Uganda is a country located in East Africa. It has an area of 241,040 square kilometers and a population of approximately 44 million people. The ethnic composition of Uganda is largely Bantu (16%), with minorities such as Nilotics (15%), Central Sudanic (14%) and other ethnicities making up the remaining 55%. The majority of the population are adherents to Christianity, with around 84% following Protestantism and 16% practicing other religions. Education is compulsory for children up to the age of 14 and the literacy rate is estimated to be around 76%. The official language is English but there are also many other languages spoken throughout the country such as Luganda, Runyankore-Rukiga, Luo and various tribal languages. The capital city Kampala has an estimated population of over 1.5 million people making it one of the largest cities in Uganda. Check hyperrestaurant to learn more about Uganda in 2009.
Social conditions
Uganda has one of the lowest GDP per capita in the world and close to 2/3 of the population lives in poverty (below US $ 2 per day). Visit AbbreviationFinder to see the definitions of UGA and acronym for Uganda. Equal share of Ugandans have access to clean water. More than every fifteen children die during their first year of life. Of the infants, 14 percent are low-weight and of the infants 16 percent (2006). Maternal mortality is estimated at 430 per 100,000 descendants (2008).
Access to care is poor, especially in rural areas. There are four hospital beds (2009) and one doctor (2005) per 10,000 residents. Qualified personnel are available for fewer than half of the births. Of the state expenditure in 2009, 12 percent was spent on health care. There are a number of organizations dedicated to maternal/child health care and family planning as well as care for HIV positive and AIDS sufferers. Uganda is one of the countries most affected by HIV/AIDS, but also the first African country to successfully fight the epidemic. In the early 1990s, almost 11 percent of the population aged 15-49 were infected, a figure that just over 10 years later fell to 6.5%. Since then, the proportion of infected adults has only changed marginally. Other common causes of death are malaria, lung and diarrhea and tuberculosis. Check to see Uganda population.
In several areas, Uganda is a more equal country than neighboring countries. For example, girls are allowed to go to school to the same extent as boys. Of the country’s MPs, 32 percent are women, one of the highest figures in Africa.
The largest trade union central organization National Organization of Trade Unions (NOTU) was formed in 1973. The main interest has been devoted to labor market issues; inter alia For example, there have been strong protests against Uganda’s participation in the World Bank and International Monetary Fund’s structural adjustment program, which has resulted in the dismissal of thousands of public employees. With foreign support, NOTU conducts a comprehensive training campaign for union leaders.
Population, society and rights
The Ugandan population is among the youngest in the world: more than half of its citizens are under the age of 18. This situation requires a serious effort to create jobs – 500,000 per year for the next ten years – to prevent this demographic wealth from turning into an element of potential internal destabilization. One of the notable achievements of the early years of the Museveni administration was the reduction in HIV infection rates in an era, that of the 1990s, when many African states were struggling to take notice of the pandemic. From an incidence of the disease of 18% in 1992, in 2000 the government had managed to achieve a decline of up to 6%, through a prevention campaign based on the ABC approach.(from the English Abstinence, Be faithful, Condom use), which was presented by the Ugandan government as the most effective strategy to combat HIV in Africa. Furthermore, Uganda has achieved good results in achieving the Millennium Development Goals, reaching 33% of the goals, thanks above all to the sustained economic growth of the last two decades, which has made it possible to significantly reduce the poverty rate.
On the other hand, the debate on a strongly discriminatory law against the homosexual population remains open, which has been temporarily blocked due to procedural issues by the Constitutional Court. Although Western donors have clearly expressed their disagreement with the law, suggesting a decrease in aid if the law is to be re-enacted, it is very likely that Ugandan parliamentarians will continue to press for the law to be reintroduced.
Kampala
Kampala, Uganda’s capital and largest city; 1.5 million residents (2014). The town is close to the northern shore of Lake Victoria at 1200 m altitude. The city is the country’s traffic hub with international airport in Entebbe, railway connection to Kenya and train ferry to Tanzania over Port Bell. The city center houses a mix of older Indian commercial houses, modern high-rise buildings and traditional markets. There are separate industrial and residential areas around the city core; some with villas and well-kept gardens surrounded by high security walls and inhabited by wealthy Ugandans and foreigners. Occasionally lie more humble neighborhoods with clay and brick houses with tin roofs; there are few real slums.
History
Kampala grew up around the hill Mengo, which in the 1800’s. served as the royal seat of the Bugan kingdom, and Old Kampala Hill, which the British used as the seat of colonization. On nearby ridges, the Roman Catholic and Anglican Church as well as a mosque with associated schools and hospitals were built. Kampala was one of Africa’s most developed metropolitan cities in the 1960’s, and by Uganda’s independence in 1962 it became the capital. Following recurring destruction during 15 years of turmoil and civil war, the city has been undergoing rapid reconstruction since the late 1980’s. It is now the economic and political center of the country. the renowned Makerere University (grdl. 1922) and Kasubi Tombs built in 1882 as the palace of Buganda’s kabaka (king).