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The Uganda Portal
Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The southern part of the country includes a substantial portion of Lake Victoria, shared with Kenya and Tanzania. Uganda is in the African Great Lakes region, lies within the Nile basin, and has a varied but generally modified equatorial climate. As of 2023, it has a population of around 49.6 million, of which 8.5 million live in the capital and largest city of Kampala.
Uganda is named after the Buganda kingdom, which encompasses a large portion of the south of the country, including the capital Kampala, and whose language Luganda is widely spoken throughout the country. From 1894, the area was ruled as a protectorate by the United Kingdom, which established administrative law across the territory. Uganda gained independence from the UK on 9 October 1962. The period since then has been marked by violent conflicts, including an eight-year-long military dictatorship led by Idi Amin.
The official language is English, although the Constitution states that "any other language may be used as a medium of instruction in schools or other educational institutions or for legislative, administrative, or judicial purposes as may be prescribed by law." Luganda, a central region-based language, is widely spoken across the Central and South Eastern regions of the country, and several other languages are also spoken including Ateso, Lango, Acholi, Runyoro, Runyankole, Rukiga, Luo, Rutooro, Samia, Jopadhola, and Lusoga. In 2005 Swahili, which is foreign and so viewed as being neutral, was proposed as Uganda's second official language, but this has yet to be ratified by parliament. However, in 2022 Uganda decided to make Swahili a mandatory subject in the school curriculum.
Uganda's current president is Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, who took power in January 1986 after a protracted six-year guerrilla war. Following constitutional amendments that removed term limits for the president, he was able to stand and was elected president in the 2011, 2016 and 2021 general elections. (Full article...)
Image 3An ethnolinguistic map of Uganda (from Uganda)
Image 4Relief map of Uganda (from Uganda)
Image 5U.S. President George W. Bush met with President Yoweri Museveni in Entebbe, Uganda, 11 July 2003. (from Uganda)
Image 6Entebbe International Airport (from Uganda)
Image 7Uganda map of Köppen climate classification. (from Uganda)
Image 8Flag of the Uganda Protectorate (from Uganda)
Image 9Rwenzori mountains in Uganda (from Uganda)
Image 10Development of life expectancy (from Uganda)
Image 11Belligerents of the Second Congo War. On 19 December 2005, the International Court of Justice found against Uganda, in a case brought by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for illegal invasion of its territory, and violation of human rights. (from Uganda)
Image 12Woman in Rwenzori – Western Uganda (from Uganda)
Image 13Coffee fields in southwestern Uganda (from Uganda)
Image 14Forest Landscape Integrity Index 2019 map of Uganda. Forest condition measured by degree of anthropogenic modification. 0 = Most modification; 10= Least. Created in Google Earth Engine. National boundaries = LSIB 2017: Large Scale International Boundary Polygons, Detailed, US Officer of the Geographer (from Uganda)
Image 16A caesarean section performed by indigenous healers in Kahura, in the kingdom of Bunyoro (present-day Uganda) as observed by medical missionary Robert William Felkin in 1879. (from Uganda)
Image 17Road to Murchison (from Uganda)
Image 18Cultural celebrations in Northern Uganda (from Uganda)
Image 19Students in Uganda (from Uganda)
Image 20Population density of Uganda districts (from Uganda)
Image 21Change in per capita GDP of Uganda, 1950–2018. Figures are inflation-adjusted to 2011 International dollars. (from Uganda)
Image 22The Uganda printers building on Kampala Road, Kampala, Uganda (from Uganda)
Image 23Construction of the Owen Falls Dam in Jinja (from Uganda)
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Uganda–Tanzania War -
Articles here focus upon aspects of the Uganda–Tanzania War. These are all Good articles that meet a core set of high editorial standards.
During the Uganda–Tanzania War, the Battle of Bondo was fought on 27 May 1979 near the town of Bondo, Uganda, between Tanzanian forces and Ugandan troops loyal to Idi Amin. A band of Uganda Army soldiers opened fire on the Tanzanian Minziro Brigade as it advanced towards Arua, before fleeing in the face of a Tanzanian charge. Several Tanzanians were killed and wounded by their own artillery. It was the last battle of the war. Arua fell without resistance shortly thereafter. (Full article...)