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Page 1 of 6 UGANDA - The Pearl of Africa - country overview
The Republic of Uganda (you-gun-nda) is a landlocked country in the East of the continent of 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.
The Ssese islands in Lake Victoria also lie within Uganda's borders. Uganda has an area of 236,040 square kilometers (146,675 square miles) and a total land boundary of 2,698 kilometers (1,676 miles).
Uganda straddles the equator and is almost in the center of the African continent. It is a relatively small landlocked country located in the heart of the great African plateau that rolls from the Ethiopian highlands.
Uganda has a diversity of physical and relief features, vegetation and animal life. 17% of Uganda's area is open fresh water, 4% is swamp and rivers. The Nile River, the lifeline of Egypt begins its 6,160km course to the Mediterranean from Lake Victoria a bigger part of which is in Uganda.
Uganda is a beautiful country with an impressive array of people. Winston Churchill was so besotted by the country that he gave it the name that has endured: the "Pearl of Africa". His observations about Uganda remain true today: "The scenery is different, the vegetation is different, the climate is different, and, most of all, the people are different from anything elsewhere ...in the whole range of Africa."
Mountains to the east and west flank the main plateau. The highest peak, Mt Margarita (5,1119m) in the Rwenzori range has perennial glaciers and snow at the top. To the east is Mt. Elgon (4,321m) The country in between is characterized by rolling hills, original rain forests and rich fertile valleys becoming savannah as you move northwards. Large areas of land in the southern and central parts of the country are agriculturally rich, sustaining intensive farming and ranching, while in the north and east, the land favors pastoralism. In some areas there are wild animals - elephants , crocodiles, gazelles, monkeys, gorillas, hippos, lions and buffalos.
Despite its location on the Equator, the altitude gives Uganda an unexpectedly pleasant climate varying little throughout the year. In the west, temperatures range between 5o C In the Kigezi Hills are at a high of 35o in the Lake George flats. In Karamoja (North east) it is usually between 17 - 32 degrees (C). Lake Victoria generates its own weather pattern resulting in an average rainfall of 760.2mm around Kampala but in the northern regions of Acholi and West Nile, rainfall is less plentiful. In Karamoja, rainfall is very scarce and people live with recurrent drought.
The population is roughly divided into Nilotics in the north and Bantu in the south. Within this crude division are large ethnic diversities ranging from the pastoralists of Karamoja to the forest dwelling hunter-gatherers of the southwest. Traditional systems of government range from the councils of elders typical of the north, to the absolute monarchy in the southern Bantu kingdoms.
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