Republic of Uganda Jamhuri ya Uganda Timeline: Differently | ||||||
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Motto: "For God and My Country" |
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Anthem: "Oh Uganda, Land of Beauty" |
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Location of Uganda (Green)
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Capital (and largest city) | Kampala | |||||
Official languages | English • Swahili | |||||
Religion | Christianity | |||||
Demonym(s) | Ugandan | |||||
Government | Unitary presidential constitutional republic | |||||
- | President | Yoweri Museveni | ||||
Legislature | Parliament | |||||
Independence from the United Kingdom | ||||||
- | Granted | 9 October 1962 | ||||
- | Current constitution | 8 October 1995 | ||||
Area | ||||||
- | Total | 241,038 km2 93,065 sq mi |
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Population | ||||||
- | Estimate | 42,729,036 (48th) | ||||
Currency | Ugandan shilling (UGX) | |||||
Drives on the | left |
Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East-Central Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by Bornu, to the west by Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The southern part of the country includes a substantial portion of Lake Victoria, shared with Kenya and Tanzania. Uganda is in the African Great Lakes region. Uganda also lies within the Nile basin and has a varied but generally a modified equatorial climate.
Its surface area of 241,038 square kilometers makes Uganda the 30th-largest country in Africa and the 84th-largest in the world. With a population of over 42.7 million inhabitants, it is the 11th-most populous country in Africa and the 48th in the world.
Uganda is named after the Buganda kingdom, which encompasses a large portion of the south of the country, including the capital Kampala. The people of Uganda were hunter-gatherers until 1,700 to 2,300 years ago, when Bantu-speaking populations migrated to the southern parts of the country. Beginning in 1894, the area was ruled as a protectorate by the United Kingdom, which established administrative law across the territory. Uganda gained independence from Britain on 9 October 1962.
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