Uganda: The Pearl of Africa

Winston Churchill called Uganda Africa's pearl, and with good reason. Uganda is an English speaking, democratic, land-locked country of 19.3 million people located on the upland plateau of East Africa. The country covers 236,880 km2 (91,343 miles2), and is roughly twice the size of Pennsylvania. One-quarter of Uganda is covered by water, with major lakes including Lake Victoria, Lake George, and Lake Albert. The country's capital is Kampala, located about 40 km north of Entebbe International Airport.

Uganda gained its independence from Great Britain in 1962, and subsequently endured seven changes of government--four of them violent. Fortunately, Uganda has prospered under President Museveni, who came to power in 1986 and was recently re-elected with widespread popular support. Museveni's economic reforms have been very successful in turning around the Ugandan economy and promoting stability.

Uganda has fertile soils and abundant rainfall. Its many small landowners practice mostly subsistence agriculture on farms that are typically less than two hectares in size. Only 25% of the country's arable land is under cultivation, most of it by hand. Nonetheless, 90% to 95% of Uganda's exports are agricultural, with principal exports including coffee, maize, hides and skins, tea, fish, beans, and tobacco.

Uganda's political stability and robust economic growth have attracted renewed interest by investors and donor organizations. Tourism grew 20% last year, and living conditions are improving--over the last 5 years, the percentage of Ugandan's with access to clean water has more than doubled.