Uganda

 Cheetah status          Country Background

 Geography                 People

 Government               Economy

 Communication         References

Population. Estimated less than 100. Small numbers are thought to be found in the north east sector of the country in Kidepo National Park (1,400 km2).

 
Cheetah locations in NE Uganda (Gros 1999).

Background: The colonial boundaries created by Britain to delimit Uganda grouped together a wide range of ethnic groups with different political systems and cultures. These differences prevented the establishment of a working political community after independence was achieved in 1962. The dictatorial regime of Idi AMIN (1971-79) was responsible for the deaths of some 300,000 opponents; guerrilla war and human rights abuses under Milton OBOTE (1980-85) claimed at least another 100,000 lives. The rule of Yoweri MUSEVENI since 1986 has brought relative stability and economic growth to Uganda. During the 1990s, the government promulgated non-party presidential and legislative elections.

Climate: tropical; generally rainy with two dry seasons (December to February, June to August); semiarid in northeast

Terrain: mostly plateau with rim of mountains

Natural resources: copper, cobalt, limestone, salt

Land use: arable land: 21.57%; permanent crops: 8.92%; other: 69.51% (2005)

Irrigated land: 90 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards: NA

Environment-current issues: draining of wetlands for agricultural use; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; poaching is widespread

Environment-international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification                                                                                                            

Age structure: 0-14 years: 50% (male 7,091,763/female 6,996,385); 15-64 years: 47.8% (male 6,762,071/female 6,727,230);65 years  and over: 2.2% (male 266,931/female 351,374) (2006 est.) Female: 53.69 years (2006 est.) 

Median age: total: 15 years; male: 14.9 years; female: 15.1 years (2006 est.)





Distribution of the human population in Uganda

Population growth rate: 3.37% (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 66.15 deaths/1,000 live births; male: 69.51 deaths/1,000 live births ; female: 62.69 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 52.67 years; male: 51.68 years; female: 53.69 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.71 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 4.1% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 530,000 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: 78,000 (2003 est.)

Ethnic groups: Baganda 17%, Karamojong 12%, Basogo 8%, Iteso 8%, Langi 6%, Rwanda 6%, Bagisu 5%, Acholi 4%, Lugbara 4%, Bunyoro 3%, Batobo 3%, non-African (European, Asian, Arab) 1%, other 23%

Religions: Roman Catholic 33%, Protestant 33%, Muslim 16%, indigenous beliefs 18%

Languages: English (official national language, taught in grade schools, used in courts of law and by most newspapers and some radio broadcasts), Ganda or Luganda (most widely used of the Niger-Congo languages, preferred for native language publications and may be taught in school), other Niger-Congo languages, Nilo-Saharan languages, Swahili, Arabic

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write; total population: 69.9%; male: 79.5%; female: 60.4% (2003 est.)

Data code: UG

Government type: republic

Independence: 9 October 1962 (from UK)

Legal system: in 1995, the government restored the legal system to one based on English common law and customary law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

GDP - real growth rate: 5% (2006 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 29.4%; industry: 22.1%; services: 48.5% (2006 est.)

Labor force: 13.76 million (2006 est.)

Labor force-by occupation: agriculture 86%, industry 4%, services 10% (1980 est.)

Industries: sugar, brewing, tobacco, cotton textiles, cement

Industrial production growth rate: 5.2% (2006 est.)

Agriculture-products: coffee, tea, cotton, tobacco, cassava (tapioca), potatoes, corn, millet, pulses; beef, goat meat, milk, poultry

Exports: $476 million (f.o.b., 1998)

Exports-commodities: coffee 54%, gold, fish and fish products, cotton, tea, corn (1997)

Exports-partners: Spain 14%, Germany 14%, Netherlands 10%, France 8%, Italy (1997)

Imports: $1.4 billion (c.i.f., 1998)

Imports-commodities: transportation equipment, petroleum, medical supplies, iron and steel (1996)

Imports-partners: Kenya 31%, UK 12%, Japan 6%, India 6%, South Africa 5% (1997)

Currency: 1 Ugandan shilling (USh) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Ugandan shillings (USh) per US$1-1,368.4 (December 1998), 1,240.2 (1998), 1,083.0 (1997), 1,046.1 (1996), 968.9 (1995), 979.4 (1994)

Distribution of bovine livestock in Uganda

Telephone system: fair system but in serious need of expansion and better maintenance; a cellular system has been introduced as a stopgap but the communications problems will not be solved without substantial investment in the conventional telephone infrastructure; e-mail and Internet services are available
domestic: intercity traffic by wire, microwave radio relay, and radiotelephone communications stations, cellular system for short range traffic
international: satellite earth station-1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 10, FM 0, shortwave 0

Television broadcast stations: 8 (in addition, there is one low-power repeater) (1997)

Internet country code: .ug

 Internet hosts: 1,365 (2006)                                                                                                                                                

Internet users: 500,000 (2005)

Gros PM, Rejmanek M. 1999. Status and habitat preferences of Uganda cheetahs: an attempt to predict carnivore occurrence based on vegetation structure. Biodiversity and Conservation 8, 1561-1583.

Marker L., Malouf J. and Malouf A., 1999. Appendix 2: The status of the wild cheetah in its range countries. In: 1999 International Cheetah Studbook.