization." First, property of Asian immigrants was requisitioned, and then property of Europeans. Persons of Indian and Pakistani origin living in Uganda who did not have local citizenship (60 thousand people) were expelled from Uganda.

Amin reoriented Uganda's foreign policy . In 1972, Amin broke off diplomatic relations with Israel . Amin began to make friends with the Arab states, as well as with the USSR , from which he began to receive significant financial assistance. In 1973, Amin defiantly sent a group of Ugandan officers to participate in the next war of Egypt and Syria against Israel. In 1976, Amin broke off diplomatic relations with Britain .

In 1972, armed clashes broke out on the Ugandan- Tanzanian border. Amin made territorial claims against Tanzania and Kenya .

At the same time (in 1972-1975) the army was tripled, a large number of weapons were purchased (from the USSR). Due to increased government spending, Amin froze wages in the public sector, cut funding for social programs and medicine. The discontent of the population became widespread. Amin launched widespread repression . Among the physically destroyed were army officers and even ministers.

In 1975, Amin appropriated the title of Field Marshal , and in 1976 declared himself lifelong president .

In October 1978, Amin’s troops invaded Tanzania . However, the Tanzanian army, armed with Chinese weapons, expelled the invaders and transferred hostilities to Uganda. In March 1979, anti-Amina groups formed the Uganda National Liberation Front . The armed units of the Front began to work together with the Tanzanian army. Amin’s troops were defeated, in April 1979, Tanzanian troops occupied the capital of Uganda, and the Front created an interim government .

In Uganda, a power struggle has unfolded; over the course of the year, two presidents were replaced - Y. Lule and G. Binais . In May 1980, the military junta of the Front took power. She allowed activities in the country of parties, trade unions , public organizations.

In December 1980, parliamentary elections were held. Obote won the party, and he again became president of Uganda. Soon, ethnic conflicts in Uganda escalated, anti-government protests began, organized by various groups. The so-called People’s Resistance Army, led by Museveni, launched a guerrilla war in the west of the country.

In July 1985, a military coup was carried out, a military junta led by General Basilio Olara-Okello came to power. The parliament was dissolved, the constitution was suspended.

In January 1986, the People’s Resistance Army overthrew a military junta. Museveni declared himself president of the country.

• 1986 - The Movement of the Holy Spirit by Alice Lakvena .
• 1987 - the defeat of the Movement of the Holy Spirit. The formation of the Lord's army of resistance .
• the end of the 1980s - the beginning of the civil war .
• 1998 - bombing of Sudanese aircraft in connection with the involvement of Uganda in the Second Congolese War .
• 2002 - Peace with Sudan .
• February 2006 - Opposition street clashes (supporters of Colonel Kizza Besigee of the Forum for Democratic Change) with law enforcement. President Museveni accused the opposition of having links with terrorist groups.
• February 18, 2011 - the next presidential and parliamentary elections were held . As expected, Yoweri Museveni again received the majority of the vote (68%) ^[6] .

Uganda is located in the northwest of the East African Plateau , in the Great Lakes region , mainly in the savannah and light forests of the subequatorial belt.

The surface of Uganda is a plateau 1000-1500 m high, with individual mountain peaks (the Ruvenzori massif, up to 5109 m high). The plateau is divided by valleys, often marshy.

The climate is subequatorial, humid in summer, moderated by considerable altitude. The average temperature of the coldest month is 20 ° С, the warmest is 25 ° С.

The vegetation is dominated by tall grasslands, preserved small tracts of rainforest.

The animal world is rich - there are elephants , hippos , buffalos , antelopes, giraffes , lions , leopards , monkeys . Many birds and reptiles ( crocodiles , snakes), as well as insects ( tsetse fly , mosquito , etc.). There are a lot of fish in rivers and lakes.

There were quite a lot of rhinos in Uganda before, but as a result of a 20-year-old civil war, they were gone. The last rhino in the wild was spotted in 1983. In 2001, 2 rhinos were brought from Kenya to the zoo in Entebbe . For breeding rhinos, a Nakasongola nursery was specially created, which was presented with 4 rhinos. In 2009, a cub was born in one of the females in the nursery; he became the first rhinoceros born in Uganda over the past 20 years ^[7] .

Uganda is an authoritarian presidential republic where all power is concentrated in the hands of the president. Since January 1986 - Lieutenant General Yoweri Kaguta Museveni . Presidential elections are held every 5 years, the number of presidential terms is no more than two in a row, in accordance with the current Constitution of 1995.

Unicameral parliament - 332 deputies; 215 are elected by universal suffrage for a 5-year term, 104 are appointed from various groups (79 women, 10 military, 5 disabled people, 5 from youth, 5 from trade unions), 13 deputies are appointed by public office.

Political parties are allowed since 2005. The largest party in parliament (205 deputies) is the National Resistance Movement (head - Museveni).

The country has rebel groups, the largest - the Lord's Resistance Army .

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, the country in 2018 was classified by the index of democracy as a hybrid regime ^[8] .

The Armed Forces are the Ugandan People’s Defense Forces. The total number is 40–45 thousand people, including the ground forces and the air force. There is no general conscription, and the armed forces are manned on a contract basis.

Uganda is divided into 4 regions, including 111 counties and 1 metropolitan Kampala district.

In addition, the 1995 Uganda Constitution recognizes the autonomous status of the traditional kingdoms of Buganda , Bunyoro , Toro , Rvenseruru and Busog , ruled by local hereditary rulers.

The population is 34 856 813 ^{[10] [9] [11]} (2014 census). The official language is English, of the African languages ​​the most common is Luganda (the Ganda tribe is used as the language of interethnic communication among the Bantu tribes). In the field of domestic trade, the Swahili language is used (based on the Bantu and Arabic languages).

Annual growth - 3.6% (2nd place in the world).

According to the average forecast, by 2100 the country's population will amount to 192.5 million people.

Fertility - 48 per 1000 (fertility - 6.73 births per woman (2nd place in the world), infant mortality - 64 per 1000).

Mortality - 12 per 1000.

The average life expectancy is 52 years for men, 54 years for women (in 2010).

The average age is 14.8 years (the youngest country ).

Infection with the immunodeficiency virus ( HIV ) - 6.4% (estimate for 2010) ^[12] .

Urban population - 13% (in 2008).

Ethnic composition:

• Bantu peoples - only about 70% :
  • Ganda - 4,126,093 people. - 16.9%;
  • nkole - 2,329,972 people - 9.5%;
  • Soga - 2 062 761 people. - 8.4%;
  • Kig - 1 679 451 people - 6.9%;
  • GIS - 1 117 243 people. - 4.5%;
  • nyoro - 667 012 people. - 2.7%;
  • conjo - 608 690 people - 2.4%;
  • toro - 606 897 people - 2.4%;
  • Bafumbira (near Nyarwanda ) - 488 890 people. - 1.9%;
  • Hwer - 408 738 people. - 1.7%;
  • nuli - 340,469 people - 1.7%;
  • Nyarwanda - 314,598 - 1.3%;

other.

• Nilotic peoples : (live in the north of the country) - only about 30% :
  • close - 1 566 921 people. - 6.3% ( East Sudanese group );
  • Lango - 1 483 817 people. - 6.0% ( East Sudanese group );
  • Acholi - 1,141,097 - 4.7% ( East Sudanese group );
  • Lugbara - 1,022,059 - 4.1% ( central Sudanese group );
  • Alur - 530 110 people. - 2.1% ( East Sudanese group );
  • Adola - 359,659 - 1.4%

( East Sudanese group );

• • Nandi - 332,000 - 1.3% ( East Sudanese group );
  • Madi - 296,230 people - 1.1%

( central Sudanese group );

• • Karamojong - 258,307 - 1.0% ( East Sudanese group );

other.

Natural resources: copper, cobalt, niobium, gold, tungsten, hydropower, fertile land.

GDP per capita in 2009 - $ 1.3 thousand (204th place in the world). Below poverty level - about a third of the population.

The main sector of the economy: agriculture (82% of employees, 22% of GDP), the main export product is coffee. Tea, cotton, tobacco, sugarcane, cassava (tapioca), potatoes, corn, millet, flowers are also cultivated; fishing; livestock is underdeveloped.

Industry: (5% of employees, 25% of GDP) - sugar, brewing, tobacco, textile.

International trade

Export - $ 2.9 billion in 2017: coffee, fish, tea, cotton, flowers, gold ^[13] .

Main buyers: Kenya 17.7%, UAE 16.7%, Democratic Republic of the Congo 6.6%, Rwanda 6.1%, Italy 4.8%

Import: $ 4.6 billion in 2017 - industrial goods, vehicles, petroleum products, medicines, cereals.

Major suppliers: China 17.4%, India 13.4%, UAE 12.2%, Kenya 7.9%, Japan 6.4%.

Included in the international organization of ACP countries .

The first schools in Uganda were created by missionaries who used the educational system adopted in the UK. Currently, schools are run by the state and private individuals. There are much more people who want to study than the number of school places. Over half of the graduates of primary schools do not go to secondary schools, and more than a third who have graduated from high school do not have the opportunity to continue their education. In 1994, the adult literacy rate was 62 percent. Makerere University is Uganda's largest and most prestigious educational institution. With the financial support of Saudi Arabia, an Islamic University has been operating in Mbal since 1988. Gradually, the advantage that males used when entering schools was gradually disappearing. In 1991, they made up 55% of primary school students, 62% of secondary schools and 76% of higher education institutions.

According to the 2002 census, 76% of men and 57% of women are able to read and write.

The Uganda Museum has been operating in Kampala since 1908 ^[14] .

There is no provision for state religion in the constitution. Since British officials have favored Protestants since colonial times, the latter still retain a privileged status, followed by Catholics and Muslims. More than half of Ugandans profess Christianity. Muslims have less political influence. Most Ugandans respect local traditional beliefs, regardless of whether they consider themselves Muslims or Christians. According to the 2002 census: Catholics - 41.9%, Protestants - 42% (Anglicans - 35.9%, Pentecostals from the Assembly of God and the Church of God - 4.6%, Adventists - 1.5%), Muslims - 12, 1%, other beliefs - 3.1%, atheists - 0.9%.

UBC State Broadcasting Corporation ( Uganda Broadcasting Corporation - “Uganda Broadcasting Corporation”) includes UBC TV, UBC Star TV, UBC Magic TV, UBC West, UBC West Nile, UBC Radio, UBC Star FM, UBC Magic 100 FM, UBC Butebo Radio et al.

• Ugandan kauri
• Uganda program - the British program of 1903, which envisaged the creation of a Jewish state with the name Uganda in the territory of modern Kenya (not in the territory of modern Uganda).

• Ksenofontova N.A. et al. The history of Uganda in modern and recent times / N. A. Ksenofontova, Yu. V. Lukonin, V.P. Pankratiev. - M .: Science . The main edition of oriental literature, 1984. - 248 p. - (History of Africa). - 1100 copies.
• Pankratiev V.P. , Kapelush S.I. Uganda / Otv. ed. A. M. Khazanov ; Photo by V.P. Pankratiev; USSR Academy of Sciences. - M .: Science . The main edition of oriental literature, 1976. - 104 p. - 15,000 copies.
• Pospelov E. M. Geographical names of the world. Toponymic dictionary / resp. ed. R. A. Ageeva. - 2nd ed., Stereotype. - M .: Russian dictionaries, Astrel, AST, 2002. - 512 p. - 3,000 copies. - ISBN 5-17-001389-2 .
• Chizhov N.N. , Schlichter, S. B. Uganda: Economic and Geographical Description / Photos by E. M. Schlichter, S. B. Schlichter. - M .: Thought , 1977 .-- 240 p. - 4700 copies.

• The Ugandan government has agreed with the rebels to end the civil war (unopened) (inaccessible link) . Archived January 18, 2012.
• Heads of State on CIA website (unopened) (inaccessible link) . Archived December 10, 2008.
• Uganda (unopened) (inaccessible link) . Archived on June 7, 2008. from UCB Libraries GovPubs
• Uganda in the Open Directory Project Link Directory (dmoz)
•   Wikimedia Commons: Atlas: Uganda