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...)
The Ruwenzori, also spelled Rwenzori and Rwenjura, or Rwenzururu are a
range of mountains in eastern equatorial Africa, located on the border between
Uganda and the
Democratic Republic of the Congo. The highest peak of the Ruwenzori reaches 5,109 metres (16,762 ft), and the range's upper regions are permanently snow-capped and
glaciated. Rivers fed by mountain streams form one of the sources of the
Nile. Because of this,
European explorers linked the Ruwenzori with the legendary
Mountains of the Moon, claimed by the Greek scholar
Ptolemy as the source of the Nile.
Virunga National Park in eastern DR Congo and
Rwenzori Mountains National Park in southwestern Uganda are located within the range. (Full article...)
... that Katharine Timpson Cook established training programmes for midwives in
Namirembe, Uganda, but distrusted her students and censored their mail?
Image 16Forest 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)
Articles here focus upon aspects of the
Uganda–Tanzania War. These are all
Good articles that meet a core set of high editorial standards.
The Battle of Karuma Falls was one of the last battles in the
Uganda–Tanzania War, fought between
Tanzania and
Uganda Army troops loyal to
Idi Amin on 17 May 1979. Soldiers of the
Tanzania People's Defence Force attacked Ugandan forces at the bridge over the
Nile River at
Karuma Falls. Tanzania's 205th Brigade was tasked with advancing from
Masindi to
Gulu, taking a route which passed over the Karuma Falls Bridge. The brigade assaulted the crossing on the morning of 17 May with tanks and artillery and one of its battalions ran over the bridge to attack the Ugandan positions. The Ugandans destroyed a TPDF tank, delaying the Tanzanians long enough to board buses and retreat to Gulu. The Tanzanians secured Karuma Falls before capturing Gulu several days later. (Full article...)