Uganda

Main article: Africa

Geography

The East African Fault passes through Uganda.

Volcanoes

Tororo Volcanic Massif in Uganda. Also, as operating in Tanzania, Ol-Doinho-Lengai spewed not silicate, but carbonate lava. According to data from 1976, there is not enough limestone in Africa, so rare volcanic rocks - carbonatites - are intensively developed for the manufacture of cement. Not far from the carbonatite volcano, a large cement plant for that time was built, which by the mid-1970s had already developed a significant part of this unique natural ^[1].

River Nile

Population

Main article: Population of Africa

Population

2022:49 million people

Migration

2021: Net population inflow in 4 years

Marriages

Allowed to have more than one spouse

Overweight

Mortality

Traffic safety

Armed Forces

2024: Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni appoints his son as Commander-in-Chief of the country's Armed Forces

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni in March 2024 appointed his son Muhuzi Kainerugaba as Commander-in-Chief of the country's Armed Forces.

According to New Vision, Kainerugaba previously headed the country's Ground Forces, but was dismissed in 2022 after statements of his intention to seize the capital. Kenya Later, he served as advisor to the president on special operations, and is also chairman of the Uganda Patriotic League party.

Mukhuzi himself has repeatedly shown himself as a supporter of the Russian foreign policy line. So in 2023 he stated that he "can be called a Putinist," and in the event of an "attack by the imperialists" on Moscow, he announced his readiness to send an army to help.

The previous commander-in-chief, General Wilson Mbasu Mbadi, took over as Minister of Commerce and Cooperatives.

Economy

GDP $717 per person

National debt

2019: Uganda state debt tops $13bn

Uganda's total public debt rose from US $12.55 billion as at the end of June 2019 to US $13.33 billion by the end of December 2019. This is 28.54% of Uganda's GDP.

Inflation

2022: Inflation in November - 10.7%

Gasoline price

Trade

2023:51% of wheat supplies come from Russia and Ukraine

2018

Coffee is the most valuable commodity that is exported

Rwanda is the main trading partner

Telecom operators

• MTN Uganda

Tourism

Salt extraction

Alcohol market

Minimum age to purchase alcoholic beverages

R&D

2020: R&D expenses - $243 million

Agriculture

2019: Low use of pesticides in agriculture

Consumption

2023: Fish consumption is higher than meat consumption

2019: Low rice consumption: 8kg per person per year

2018: Vegetable consumption - 31 kg per capita per year

Power

NPP

2023: Uganda enters into agreement with Russia to build nuclear power plant

Uganda has entered into an agreement with Russia to build a nuclear power plant. This was announced on July 27, 2023 by the president of this African country, Yoveri Kaguta Museveni, at a meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

We also agreed with Russian companies to build a nuclear power plant to generate electricity. This project is already being implemented, and we are happy about it, "he said.[2]

Earlier in 2023, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni supported the construction of a 1-gigawatt nuclear power plant. A location in Kasaato Village, in Buyende County's Kidera District, as well as alternative locations in Nakasongola and Kiruhura Districts was proposed for the project. The first 1,000 MW plant will be connected to the grid by 2031.

In 2023, Uganda's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Development signed memoranda of understanding with nuclear energy sector partners from Argentina and South Korea. In particular, an agreement was signed with the Korean company Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP), according to which the two organizations will closely cooperate in the design, construction and operation of nuclear power plants.

According to the President of Uganda, if in 1986 the total generating capacity of the country amounted to only 60 MW of electricity, then by 2023 this figure approached 2100 MW, but this will soon be not enough to meet the needs of the country.

In 2005, Uganda experienced a drought that affected electricity generation at Owen Falls Dam. As a result, we have resorted to expensive fossil fuel power plants to support the economy, prompting me to direct the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Development to diversify the energy balance to develop all available resources, including nuclear power, as a means to meet the country's electricity needs, Museveni said.

Electrification

Energy carriers

2020: Energy consumption per capita

and

Cooperation with Russia

2023: Refusal to condemn Russia in Ukraine conflict

2022: KamAZ agreed to build a plant in Uganda

KamAZ agreed to build a plant in Uganda. The company will manufacture trucks for export to the African market. Ugandan Ambassador to Russia Moses Kizige told RIA Novosti about this in mid-October 2022. Read more here.

Automobile traffic

Uganda is a left-hand country.

Information Technology

Uganda IT Market

2022: More than 20 start-ups

2018

Internet penetration compared to other countries

The introduction of a tax on social networks is the first in the world

At the end of May 2018, it became known about the introduction of the world's first tax on social networks and the messenger. The relevant law was passed in Uganda.

According to the new requirements, users, and Facebook Twitter WhatsApp will have to pay 200 shillings ($0.05) per day. The country's finance ministry explained that the fee will be charged through mobile operators. Use social networks will be registered through. SIM cards The law will come into force in July 2018.

According to the Ugandan authorities, the purpose of this tax is to increase state revenues, which will be aimed at developing the sphere of public services.

The initiator of the social media tax bill was Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni. In March 2018, he sent a letter to the Minister of Finance, in which he stated that the proceeds to the treasury from this tax would allow the authorities to deal with the "consequences of gossip." In his opinion, it is social networks that contribute to the spread of rumors. However, the President categorically opposed the introduction of a tax on the Internet, since, according to him, the worldwide network is used for training and scientific research.

We are looking for money to maintain security and to provide electricity so that you can use social media more often, "Uganda's Finance Minister Matia Kasaya explained to Reuters in March 2018.

According to the Uganda Communications Commission, by May 2018, about 40% of 40 million citizens use the Internet. GDP per capita there is only $615.

Facebook and WhatsApp are widely popular in Uganda and other African countries. In 2016, during the presidential election, these services were blocked because the authorities feared that the opposition would use social networks to organize protests. Some opposition figures who criticized President Museveni via Facebook received jail terms for insulting the Ugandan leader.^[3]

Health care

2020

Duration of guaranteed paid sick leave from 1 to 2.9 months

Part of the population defecates on the street

The cause of the highest number of deaths

Malaria

As of mid-August 2019, 1.4 million Ugandans have contracted malaria in the past two months.

The Ministry of Health explains this fact with an unprecedented high level of humidity, favorable for the appearance of mosquitoes.

The authorities are trying to save the situation by giving mosquito nets to the population.

HIV and AIDS

2020: Uganda accounts for 2.5% of all new HIV infections worldwide

2018: Proportion of adults infected with HIV in the population

Ebola virus

On June 12, 2019, the first case of Ebola virus detection is confirmed in Uganda. The deadly virus was found in a five-year-old boy who came from DR Congo to the country with his family on June 10.

WHO and Uganda's Ministry of Health have set up a rapid response team to find everyone the boy may have come into contact with.

Maternity leave

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Education

2019: Percentage of people who can read

2018: Literacy rate

Crime

Prisons

2019: The minimum age for children to be jailed is 12

2018: Number of prisoners per 100 thousand citizens

Religion

Uganda Police

Main article: Uganda National Police

2019: Huawei 126m video surveillance system installation

On August 19, 2019, it was reported that Ugandan police spent $126 million on video surveillance from Huawei. Read more here.

History

2023: Western pressure on Ugandan government to counter country's rapprochement with Russia and China

The World Bank on August 9, 2023 said it would stop making new loans to the Ugandan government following the passage of the anti-LGBT law as it was "contrary to the values of the organisation and violates human rights." Republic President Yoweri Museveni accused the World Bank of seeking to "coerce" Uganda into following a Western "agenda and culture."

However, with active pressure and a wave of criticism from Western countries, the Ugandan government has been facing since the fall of 2022.

At first, eco-activists and the European Parliament began to sound the alarm , sharply criticizing the Uganda oil pipeline project, Tanzania which is sponsored by the French, Total China National Offshore Oil Corporation and China's industrial and trade bank.

According to the "defenders of people and nature," the implementation of the project will very much harm the local ecosystem and lead to the displacement of the local population. While Total and Chinese companies continue to operate after the allegations, scores of Western banks, including JP Morgan, have quickly scaled back funding.

The Ugandan government was followed by accusations of human rights violations due to "cruel" pressure on the opposition and the adoption of a new law against homosexuality, according to which, if there are aggravating circumstances, the death penalty is provided. It is worth noting that there are similar laws in 28 African countries, which include pro-Western Nigeria, Cameroon, Morocco, Senegal, Ghana.

In "punishment" for this, the World Bank froze Uganda's funding projects, Western countries threaten sanctions, and a selection of testimonies accusing Uganda's top officials, including President Yoweri Museveni and his son Muhuzi Kainerugaba, of torture, murder and other human rights crimes, has been handed over to the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

However, these allegations are just a cover-up. Threats are used to interfere with the interaction of Uganda with the Russian Federation and the PRC and the implementation of energy projects in the Republic.

China is already a major investor in the Uganda-Tanzania oil pipeline project. And during his visit to the Russia-Africa summit, Ugandan President Museveni proposed cooperation with Russia in the space sphere, and energy companies from the Russian Federation to participate in the development of oil fields. The Ugandan government has also agreed with Russia to build a nuclear power plant whose project is already underway.

Uganda in this case is becoming another place of global confrontation in the political arena and in the power market.

2022: Court orders Uganda to pay DRC $325m for war crimes during Second Congolese War

In early 2022, the International Court of Justice ordered Uganda to pay the DRC $325 million in compensation for war crimes committed during the Second Congolese War of 1998-2002.

2019

Woman gives birth to 44 children with one man

By the age of 40 in 2019, Mariam Nabatanzi Babirye from Uganda had become a mother of 44 children, all of whom were born to one man. A woman has to raise them alone, because their father did not need such a large family.

Mariam always dreamed of a happy family with six children, but in life she was unlucky. In 1993, when she was 12, she was sold to a 40-year-old man. The girl did not even understand what was happening until she was left in the house of a stranger. A year later, her first twins were born, a year later - triplets.

Mariam was a teenager, not at all ready for such a burden and family life. "My husband had many children with other women and I had to look after them too because their mothers were scattered all over Uganda.

My husband was very cruel and beat me at every opportunity, even when I just said something that he did not like, "the mother of many children told the BBC journalist.

After the birth of the 23rd child, Mariam decided that she had enough and sought help from a local doctor. He told her that she was suffering from an overabundance of eggs, and if he stopped giving birth, he could die.

This position did not surprise the girl: "My father conceived 45 children with different women, and they were all twins: twins, triplets, quads and even fives."

Mariam is now known as one of Africa's most prolific women, with her children including six sets of twins, four triplets and three quads. Basically, these are boys, only ten girls were born. To date, 38 of all the children she has born are alive.

The mother gave birth to her last child two years ago by caesarean section, at the same time the obstetrician told her that he had cut out her uterus from the inside.

According to the woman, she does not regret anything, because children are a gift from God. Only the fact that children are forced to grow up without a father upsets her. Mariam's husband often disappeared for several months or even a year and eventually finally left the family.

Mariam has no time for self-pity, devoting her whole life to caring for the family and trying to provide for all her offspring. In order not to starve, they need about 10 kg of cornmeal, 7 kg of beans and 4 kg of sugar per day.

She tries to educate all children: one of her firstborn children became a nurse, and the second - a builder. "Hopefully my children can go to school because they dream of becoming doctors, teachers and lawyers. I want them to achieve goals and be able to do things I couldn't do, "Mum explained.

To make ends meet, a woman had to learn a lot of skills. She collects healing herbs for sale, bakes pies, braids her hair, makes wedding hairstyles, organizes and decorates holidays and even knows how to make brickwork: "I know that children are granted to me by God, and I must take care of this gift, so I do everything so that they do not need anything."

"Stop selling your daughters to men. It causes so much pain, they can never fully recover from such betrayal, "Mariam appealed to all Ugandans who can hear her. - "And remember that marriage is a responsibility for both spouses. I will continue to fight so that my children have a future. I'll never leave them. "

Ban on wearing red berets

In early October 2019, Ugandan authorities announced that the red beret would henceforth be equated to a military uniform, making it impossible to wear it freely, as supporters of local opposition leader Bobi Wine do.

Violators face up to five years in prison.

Oppositionists from the People's Power movement have already announced that they will not stop wearing red berets.

Musician Ziggy Wine dies after torture

In August 2019, musician Ziggy Wine, a friend of the famous Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine, died of his wounds after torture.

Ziggy was kidnapped on July 21, 2019 on his way to a studio in Kampala. A week later, he was found without two fingers and a left eye, and later died.

Bobi Wine is convinced of the government's involvement.

2004: Government operations against the ADF

1995: Formation of the ADF group with the participation of Saudi Arabia and Sudan to overthrow Ugandan President Museveni

Main article: Alliance of Democratic Forces (ADF)

The original goal of the ADF was to overthrow the government of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and create an Islamic fundamentalist regime in its place.

1971: Idi Amin comes to power

Idi Amin, ruler of Uganda (1971-1979). From the very first days after coming to power, he staged a large-scale terror in the country: the bodies of his political opponents did not have time to bury - they had to be fed to crocodiles.

He killed the most important opponents personally. And the Ugandan special services under Amin fed on the fact that they killed bystanders, and then demanded money from their relatives for issuing bodies.

He loved children (he had more than 40 of them), racing cars, Disney cartoons and a man. Respected Adolf Hitler and even wanted to erect a monument to him. He loved to assign himself magnificent titles, including "Conqueror of the British Empire" and "King of Scotland."

1967: New constitution abolishes kingdoms' rights

In 1967, the Federal Constitution of 1962 was repealed and the Republican Constitution was introduced with a single president. This change abolished the Ugandan kingdoms. They were perceived as a threat to national interests.

1945: Rebellion against British colonisers

The largest in importance was the speech of Ugandan workers against the British colonialists in early 1945. It is significant because the working class has shown itself to be the vanguard and the main driving force behind the anti-colonial movement.

In January, a general strike unfolded in Uganda, which escalated into an armed uprising against English colonial oppression. It went beyond the usual strikes of an economic nature and was pronounced political in nature. In Kampala, where the movement gained a particularly wide scope, on January 18, regular British military units arrived in vehicles. With their help, the speech of Africans was suppressed. Weapons against the rebels were used in other places.

Informing MPs in the House of Commons about the events in Uganda, the Colonial Minister, for example, reported that 8 people were killed and 15 injured there during the "riots." In fact, there were many more victims among Africans. Even according to the Ugandan governor, 8 Africans were killed and 12 injured in Koca alone.

The British colonial authorities widely applied mass repression against the rebels. In Kampala, 319 people were arrested, of whom 212 were convicted. In Jinja and East Kyagwa, 239 people were arrested, of whom 123 were convicted.

Instead of Wamal, who was considered involved in organizing the speech of Africans, Nsibirwa was appointed Prime Minister of Buganda. However, on September 5, 1945, Nsibirwa was killed. After that, the terror of the colonizers intensified even more.

The bloody suppression of the 1945 general strike in Uganda showed the whole world that the English imperialists, despite the solemnly proclaimed by the Atlantic Charter the right of nations to self-determination and independence, did not intend to abandon the system of colonialism. Realizing, however, that the repressions alone could not retain power, the colonizers partially satisfied the demands of the workers. By the fall of 1945, the wages of Ugandan workers were extremely slightly increased and the African representation in the governing bodies was expanded.

The uprising of 1945, despite the defeat, was important in the history of the post-war struggle of the peoples of Uganda and all of East Africa for their independence. It showed Africans the power of organized speech and the ability to pursue their fair demands. It marked the beginning of a massive anti-colonial movement in British East Africa, which eventually led to the conquest of political independence by the peoples of these countries in the early 1960s.

1940: British East African colonies enter World War II

Main article: British Colonies of East Africa

1914

1905

Kingdoms - Cultural Autonomies

For 2019, the five kingdoms of Uganda are:

• Buganda,
• Thoreau,
• Bunyoro,
• Busoga,
• Rwenzururu

are a parallel administrative system extending to the southern and central territories of Uganda inhabited by Bantu peoples. Kingdoms have the rights of cultural autonomies.

National Parks and Fauna

Mountain gorillas at Bwindi Park

In 2019, Grand Virunga Cross-Border Cooperation Programme staff conducted a census of mountain gorillas in an area covering Bwindi National Park (Uganda) and Sarambwe Nature Reserve (DRC).

On an area of ​ ​ 340 square kilometers, they counted 459 individuals in 50 groups, as well as 13 singles. This is the largest figure in recent years in this region.

Mountain gorillas are on the endangered animal species list. In total, there are 1,063 individuals in the world.

Ankole-Watusi Bulls

In January 2020, a bull with three horns was found in Uganda.

It is an Ankole-Watusi breed native to Central Africa. They are never used for meat, but bred for milk.

The main distinguishing feature of this breed is horns, the length of which is from 1.5 to 3.7 meters, and the weight of one horn is up to 45 kg each. They are needed for thermoregulation: inside each circulating blood cools, and then spreads throughout the body, reducing its temperature.

As you know, cows have 2 horns, in the video - this is a rare mutation.

Banyoni is a lake of female dishonor

Lake Banyoni in Uganda is located in the southwest of the country near the city of Kabale on the border with Rwanda. It is known for its winding shores and 29 islands over an area of ​ ​ almost 1900 square kilometers.

In 2020, groups of tourists go there, and local residents prefer to spend the weekend on the shore. However, at the beginning of the 20th century, the lake was considered a place of lynching of vicious girls who became pregnant before marriage. For the family, it was shame and ruin, because girls used to be exchanged for cattle during the marriage process.

To wash away their "dishonor," unhappy young women were sent to one of the islands of Lake Banyoni and left to die.

Sport

2022: The most popular sport is football

in

Calendar: Sunday - first day of the week

Notes