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Uganda Profile


 
 Map source: OCHA/ReliefWeb
The Republic of Uganda is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by Tanzania. The southern part of the country includes a substantial portion of Lake Victoria, which is also bordered by Kenya and Tanzania.

The current estimated population of Uganda is 32.7 million, consisting of many different ethnic groups, none of whom forms a majority of the population.

Around forty different languages are regularly and currently in use in the country. English became the official language of Uganda after independence. Ugandan English has a local flavour.

Uganda remains one of the poorer countries in the world.

The prevalence of HIV and Aids amongst adults is around 5.4 per cent, while 940, 000 people are estimated to be living with an HIV-related illness.

Major infectious diseases pose a very high risk to those not inoculated against them, which is the position of the overwhelming majority of the poor in Uganda.

The long-running conflict in northern Uganda between the Government and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) blighted the overall development of the country. However, this has largely been resolved by the Government’s renewed commitment to security and the peace process.

The Acholi region of northern Uganda is in recovery after the international community provided humanitarian assistance. The key challenge now is to integrate the North fully into the development of Uganda.

HIV and Aids, general poor health, lack of education and corruption continue to be significant obstacles to development in Uganda.

For information about GOAL's work in Uganda, click here.


Uganda - Fact Box

Average life expectancy: 51.4 years (males), 52.4 years (females)
Infant mortality rate: 85 per 1,000 live births (World Bank, 2009)
Children under five underweight for their age: 20 per cent
Probability at birth of not surviving to age of 40: 31.4 per cent
Population not using an improved water source: 36 per cent
People living below poverty line of US$2 a day: 75.6 per cent
Gross National Income (GNI) per capita: US$420 (World Bank, 2009)
Uganda was ranked 157th out of 182 countries on the UN’s Human Development Index (2009)

 
Unless otherwise stated, all statistics in the Fact Box have been sourced from the United Nations' Development Report 2009

Since 1977, GOAL has spent in excess of €720 million delivering aid to some of the most vulnerable people in the developing world. We have achieved all this on an exceptionally low administration cost base.

GOAL Ireland is a registered charity in Ireland: Charity Reg No: CHY 6271
GOAL UK is a registered charity in the United Kingdom: Charity Reg No: 1107403
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