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General Information About Uganda

Area: 241,139 sq km (93,104 sq miles).

Population: 21,620,000 (1999)

Population Density: 89.7 per sq km.

Capital: Kampala. Population: Approximately 1.2 Million.

Geography: Uganda shares borders with Sudan to the north, Kenya to the east, Lake Victoria to the southeast, Tanzania and Rwanda to the south and the Democratic Republic of Congo to the west. Kampala is on the shores of Lake Victoria, and the White Nile flowing out of the lake traverses much of the country. The varied scenery includes tropical forest and tea plantations on the slopes of the snowcapped Ruwenzori Mountains, the arid plains of the Karamoja, the lush, heavily populated Buganda, the rolling savannah of Acholi, Bunyoro, Tororo and Ankole, and the fertile cotton area of Teso.

Government: Republic. Gained independence from the UK in 1962. Head of State: President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni since 1986. Head of Government: Prime Minister Apollo Nsibambi since 1999.

Language: English is the official language, with Luganda and Swahili also widely spoken.

Religion: 60 per cent Christian, 32 per cent Animist and five per cent Muslim.

Time: GMT + 3.

Public Holidays

	Date	Holidays
	Jan 1	New Year's Day.
	Jan 26	NRM Aniversary
	Feb 23 (Variable)	Eid al-Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice).
	Mar 8	International Women's Day.
	Mar 29-Apr 1	Easter.
	May 1	Labour Day.
	Jun 3	Martyrs' Day.
	Jun 9	National Heroes' Day.
	Oct 9	Independence Day.
	Dec 25	Christmas Day.
	Dec 26	Boxing Day.
	Dec 6-8 (Variable)	Eid al-Fitr (End of Ramadan).