Uganda Country Guide
A trip to Uganda is not easily forgotten – nature and history combine to offer every visitor something to remember the country by. Notwithstanding the political unrest that plagued Uganda for many decades, this majestic nation’s stunning natural beauty has remained largely unspoilt.
The savannahs of East Africa meet the jungles of west Africa in the lush country of Uganda.
Our Uganda Country Guide below will tell you all you need to know about the best of amazing Uganda. If you are interested in finding out about events, tours, attractions and things to do in Uganda simply follow the links. Let us guide you through Uganda with our local suggestions.
We recommend you read about travel in Uganda on GoNOMAD.
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We currently have local connections in Jinja, Kampala and Entebbe, and Western Uganda.
Uganda Country Guide
Climate/Weather
Check out our Uganda weather page for current Uganda climate and weather conditions and also for a six-day Uganda weather forecast.
Communication
Not unlike other developing countries, telecommunication is still a developing sector in Uganda but tourists normally do not face too many communication problems. Over 70% of the country is covered by mobile phone networks although the mountainous regions do present a few problems. You can buy SIM cards anywhere in the country and even get yourself a starter pack after entering the country. International calls can be made from all the large cities and phone booths can be easily spotted in the towns and cities.
Internet communication is not all pervasive and the rural areas seldom offer any Internet facilities. If staying connected over the Internet is essential for you, make sure that your hotel is sufficiently equipped. Jinja and Kampala have a number of Internet cafés. Almost all towns with a population of over 20,000 have Internet cafés operating off mobile phones or VSATS. Tourists who are used to high speed Internet connections are likely to find the speeds here frustratingly slow.
Currency/Money
Foreign currencies that are generally accepted are the Euro (EUR), the British pound (GBP) or US dollars (USD) that have been issued after 2000. Old USD may be refused even at banks while new notes can be used directly at reasonable exchange rates, although you will be given only shillings in change. It is wiser however to exchange USD for shillings in advance. Under current exchange rates, it is over 2000 shillings to the USD and over 3200 shillings to the GBP. Traveller’s cheques are not easy to cash and notes can be exchanged for UGX more easily in the larger towns.
A Visa ATM/debit card can be used to withdraw money in only a few places such as the ATM in the City Garden Mall in Kampala. The acceptance of MasterCard ATM/debit cards is wider and they are accepted at any Stanbic bank, of which there are several all across Kampala – you will find one at Gayaza Road, Ntinda Road, City Garden Mall and the popular Wandegaya, to name a few. Stanbic banks can be spotted all over Uganda, from Gulu to Mbarare. Step into any bank branch for all currency related information.
Follow the link to view the latest Uganda exchange rate from OANDA.com.
Electricity
240V 50HZ (UK Plug Type)
Embassy Locations
To view a list of Ugandan embassies around the world, as well as foreign embassies within Uganda, check out EmbassyWorld.com.
General Information
Population: 32,369,558 (July 2009 estimate)
Total Area: 241,038 sq km
Capital: Kampala
Time Zone: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Follow the link to view the current time in Kampala, Uganda.
Geography
Uganda is located at an average altitude of 1,100 metres (3,250 ft) above sea level on the East African plateau, which gently slopes towards the plains of Sudan in the north. A landlocked country, Uganda is situated almost completely in the Nile basin although south Uganda is rather dry. The large lakes of Uganda are Lake Albert, Lake Edward, Lake Victoria, Lake Kyogo, which occupies most of central Uganda, and the relatively small Lake George. The Victoria Nile flows from Lake Victoria to Lake Kyogo, and onwards to Lake Albert located on Uganda’s border with Congo. It finally flows north into Sudan. The Turkwel River, which is a part of Lake Turkana’s drainage basin, flows over a small part of eastern Uganda.
Northern, Eastern, Western and Central Uganda are the four administrative regions of the country and they are divided into a total of 80 districts, each of which is then divided into counties. Almost all the districts are named after the administrative and commercial town of the district. Sub-districts, counties, sub-counties, parishes and village are the administrative units into which each district is divided.
Health
Like most developing nations, healthcare in Uganda is still lagging behind. According to recent statistics, life expectancy at birth is around 49 years. Out of every 1,000 births, about 140 children lose their lives before the age of five. In 2002, Uganda spent an amount equivalent to about 7.4% of its GDP on healthcare.
Uganda was one of the worst hit nations when the HIV/AIDS epidemic broke out in East Africa in the early 1990s. The government tackled the epidemic on a war footing and the incidence of the condition declined from 13% in the 1990s to 4.1% by the end of 2003. It was one of the most effective responses by any African nation.
2003 saw an outbreak of cholera in the Bundibugyo district with the areas around the Lamia and Semliki rivers reporting the highest number of cases.
The Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) is considered as one of the best research facilities of its kind in East Africa.
History
In 1971, Idi Amin (1925-2003) took over the reins of the nation and established military rule that lasted for a decade. Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi provided military support to Idi Amin, whose military dictatorship cost the lives of about 30000 Ugandans. The 1979 war between Uganda and Tanzania finally ended Idi Amin’s reign. Tanzanian forces were helped by Ugandan exiles during the invasion. After the war, Prime Minister Apolo Milton Obote returned to power as the President of Uganda but he lost his powers once again in 1985, and this time to General Tito Okello.
Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has been the Ugandan president since 1986. His time in office has seen the involvement of Uganda in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) civil war, various conflicts in the Great Lakes region and the civil war against the Lord’s Resistance Army, which has committed numerous crimes such as mass murder and child slavery. Thousands lost their lives and millions were rendered homeless.
Language
For all political purposes, Lake Kyogo serves as a natural boundary between the north and south although the linguistic boundary extends all along the Nile from the northwest to the southeast.
Swahili was declared as the second official language of Uganda in 2005. Spoken largely in the eastern and central eastern regions of Africa and used as a lingua franca in northern Uganda, Swahili has not found much favour among the Bantu speakers of the south and southwest. Its status as an official language is a politically sensitive issue.
Location
To view a map of Uganda, follow the link to WorldAtlas.com.
People/Culture
North Uganda is largely populated by the Nilotic who constitute the second largest group. They include the Acholi (4%), the Langi (6%), and the Lugbara (4%), who live in the northwest. The pastoral northeast is comparatively drier and is populated by the Karamojong (2%). About 1% of the population is made up of Arabs, Asians, Europeans and others. Approximately 3,000 Arabs of various nationalities live in Uganda today.
Historically, Asians had accounted for the largest non-indigenous ethnic group but in 1972, Idi Amin expelled 50,000 of them from Uganda. Most of the Asians had been involved in industry, trade and other professions. After Idi Amin was overthrown in 1979, Asians started returning to Uganda. The number of Asians in Uganda is still quite small today.
Public Holidays
Follow the link to view a current list of public holidays in Uganda.
Religion
Among the Christians, the largest number of people follows the Roman Catholic Church, with the Anglican Church at second place and the remaining Christians follow either the Evangelical or the Pentecostal Church. The latter two churches have a very active following. The largest number of Catholics lives in north Uganda and regions west of the Nile. A major section of the Islamic population are Sunnis and the largest number of Muslims lives in the Iganga district of eastern Uganda. The largest immigrant population is from India and most of them are either Shiite Muslims following Aga Khan, or Hindus. Other parts of the country do not have such concentrations of any single faith, and people follow different religions.
Visas/Passports
All visitors to Uganda must possess a visa, as Uganda does not have a bilateral visa requirement agreement with any nation. Visas can be obtained on arrival at the international airport at Entebbe or at any of the major border stations on land.
Visa costs depend on the type of visa issued. Both single and double entry visas are usually valid for three months and they cost approximately $30 and $60, respectively. Students with a valid student ID can pay a little less, $20 and $40 for a single and a double entry visa, respectively. 48-hour transit visas are also available and they cost about $15. Visas for onward travel in Africa can also be obtained at Uganda. The embassies of Tanzania, Rwanda, Kenya, Ethiopia and Burundi issue visas for travelling to their respective nations.
Go to the immigration office located in the eastern side of central Kampala for obtaining visa extensions.
Note: It is recommended that you check the latest visa and passport requirements with your embassy before planning a trip to Uganda. These rules are subject to changes very often.
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