Country Information

The population of Uganda is 24 million. There are roughly 200,000 refugees from Sudan living in Uganda, and 1.2 million IDPs living in northern and eastern Uganda. The population of Uganda is comprised of Africans of three main ethnic groups: Bantu, Nilotic, and Nilo-Hamitic. The population of Uganda is about 26 million. Uganda is comprised of three main ethnic groups: Bantu, Nilotic, and Nilo-Hamitic. The Baganda, 17% of the population, are the largest group. 33% of Ugandans are Roman Catholic, 33% protestant, 16% are Muslim and 18% follow indigenous beliefs. Uganda is a republic with a no-party “movement system” of government. Yoweri Museveni is the president.

Political and Economic Environment

Uganda gained its independence from Britain on October 9, 1962. In 1966, Prime Minister Milton Obote suspended the constitution and assumed all government powers. Large-scale civil unrest and human rights abuses began in 1971 when Field Marshal Idi Amin seized power from Obote. During the military dictatorship of Amin from 1971-79, and the second reign of Milton Obote from 1980-85, up to 500,000 people were killed. During this time, Yoweri Museveni formed the opposition National Resistance Army. He became president in 1986. During his time in power Uganda has become a favorite of international donors, perceived as a bastion of stability and democracy in east Africa.

Museveni is well known for instituting universal primary education for all children, as well as a progressive HIV/AIDS campaign (the ABC program) that has reduced prevalence rates throughout the country. In 1996, Museveni won Uganda's first direct presidential election, and he was re-elected in 2001. International donors have begun to criticize Museveni for his unwillingness to open up the government to a multi-party system. For the past 16 years in northern Uganda, there has been a brutal rebel insurrection led by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), fighting to correct perceived injustices against the Acholi ethnic group. In addition, the Karamojong and groups in western Uganda continue to cause civil unrest.

In 1987, under the direction of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, Museveni began to implement large-scale economic reforms that stabilized the economy, but also left the country heavily indebted. Currently, Uganda is working with international donors to reschedule or cancel large portions of its debt. Political instability, especially in the north, and erratic economic mismanagement have produced a record of persistent economic decline that has left Uganda among the world’s poorest and least-developed countries. For that reason, Uganda's economy is heavily dependent on foreign aid.

Humanitarian Situation

Uganda’s tense relations with Sudan stem in part from past Sudanese support for the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). The LRA for years has been seeking to overthrow the Ugandan government, and it has inflicted brutal violence on the population, especially in northern Uganda. Its military campaign has mainly consisted of attacks on the civilian population --- raping, mutilating, slaughtering and abducting civilians, raiding villages, looting stores and homes, and burning houses and schools. Although the LRA does not threaten the stability of the government, violence has displaced 1.6 million people and created a humanitarian crisis in northern Uganda.

The LRA is believed to have abducted over 30,000 children since 1986. In addition, as many as 40,000 night commuters, mostly children and women, flee their homes to the safety of towns each night seeking refuge from potential abduction by the LRA. They search for places to sleep in town centers, such as churches and hospitals, and they return to their homes in the morning. Ugandan troops are unable to protect refugees and internally displaced persons in camps that are terrorized by the LRA. Since the intensification of the conflict in March 2002, delivering humanitarian assistance has become problematic, and NGOs do not have access to large numbers of the internally displaced, most of who are totally dependent on food assistance.

Peace negotiations between the government of Uganda and the LRA have failed so far to produce the outlines of a settlement. There are indications that elements within the Sudanese government continue to support the LRA, but many are hopeful that the 2005 north-south peace agreement in Sudan will have a positive impact on the situation in northern Uganda.

An estimated 228,700 Sudanese refugees are housed in southwestern and western Uganda. 40,000 others who are not registered have been living in Ugandan border towns, while others are in the capital Kampala. Other refugees who are residing in Uganda are from Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Burundi, Somalia, Eritrea and Ethiopia. 23,000 Rwandan refugees that are residing in Uganda are one of the largest groups of exiles still remaining outside Rwanda.

Updated January 2006