Compiled : 05/27/2005

CONGO, UGANDA, RWANDA

 

 

Congo-Rwanda-Uganda
Table of Contents
1. Democractic Republic of the Congo
2. Con·go
3. Rwanda map and information page
4. Rwan-da
5. Uganda map and information page
6. U-gan-da
7. MAPS
7.1. CONGO
7.1.1. congo2
7.1.2. congo_demrep_pol.1998
7.1.3. congo_demrep_rel.1998
7.1.4. DRC.cia
7.1.5. DRC
7.1.6. kinshasa.dos1983
7.1.7. kinshasa_2001
7.1.8. kinshasa_gombe_2001
7.1.9. kinshasa_tpc_1996
7.1.10. Kisangani
7.1.11. lubumbashi
7.1.12. zaire_e_79
7.1.13. zaire_pol.1997
7.1.14. zaire_west_1961_USArmy
7.2. RWANDA
7.2.1. rw-map.cia
7.2.2. rwanda_and_burundi
7.2.3. rwanda_pol.1996
7.2.4. rwanda_rell.1996
7.2.5. rwbw
7.2.6. rwcolor
7.3. UGANDA
7.3.1. kamp1
7.3.2. kamp2
7.3.3. kamp3
7.3.4. kampala
7.3.5. uganda_north_onc_1973
7.3.6. uganda_pol.1995
7.3.7. uganda_rel.1995
7.3.8. uganda_se_1964
7.3.9. uganda_sm.2004
7.3.10. ugcolor

1. Democractic Republic of the Congo ^Top

Date Accessed: 27 May. 2005
Title: Democractic Republic of the Congo (DRC) map and information page by World Atlas
URL: http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/africa/cd.htm
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DRC

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Description


Dissected by the Equator, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), formerly called Zaire, is the third largest country on the African continent.

The country is still the ancestral homeland for over 200 ethnic groups, most descended from individual kingdoms established long before the Europeans arrived in the late 1800s.

Commissioned by King Leopold II of Belgium, Henry Stanley was the first European to explore the Congo Basin area.

Upon hearing Stanley's report regarding the indigenous natural attributes of the land, King Leopold subsequently took control, imposing a system of force labor that was the catalyst for the first human rights movement in the 20th century. He was forced to grant colonial status to the then Belgium Congo in 1908.

After gaining independence from Belgium in 1960, a non-stop parade of assassinations, civil wars, coups, corrupt dictators, brutal murders, rebellions and needless bloodshed plagued the land.

Ethnic strife, political instability, and poor management of infrastructure has impacted the country in a most negative way. Travelers are warned that journeying to the Congo (DRC) can be quite dangerous.

The economy of this land of vast, natural resources, has declined dramatically in the past few decades. Reforms are being implemented, but serious recovery is projected to be many years away.

Read more about Congo (DRC) here!

Facts and Figures

arrow Official Name Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), formerly Zaire

arrow Population 58,784,400

arrow Capital City Kinshasa (8.9 million)

arrow Largest Cities Kinshasa, Lubumbashi, Mbuji-Mayi, Kolwezi, Kananga

arrow Currency Congolese Franc (CDF)

arrow Currency Converter here

arrow Latitude/Longitude 4º31' S, 15º32' E

arrow Languages French (official), Lingala, Kingwana, Kikongo, Swahili and Tshiluba

arrow Flag here

arrow National Day 30 June; Independence Day

arrow Religions Catholic, Protestant, others

Land

arrow Land Area 2,267,600 sq km (875,520 sq miles)

arrow Landforms The vast Congo River basin occupies and central and northwestern parts of the country, while further south, savanna grasslands extend to the border with Angola.

In the east, the land rise into a plateau with heights over 5,000 ft., and then into the higher volcanic mountains of the Great Rift Valley. Southeast, the land rises into the peaks of the Shaba Plateau.

A number of lakes front the country's eastern borders, including Lakes Albert, Edward, Kivu, Mweru and Tanganyika.

The country is dominated by the Congo River system and its many tributaries. The river itself is 2,733 miles long, and is navigable for almost 900 miles. Its basin contains the planet's largest rain forest.

arrow Highest Pt. Mt. Stanley (5,110 m) (16,765 ft)

arrow Lowest Pt. Atlantic Ocean (0 m) (0 ft)

arrow Land Divisions 10 provinces and one city* (ville); including Bandundu, Bas-Congo, Equateur, Kasai-Occidental, Kasai-Oriental, Katanga, Kinshasa*, Maniema, Nord-Kivu, Orientale and Sud-Kivu.

arrow Population and Size of all land divisions and major cities here!

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arrow Congo (DRC) Outline Map here

arrow Congo (DRC )Map CIA version here

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Questions

arrow Question about Congo (DRC) ? Ask it here!

Suggested Links

arrow Congo (Complete) information on the (GDP) overall economy, imports and exports, resources, government, population, military, transportation, and more here

arrow Congo Pages Web Site here

arrow Congo (DRC) Lake Region here

arrow Congo (DRC) Web Site here

arrow Congo (DRC) Travel Info and Warnings here

arrow Faces of the Congo, ABC News Special here

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arrow Climate The Democratic Republic of the Congo is hot and humid both central and west. Daily highs approach 90º.

In the upper reaches of the eastern and southeastern plateaus and mountains, conditions moderate dramatically. Countrywide, however, the mean temperature approaches 76º.

Heavy rains are common from October through May (south of the equator), and from April to November in the northern regions. Yearly amounts exceeding 60 inches are commonplace.

Click for Forecast

arrow Time and Date in Kinshasa




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2. Con·go ^Top

Date Accessed: 27 May. 2005
Title: Congo: Map, History and Much More From Answers.com
URL: http://www.answers.com/topic/congo-country-zaire
Con·go (kong'go) pronunciation

(Officially Democratic Republic of the Congo.) (Formerly (1971–1997) Za·ire (zi'îr, zä-îr') and (1960–1971) Congo and (1908–1960) Belgian Congo and (1885–1908) Congo Free State.) A country of central Africa astride the equator. Inhabited originally by Pygmy peoples and later by migrating Bantu and Nilotic groups, the region came under the control of Leopold II of Belgium in the late 1870s and was annexed outright in 1908. Full independence was achieved in 1960. Army general Mobutu Sese Seko took control of the country in 1965, ruling until his ouster by rebel forces in 1997. Kinshasa is the capital and the largest city. Population: 58,300,000 .

Congo, Democratic Republic of the, formerly Zaïre (zi'er, zäer') , republic (1995 est. pop. 44,061,000), c.905,000 sq mi (2,344,000 sq km), central Africa. It borders on Angola in the southwest and west, on Cabinda and the Republic of the Congo in the west, on the Central African Republic and Sudan in the north, on Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania in the east, and on Zambia in the southeast. Kinshasa is its capital and largest city.

Land and People

Congo lies astride the equator, and virtually all of the country is part of the vast Congo River drainage basin. North central Congo is made up of a large plateau (average elevation: c.1,000 ft/300 m), which is covered with equatorial forest and has numerous swamps. The plateau is bordered on the east by mountains, which rise to the lofty Ruwenzori Mts. (located on the border with Uganda). The Ruwenzori include Margherita Peak (16,763 ft/5,109 m), the country's highest point; they are situated in the western or Albertine branch of the Great Rift Valley, which runs along the entire eastern border of the country and also takes in lakes Albert, Edward, Kivu, and Tanganyika. In S Congo are highland plateaus (average elevation: c.3,000 ft/910 m; highest elevation: c.6,800 ft/2,070 m), which are covered with savanna. The high Mitumba Mts. in the southeast include Lake Mweru (situated on the border with Zambia).

The country is divided into ten provinces (Bandundu, Bas-Congo, Équateur, Kasai-Occidental, Kasai-Oriental, Katanga, Maniema, Nord-Kivu, Orientale, and Sud-Kivu) and a federal district (which includes Kinshasa). In addition to Kinshasa, other major urban areas include Boma, Bukavu, Kalemie, Kamina, Kananga, Kisangani, Kolwezi, Likasi, Lubumbashi, Matadi, Mbandaka, and Mbuji-Mayi.

The population of the Congo comprises approximately 200 ethnic groups, the great majority of whom speak one of the Bantu languages. In addition, there are Nilotic speakers in the north near Sudan and scattered groups of Pygmies (especially in the Ituri Forest in the northeast). The principal Bantu-speaking ethnic groups are the Kongo, Mongo, Luba, Bwaka, Kwango, Lulua, Lunda, and Kasai. The Alur are the main Nilotic speakers. In the 1990s, Congo also had an influx of immigrants, particularly refugees from neighboring countries. In 1985 over half the population was rural, but the country is becoming increasingly urbanized.

French is the Congo's official language, but it is spoken by relatively few persons. Swahili is widely used in the east, and Lingala is spoken in the west; Tshilaba is also common. About 50% of the inhabitants are Roman Catholics and 20% are Protestants. A substantial number are adherents of Kimbanguism, an indigenous Christian church. Many also follow traditional religious beliefs, and about 10% are Muslims.

Economy

The Congo's mineral wealth is the mainstay of the economy, but the development of the mining industry has occurred at the expense of commercial agriculture. The economy's growth spurted under Belgian control in the 1950s, slowed considerably during the country's postindependence troubles in the early 1960s, accelerated again in the late 1960s when political stability returned, and has generally declined since the 1970s, when the nationalization of major industries resulted in a reduction of private investment. Since the early 1990s much of the economy has been in a state of collapse.

Although only 3% of the nation's land area is arable, a substantial part of the labor force is engaged as subsistence farmers. The principal food crops are cassava, yams, corn, rice, peanuts, plantains, and pulses. Rubber, coffee, cotton, tea, sugarcane, and palm products are produced commercially, primarily for export. Although agricultural production satisfied domestic demands before independence, the Congo has become dependent on food imports. Goats, sheep, and cattle are raised.

Mining is centered in Katanga province; products include copper, cobalt, zinc, manganese, uranium, cassiterite (tin ore), coal, gold, and silver. Diamonds are mined in Kasai. There are major deposits of petroleum offshore near the mouth of the Congo River. About 75% of the Congo is covered with forest containing ebony and teak as well as less valuable woods.

Kinshasa and Lubumbashi are the country's most important industrial centers. Manufacturing includes processed copper, zinc, and cassiterite; refined petroleum; basic consumer goods such as processed food, beverages, clothing, and footwear; and cement. The numerous rivers of the Congo give it an immense potential for producing hydroelectricity, a small but significant percentage of which has been realized. The chief hydroelectric facilities are situated in Katanga and produce power for the mining industry; another major project is located at Inga, on the Congo River near Kinshasa.

Rivers form the backbone of the country's transportation network; unnavigable parts of the Congo (e.g., Kinshasa-Matadi and Kisangani-Ubundi) are bridged by rail lines, but the rail and road network in the Congo is in disrepair was a result of the civil war. Matadi, Boma, and Banana can handle oceangoing vessels. The E Congo is linked (via Lake Tanganyika) by rail with the seaport of Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania.

The country's export earnings come almost entirely from sales of primary products, which are vulnerable to sudden changes in world prices. Since 1994 diamonds have become the country's leading export following a decline in the production of copper (once the leading mineral product in terms of value). The country produces much of the world's small industrial diamonds. Petroleum also accounts for a substantial portion of export earnings. Other important exports are cobalt, coffee, palm products, and rubber. The leading imports are consumer goods, machinery, transport equipment, and foodstuffs. The country's principal trade partners are Belgium, the United States, France, Germany, and South Africa. The Congo is a member of the Southern African Development Community.

History

Early History

The indigenous inhabitants of the region of the Congo were probably Pygmies, who lived in small numbers in the equatorial forests of the north and northeast. By the end of the 1st millennium B.C., small numbers of Bantu-speaking people had migrated into the area from the northwest (present-day Nigeria and Cameroon) and settled in the savanna regions of the south. Aided by their knowledge of iron technology and agriculture, the Bantu-speakers migrated to other parts of the Congo and Africa, at the same time developing new, related languages. From about A.D. 700 the copper deposits of S Katanga were worked by the Bantu and traded over wide areas.

By about 1000 the Bantu had settled most of the Congo, reducing the area occupied by the Pygmies. By the early 2d millennium the Bantu had increased considerably in number and were coalescing into states, some of which governed large areas and had complex administrative structures. Most of the states were ruled by a monarch, whose authority, although considerable, was checked by a council of high civil servants and elders. Notable among the states were the kingdom of Kongo (founded in the 14th cent.), centered in modern N Angola but including extreme W Congo and a Luba empire (founded in the early 16th cent.), centered around lakes Kisale and Upemba in central Katanga.

Also included among these states were the Lunda kingdom of Mwata Yamo (founded in the 15th cent.), centered in SW Congo; the Kuba kingdom of the Shongo people (established in the early 17th cent.), located in the region of the Kasai and Sankuru rivers in S Congo; and the Lunda kingdom of Mwata Kazembe (founded in the 18th cent.), located near the Luapula River (which forms part of the present Congo-Zambia boundary). Through intermarriage and other contacts the Luba transmitted political ideas to the Lunda, and numerous small Luba-Lunda states (in addition to those of Mwata Yamo and Mwata Kazembe) were established in S Congo. The Kuba kingdom was noted for its sculpture and decorative arts.

European and Arab Contacts

In 1482, Diogo Cão, a Portuguese navigator, became the first European to visit the Congo when he reached the mouth of the Congo River and sailed a few miles upstream. Soon thereafter the Portuguese established ties with the king of Kongo, and in the early 16th cent. they established themselves on parts of the coast of modern Angola, especially at the court of the king of Ndongo (a vassal state of Kongo). The Portuguese had little influence on the Congo until the late 18th cent., when the African and mulatto traders (called pombeiros), whom they backed, traveled far inland to the kingdom of Mwata Kazembe.

In the mid-19th cent., Arab, Swahili, and Nyamwezi traders from present-day Tanzania penetrated into E Congo, where they traded and raided for slaves and ivory. Some of the traders established states with considerable power. Msiri (a Nyamwezi) established himself near Mwata Kazembe in 1856, soon enlarged his holdings (mainly at the expense of Mwata Kazembe), and was a major force until 1891, when he was killed by the Belgians. From the 1860s to the early 1890s, Muhammad bin Hamad (known as Tippu Tib), a Swahili Arab trader from Zanzibar, who was also part Nyamwezi, ruled a large portion of E Congo NW of Lake Tanganyika. In the 1870s, on the eve of the scramble for African territory among the European powers, the territory of the Congo had no overall political unity.

The Congo Free State

Beginning in the late 1870s the territory was colonized by Leopold II, king of the Belgians (reigned 1865–1909). Leopold believed that Belgium needed colonies to ensure its prosperity, and sensing that the Belgians would not support colonial ventures, he privately set about establishing a colonial empire. Between 1874 and 1877, Henry M. Stanley made a journey across central Africa during which he found the course of the Congo River. Intrigued by Stanley's findings (especially that the region had considerable economic potential), Leopold engaged him in 1878 to establish the king's authority in the Congo basin. Between 1879 and 1884, Stanley founded a number of stations along the middle Congo River and signed treaties with several African rulers purportedly giving the king sovereignty in their areas.

At the Conference of Berlin (1884–85) the European powers recognized Leopold's claim to the Congo basin, and in a ceremony (1885) at Banana, the king announced the establishment of the Congo Free State, headed by himself. The announced boundaries were roughly the same as those of present-day Congo, but it was not until the mid-1890s that Leopold's control was established in most parts of the state. In 1891–92, Katanga was conquered, and between 1892 and 1894, E Congo was wrested from the control of E African Arab and Swahili traders (including Tippu Tib, who for a time had served as an administrator of the Congo).

Because he did not have sufficient funds to develop the Congo, Leopold sought and received loans from the Belgian parliament in 1889 and 1895, in return for which Belgium was given the right to annex the Congo in 1901. At the same time Leopold declared all unoccupied land (including cropland lying fallow) to be owned by the state, thereby gaining control of the lucrative trade in rubber and ivory. Much of the land was given to concessionaire companies, which in return were to build railroads or to occupy a specified part of the country or merely to give the state a percentage of their profits. In addition, Leopold maintained a large estate in the region of Lake Leopold II (NE of Kinshasa).

Private companies were also established to exploit the mineral wealth of Katanga and Kasai; a notable example was Union Minière du Haut-Katanga, chartered in 1905. The Belgian parliament did not exercise its right to annex the Congo in 1901, but reports starting in 1904 (particularly by Roger Casement and E. D. Morel) about the brutal treatment of Africans there (especially those forced to collect rubber for concessionaire companies) led to a popular campaign for Belgium to take over the state from Leopold. After exhaustive parliamentary debates, in 1908 Belgium annexed the Congo.

The Belgian Congo

Under Belgian rule the worst excesses (such as forced labor) of the Free State were gradually diminished, but the Congo was still regarded almost exclusively as a field for European investment, and little was done to give Africans a significant role in its government or economy. Economic development was furthered by the construction of railroads and other transportation facilities. European concerns established more large plantations, and vast mining operations were set up. Africans formed the labor pool for these operations, and Europeans were the managers. By the end of the 1920s, mining (especially of copper and diamonds) was the mainstay of the economy, having far outdistanced agriculture. Some of the mining companies built towns for their workers, and there was considerable movement of Africans from the countryside to urban areas, especially beginning in the 1930s.

Christian missionaries (the great majority of whom were Roman Catholic) were very active in the Congo, and they were the chief agents for raising the educational level of the Africans and for improving medical services. However, virtually no Africans were educated beyond the primary level until the mid-1950s, when two universities were opened. A noteworthy indigenous religious movement was that of Simon Kimbangu, who, educated by Protestant missionaries, around 1920 established himself as a prophet and healer. He soon gathered a large following and, although not explicitly anti-Belgian, was jailed in 1921 by the colonial government, which feared that his movement would undermine its authority. The Belgians outlawed Kimbangu's movement, but it continued clandestinely and became increasingly anti-European.

The Independence Movement

In 1955, when demands for independence were mounting throughout Africa, Antoine van Bilsen, a Belgian professor, published a “30-Year Plan” for granting the Congo increased self-government. The plan was accepted enthusiastically by most Belgians, who assumed that Belgian rule in the Congo would continue for a long period. Events proved otherwise.

Congolese nationalists, notably Joseph Kasavubu (who headed ABAKO, a party based among the Kongo people) and Patrice Lumumba (who led the leftist Mouvement National Congolais), became increasingly strident. They were impressed greatly by the visit in late 1958 of French president Charles de Gaulle to neighboring Middle Congo (now the Republic of the Congo), where he offered Africans the opportunity to vote in a referendum for continued association with France or for full independence. In Jan., 1959, there were serious nationalist riots in Kinshasa, and thereafter the Belgians steadily lost control of events in the Congo. At a roundtable conference (which included Congolese nationalists) at Brussels in Jan.–Feb., 1960, it was decided that the Belgian Congo would become fully independent on June 30, 1960.

Independence and Conflict

Following elections in June, Lumumba became prime minister and Kasavubu head of state. However, the Republic of the Congo (as the nation was then called) soon began to be pulled apart by ethnic and personal rivalries, often encouraged by Belgian interests. On July 4 the Congolese army mutinied, and on July 11 Moïse Tshombe declared Katanga, of which he was provisional president, to be independent. There were attacks on Belgian nationals living in the Congo, and Belgium sent troops to the country to protect its citizens and also its mining interests. Most Belgian civil servants left the country, thus crippling the government.

On July 14, the UN Security Council voted to send a force to the Congo to help establish order; the force was not allowed to intervene in internal affairs, however, and could not act against the Katangan secession. Therefore, Lumumba turned to the USSR for help against Katanga, but on Sept. 5 he was dismissed as prime minister by Kasavubu. On Sept. 14, Col. Joseph Mobutu (later Mobutu Sese Seko), the head of the army, seized power and dismissed Kasavubu. On Dec. 1, Lumumba, who probably had the largest national following of any Congo politician, was arrested by the army; he was murdered while allegedly trying to escape imprisonment in Katanga in mid-Feb., 1961.

By the end of 1960 the Congo was divided into four quasi-independent parts: Mobutu held the west, including Kinshasa (then called Léopoldville); Antoine Gizenga, the self-styled successor to Lumumba, controlled the east from Kisangani (then called Stanleyville); Albert Kalonji controlled S Kasai; and Tshombe headed Katanga, aided by Belgian and other foreign soldiers. The secession of Katanga, with its great mineral resources, particularly weakened the national government. In Apr., 1961, Tshombe was arrested by the central government (Kasavubu was back as head of state), but he was freed in June after agreeing to end the Katanga secession. By July, however, Tshombe was again proclaiming the independence of Katanga.

In August the UN forces began disarming Katangese soldiers, and in December UN and Katangese forces became engaged in battle. Throughout 1962, Tshombe maintained his independent position and in Dec., 1962, renewed UN-Katanga fighting broke out. Tshombe quickly was forced to give in, and in Jan., 1963, agreed to end Katanga's secession. However, the national scene remained confused, and there was considerable agitation by the followers of Lumumba.

At the end of June, 1964, the last UN troops were withdrawn from the country. In desperation, Kasavubu appointed Tshombe prime minister in July, 1964, but this move resulted in large-scale rebellions. With the help of U.S. arms, Belgian troops, and white mercenaries, the central government gradually regained control of the country. Nonetheless, national politics remained turbulent and were highlighted by a clash between Kasavubu and Tshombe. In mid-1965, Kasavubu appointed Evariste Kimba prime minister. In Nov., 1965, Mobutu again intervened, dismissing Kasavubu and proclaiming himself president; Tshombe fled to Spain. (In 1967, Tshombe was kidnapped and taken to Algeria; he died in 1969.) In 1966 and 1967 there were several short-lived rebellions (notably in Kisangani and Bukavu), and in 1966 an attempted coup by Kimba was defeated.

The Mobutu Regime

In late 1966, Mobutu abolished the office of prime minister, establishing a presidential form of government. Léopoldville, Stanleyville, and Elisabethville were given African names (Kinshasa, Kisangani, and Lubumbashi, respectively), thus in effect beginning the campaign for “African authenticity” that became a major policy of Mobutu in the early 1970s. (In 1971 the country was renamed Zaïre, as was the Congo River; in 1972, Katanga was renamed Shaba—largely in an attempt to destroy the region's past association with secession—and Mobutu dropped his Christian names and called himself Mobutu Sese Seko, while advising other Zaïreans to follow suit.) By the end of the 1960s, the country enjoyed political stability, although there was intermittent student unrest.

The government was firmly guided by Mobutu, who headed the sole (from 1970) political party, the Popular Movement of the Revolution (MPR). In 1970, Mobutu, the sole candidate, was elected to a seven-year term as president. In the early 1970s he centralized the administration of the nation, encouraged the participation of foreign firms in the economic development of the country, improved relations with neighboring independent countries, and maintained good relations with the West while establishing (1972) full diplomatic relations with China. In 1973, Mobutu nationalized many foreign-owned firms in the attempt to reduce unemployment; however, the nation remained dependent on volatile world copper prices. Mobutu forced European investors out of the country in 1974 but invited them back (unsuccessfully) in 1977.

In addition to economic decline in the 1970s, the government had to contend with increasingly active political opposition. Mobutu's policy of giving members of his own ethnic group (the Ngbanda) jurisdiction over security matters led to ethnic conflicts and a succession of coup attempts between 1975 and 1978. Opposition parties grew in number and in size; one of these, the Front Libération Nationale du Congo (FNLC), organized Katangese refugees forced out of the country by Mobutu. The FNLC, working from its base in Angola, launched a rebellion in the Katanga region but was repulsed after the intervention of French, Belgian, and Moroccan troops.

Promising political reforms, the government made superficial changes to satisfy foreign aid donors, but the detention of dissidents and violent clashes between soldiers and students continued. In the early 1980s opposition groups were organized in exile and formed alliances in the hopes of overthrowing Mobutu. In 1989 the country defaulted on a loan from Belgium, resulting in the cancellation of development programs and increased deterioration of the economy. In 1990, Mobutu announced an end to single-party rule and appointed a transitional government. However, he reserved for himself the position of head of state “above all political parties” and kept substantial power in his own hands.

Rebellion and Civil War

A loss of confidence in Zaïre's government and riots by unpaid soldiers in Kinshasa led Mobutu to agree to a coalition government with opposition leaders in 1991. He retained control of a far-reaching security apparatus and important government ministries, however, and engaged in a power struggle with opposition leaders. Economic collapse continued unabated, with the national infrastructure seriously deteriorating and civil servants, often unpaid for long periods, making money through bribery and theft of government property.

The nation's problems were compounded by an influx of hundreds of thousands of Hutu refugees from Rwanda and a spillover of ethnic fighting between Hutus and Tutsis into Zaïre. In mid-1994, Kengo Wa Dondo, an advocate of austerity and free-market reform, was chosen prime minister by parliament, but he was dismissed in Mar., 1997. In 1996 and 1997, while Mobutu was in Europe being treated for cancer, rebels dependent on support from Rwandan and Ugandan forces captured much of E Zaïre. The insurgents, who also received aid from Zambia and Angola, met little resistance from the ragged Zaïrean army and entered Kinshasa on May 17, 1997. Rebel leader Laurent Kabila was sworn in as president on May 29 and changed the name of the country to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mobutu died in Morocco on Sept. 7, 1997.

Although Kabila promised that elections would be held in 1999, he banned all political opposition, and his regime soon became repressive. His failure to revive the economy and to prevent the attacks upon thousands of Congolese Tutsis by their Hutu neighbors in the mid-1990s, as well as the revelation that his forces had probably massacred thousands of Rwandan Hutu refugees during their march across the country in 1996–97, led to a fading of both internal and foreign support for his government. The eastern part of the country remained unstable, and in Aug., 1998, a group of ethnic Tutsi Congolese forces supported by Rwanda mutinied against Kabila's rule and began advancing toward Kinshasa. Although they were repulsed, the movement grew, attracting opposition politicians, former Mobutu supporters, and disaffected military leaders formerly allied with Kabila. It also threatened to widen into a regional conflict, as Zimbabwe, Angola, and Namibia sent troops to aid Kabila's government, while Rwanda and Uganda backed the rebels.

In July, 1999, following a peace conference in Lusaka, Zambia, the heads of the six governments involved signed a cease-fire agreement; the leaders of the two main Congolese rebel groups also subsequently signed the pact. Kabila and his allies controlled most of the east and south of the Congo, and the rebels and their supporters controlled much of the north and west. By the end of the year, however, implementation of the accord was stalled, due in part to intransigence on the part of Kabila's government, and the much-violated cease-fire was in the process of collapsing.

The United Nations approved a force to monitor the accord in Feb., 2000, but the situation in the Congo proved too unstable to permit the force to move in. Fighting erupted between Ugandan and Rwandan forces in Kisangani (as it had the year before), and Kabila's government launched an offensive in Équateur (NW Congo) and continued to resist cooperating with the United Nations and with African peace negotiators. A new agreement calling for the pullback of all forces was signed (without the participation of one of the rebel groups) in Dec., 2000.

In Jan., 2001, Kabila was assassinated, reportedly by a bodyguard, and his son, Maj. Gen. Joseph Kabila, was named his successor. Joseph Kabila's government resumed cooperating on peace negotiations, and ended the ban on political parties. Beginning in March the forces of foreign nations began pulling back from the front lines and, in some cases, pulling out from the Congo. Fighting largely ceased, although banditry by militias and fighting between tribal groups persisted in E Congo. Peace talks began tentatively in Oct., 2001, and in 2002 agreements were signed successively with one of the rebel groups, Rwanda, and Uganda, although no agreement was reached with the largest rebel force, the Rwandan-backed Congolese Rally for Democracy–Goma. By the end of Oct., 2002, most foreign troops had been withdrawn from the Congo.

The government and both main rebel groups reached an accord in Apr., 2003,, when they signed a peace agreement that called for a power-sharing government led by President Kabila, and an interim parliament. Despite the peace deal, fighting continued in parts of the Congo, especially between tribal groups in the east, and in June, 2003, the United Nations dispatched French-led peacekeepers to E Congo in an effort to restore order. In the same month the government and rebels agreed on the composition of the new government, which was formally established. Democratic elections were scheduled for 2005. By the time of the government's establishment it was estimated that 3.3 million people had died, directly or indirectly, as a result of the fighting that began in 1998.

The French-led peacekeepers were replaced by 10,000 UN soldiers beginning in Sept., 2003. In the first half of 2004 there were two attempted coups in the country, and progress toward real peace continued to be slow during the year. By the end of 2004 rebel forces and the former Congolese army had been integrated into a unified force in name only. An uprising involving former rebels occurred in June at Bukavu in E Congo, although the rebels soon dispersed, and in December there was fighting in Nord-Kivu between former army and former rebel forces. The army forces had been sent into the area in response to threats by Rwanda to invade the region in order to attack Rwandan Hutu rebels based there. Congo accused Rwandan forces of invading and aiding the former Congolese rebels, a charge Rwanda denied, but a UN panel had accused (July, 2004) Rwanda and Uganda of maintaining armed units in E Congo and UN peacekeepers said that forces had entered Congo following Rwanda's threat to invade.

Bibliography

See C. Young, Politics in the Congo (1965); R. Anstey, King Leopold's Legacy: The Congo under Belgian Rule, 1908–1960 (1966); J. C. Williame, Patrimonialism and Political Change in the Congo (1972); G. Gran, Zaïre: The Political Economy of Underdevelopment (1979); R. W. Harms, River of Wealth, River of Sorrow: The Central Zaïre Basin in the Era of the Slave and Ivory Trade (1981); T. M. Callaghy, The State-Society Struggle: Zaïre in Comparative Perspective (1984); F. S. Bobb, Historical Dictionary of Zaïre (1988); D. Northrup, Beyond the Bend in the River: African Labor in Eastern Zaïre, 1865–1940 (1988); J. M. Elliot and M. M. Mervyn, Mobutu Sese Seko: People, Politics, and Policy (1989); A. Hochschild, King Leopold's Ghost (1998).

Congo, Democratic Republic of the

Congo, Democratic Republic of

Local Time: May 27, 9:58 PM

Regions: (Western)
Local Cities: Kinshasa
Local Time: May 27, 10:58 PM

Regions: (Eastern)
Local Cities: Kananga, Kolwezi, Lubumbashi, Mbuji-Mayi

Zaire (zeye-eer)

See Democratic Republic of Congo.

Congo

The international dialing code for Congo is:   242


Congo, Democratic Republic of the

Introduction

Background: Since 1997, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DROC; formerly called Zaire) has been rent by ethnic strife and civil war, touched off by a massive inflow in 1994 of refugees from the fighting in Rwanda and Burundi. The government of former president MOBUTU Sese Seko was toppled by a rebellion led by Laurent KABILA in May 1997; his regime was subsequently challenged by a Rwanda- and Uganda-backed rebellion in August 1998. Troops from Zimbabwe, Angola, Namibia, Chad, and Sudan intervened to support the Kinshasa regime. A cease-fire was signed on 10 July 1999 by the DROC, Zimbabwe, Angola, Uganda, Namibia, Rwanda, and Congolese armed rebel groups, but sporadic fighting continued. KABILA was assassinated on 16 January 2001 and his son Joseph KABILA was named head of state ten days later. In October 2002, the new president was successful in getting occupying Rwandan forces to withdraw from eastern Congo; two months later, an agreement was signed by all remaining warring parties to end the fighting and set up a government of national unity.

Geography

Location: Central Africa, northeast of Angola
Geographic coordinates: 0 00 N, 25 00 E
Map references: Africa
Area: total: 2,345,410 sq km
water: 77,810 sq km
land: 2,267,600 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly less than one-fourth the size of the US
Land boundaries: total: 10,730 km
border countries: Angola 2,511 km (of which 225 km is the boundary of Angola's discontiguous Cabinda Province), Burundi 233 km, Central African Republic 1,577 km, Republic of the Congo 2,410 km, Rwanda 217 km, Sudan 628 km, Tanzania 459 km, Uganda 765 km, Zambia 1,930 km
Coastline: 37 km
Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: boundaries with neighbors
territorial sea: 12 NM
Climate: tropical; hot and humid in equatorial river basin; cooler and drier in southern highlands; cooler and wetter in eastern highlands; north of Equator - wet season April to October, dry season December to February; south of Equator - wet season November to March, dry season April to October
Terrain: vast central basin is a low-lying plateau; mountains in east
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pic Marguerite on Mont Ngaliema (Mount Stanley) 5,110 m
Natural resources: cobalt, copper, cadmium, petroleum, industrial and gem diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, germanium, uranium, radium, bauxite, iron ore, coal, hydropower, timber
Land use: arable land: 2.96%
permanent crops: 0.52%
other: 96.52% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 110 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: periodic droughts in south; Congo River floods (seasonal); in the east, in the Great Rift Valley, there are active volcanoes
Environment - current issues: poaching threatens wildlife populations; water pollution; deforestation; refugees responsible for significant deforestation, soil erosion, and wildlife poaching; mining of minerals (coltan - a mineral used in creating capacitors, diamonds, and gold) causing environmental damage
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification
Geography - note: straddles equator; has very narrow strip of land that controls the lower Congo River and is only outlet to South Atlantic Ocean; dense tropical rain forest in central river basin and eastern highlands

People

Population: 56,625,039
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2003 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 48.3% (male 13,734,706; female 13,624,579)
15-64 years: 49.2% (male 13,648,155; female 14,203,077)
65 years and over: 2.5% (male 583,366; female 831,156) (2003 est.)
Median age: total: 15.8 years
female: 16.1 years (2002)
male: 15.4 years
Population growth rate: 2.9% (2003 est.)
Birth rate: 45.12 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Death rate: 14.87 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Net migration rate: -1.26 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: fighting between the Congolese Government and Uganda- and Rwanda-backed Congolese rebels spawned a regional war in DROC in August 1998, which left 1.8 million Congolese internally displaced and caused 300,000 Congolese refugees to flee to surrounding countries (2003 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
Infant mortality rate: total: 96.56 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 87.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
male: 105.15 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 48.93 years
male: 46.83 years
female: 51.09 years (2003 est.)
Total fertility rate: 6.69 children born/woman (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 4.9% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 1.3 million (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 120,000 (2001 est.)
Nationality: noun: Congolese (singular and plural)
adjective: Congolese or Congo
Ethnic groups: over 200 African ethnic groups of which the majority are Bantu; the four largest tribes - Mongo, Luba, Kongo (all Bantu), and the Mangbetu-Azande (Hamitic) make up about 45% of the population
Religions: Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 20%, Kimbanguist 10%, Muslim 10%, other syncretic sects and indigenous beliefs 10%
Languages: French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write French, Lingala, Kingwana, or Tshiluba
total population: 65.5%
male: 76.2%
female: 55.1% (2003 est.)

Government

Country name: conventional long form: Democratic Republic of the Congo
conventional short form: none
local short form: none
former: Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Congo/Leopoldville, Congo/Kinshasa, Zaire
local long form: Republique Democratique du Congo
abbreviation: DROC
Government type: dictatorship; presumably undergoing a transition to representative government
Capital: Kinshasa
Administrative divisions: 10 provinces (provinces, singular - province) and one city* (ville); Bandundu, Bas-Congo, Equateur, Kasai-Occidental, Kasai-Oriental, Katanga, Kinshasa*, Maniema, Nord-Kivu, Orientale, Sud-Kivu
Independence: 30 June 1960 (from Belgium)
National holiday: Independence Day, 30 June (1960)
Constitution: 24 June 1967, amended August 1974, revised 15 February 1978, amended April 1990; transitional constitution promulgated in April 1994; in November 1998, a draft constitution was approved by former President Laurent KABILA but it was not ratified by a national referendum; one outcome of the ongoing inter-Congolese dialogue is to be a new constitution
Legal system: based on Belgian civil law system and tribal law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive branch: chief of state: President Joseph KABILA (since 26 January 2001); note - following the assassination of his father, Laurent Desire KABILA, on 16 January 2001, Joseph KABILA succeeded to the presidency; the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Joseph KABILA (since 26 January 2001); note - following the assassination of his father, Laurent Desire KABILA, on 16 January 2001, Joseph KABILA succeeded to the presidency; the president is both the chief of state and head of government
cabinet: National Executive Council, appointed by the president
elections: before Laurent Desire KABILA seized power on 16 May 1997, the president was elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 29 July 1984 (next was scheduled to be held in May 1997); formerly, there was also a prime minister who was elected by the High Council of the Republic; note - elections were not held in 1991 as called for by the constitution
note: Marshal MOBUTU Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga was president from 24 November 1965 until forced into exile on 16 May 1997 when his government was overthrown militarily by Laurent Desire KABILA; KABILA immediately assumed governing authority and pledged to hold elections by April 1999, but, in December 1998, announced that elections would be postponed until all foreign military forces attempting to topple the government had withdrawn from the country; KABILA was assassinated in January 2001 and was succeeded by his son Joseph KABILA
election results: results of the last election were: MOBUTU Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga reelected president in 1984 without opposition
Legislative branch: a 300-member Transitional Constituent Assembly established in August 2000
elections: NA; members of the Transitional Constituent Assembly were appointed by former President Laurent Desire KABILA
Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Cour Supreme
Political parties and leaders: Democratic Social Christian Party or PDSC [Andre BO-BOLIKO]; Forces for Renovation for Union and Solidarity or FONUS [Joseph OLENGHANKOY]; National Congolese Lumumbist Movement or MNC [Francois LUMUMBA]; Popular Movement of the Revolution or MPR (three factions: MPR-Fait Prive [Catherine NZUZI wa Mbombo]; MPR/Vunduawe [Felix VUNDUAWE]; MPR/Mananga [MANANGA Dintoka Mpholo]); Unified Lumumbast Party or PALU [Antoine GIZENGA]; Union for Democracy and Social Progress or UDPS [Etienne TSHISEKEDI wa Mulumba]; Union of Federalists and Independent Republicans or UFERI (two factions: UFERI [Lokambo OMOKOKO]; UFERI/OR [Adolph Kishwe MAYA])
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CEEAC, CEPGL, ECA, FAO, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW (signatory), PCA, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Faida MITIFU
FAX: [1] (202) 234-2609
telephone: [1] (202) 234-7690, 7691
chancery: 1800 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Aubrey HOOKS
embassy: 310 Avenue des Aviateurs, Kinshasa
mailing address: Unit 31550, APO AE 09828
telephone: [243] (88) 43608
FAX: [243] (88) 43467
Flag description: light blue with a large yellow five-pointed star in the center and a columnar arrangement of six small yellow five-pointed stars along the hoist side

Economy

Economy - overview: The economy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo - a nation endowed with vast potential wealth - has declined drastically since the mid-1980s. The war, which began in August 1998, has dramatically reduced national output and government revenue, has increased external debt, and has resulted in the deaths from war, famine, and disease of perhaps 3.5 million people. Foreign businesses have curtailed operations due to uncertainty about the outcome of the conflict, lack of infrastructure, and the difficult operating environment. The war has intensified the impact of such basic problems as an uncertain legal framework, corruption, inflation, and lack of openness in government economic policy and financial operations. Conditions improved in late 2002 with the withdrawal of a large portion of the invading foreign troops. A number of IMF and World Bank missions have met with the government to help it develop a coherent economic plan, and President KABILA has begun implementing reforms. Much economic activity lies outside the GDP data.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $34 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 3.5% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $610 (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 55%
industry: 11%
services: 34% (2000 est.)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 16% (2002 est.)
Labor force: 14.51 million (1993 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: NA
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $269 million
expenditures: $244 million, including capital expenditures of $24 million (1996 est.)
Industries: mining (diamonds, copper, zinc), mineral processing, consumer products (including textiles, footwear, cigarettes, processed foods and beverages), cement
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity - production: 5.243 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 1.8%
hydro: 98.2%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 3.839 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports: 1.097 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports: 60 million kWh (2001)
Oil - production: 24,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption: 14,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports: NA (2001)
Oil - imports: NA (2001)
Oil - proved reserves: 1.538 billion bbl (January 2002 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves: 104.8 billion cu m (January 2002 est.)
Agriculture - products: coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber, tea, quinine, cassava (tapioca), palm oil, bananas, root crops, corn, fruits; wood products
Exports: $1.2 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Exports - commodities: diamonds, copper, crude oil, coffee, cobalt
Exports - partners: Belgium 59.7%, US 12.9%, Zimbabwe 7.4%, France 6.9%, South Africa, Finland, Italy (2000)
Imports: $890 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Imports - commodities: foodstuffs, mining and other machinery, transport equipment, fuels
Imports - partners: South Africa 18.2%, Belgium 16.4%, Nigeria 11.8%, France 5.9%, Kenya, China (2000)
Debt - external: $12.9 billion (2000 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $195.3 million (1995)
Currency: Congolese franc (CDF)
Currency code: CDF
Exchange rates: Congolese francs per US dollar - 346.49 (2002), 206.62 (2001), 21.82 (2000), 4.02 (1999), 1.61 (1998)
Fiscal year: calendar year

Communications

Telephones - main lines in use: 20,000 (2000)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 15,000 (2000)
Telephone system: general assessment: poor
domestic: barely adequate wire and microwave radio relay service in and between urban areas; domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations
international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 11, shortwave 2 (2001)
Television broadcast stations: 4 (2001)
Internet country code: .cd
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (2001)
Internet users: 6,000 (2002)

Transportation

Railways: total: 4,772 km
narrow gauge: 3,621 km 1.067-m gauge (858 km electrified); 125 km 1.000-m gauge; 1,026 km 0.600-m gauge (2002)
Highways: total: 157,000 km (including 30 km of expressways)(1996)
paved: NA km
unpaved: NA km
Waterways: 15,000 km (including the Congo and its tributaries, and unconnected lakes)
Pipelines: petroleum products 390 km
Ports and harbors: Banana, Boma, Bukavu, Bumba, Goma, Kalemie, Kindu, Kinshasa, Kisangani, Matadi, Mbandaka
Merchant marine: none (2002 est.)
Airports: 229 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 24
over 3,047 m: 4
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2002)
1,524 to 2,437 m: 16
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 205
1,524 to 2,437 m: 19
914 to 1,523 m: 95
under 914 m: 91 (2002)
Heliports: 1 (2002)

Military

Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Special Security Battalion
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 12,292,933 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 6,267,752 (2003 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $250 million (FY97)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 4.6% (FY97)

Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: Democratic Republic of the Congo is in the grip of a civil war that has drawn in military forces from neighboring states, with Uganda and Rwanda supporting the rebel movements that occupy much of the eastern portion of the state - Tutsi, Hutu, Lendu, Hema and other conflicting ethnic groups, political rebels, and various government forces continue fighting in Great Lakes region, transcending the boundaries of Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda - heads of the Great Lakes states pledge to end conflict, but localized violence continues despite UN peacekeeping efforts; most of the Congo River boundary with the Republic of the Congo is indefinite (no agreement has been reached on the division of the river or its islands, except in the Pool Malebo/Stanley Pool area)
Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis, mostly for domestic consumption; while rampant corruption and inadequate supervision leaves the banking system vulnerable to money laundering, the lack of a well-developed financial system limits the country's utility as a money-laundering center


National Anthem of: Zaire

Zairois dans la paix retrouvee
Peuple uni, nous sommes Zairois
En avant fier et plein de dignite
Peuple grand, peuple libre a jamais
Tricolore enflamme nous du feu sacre
Pour batir notre pays toujours plus beau
Autour d'un fleuve majeste
Autour d'un fleuve majeste

Tricolore au vent ravive l'ideal
Qui nous relie aux aieux a nos enfants
Paix, justice et travail
Paix, justice et travail

Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun Democratic Republic of the Congo has one meaning:

Meaning #1: a republic in central Africa; achieved independence from Belgium in 1960
  Synonyms:
Congo, Zaire, Belgian Congo


Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo, called Zaire between 1971 and 1997, is a nation in central Africa. It is sometimes called Congo-Kinshasa, after its capital, to distinguish it from the Republic of Congo, or Congo-Brazzaville. It borders on Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Angola and the Gulf of Guinea.

République Démocratique du Congo
Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Coat of Arms of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
(Flag) (Coat of Arms)
National motto: None
National anthem: Debout Congolais
Location of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Capital Kinshasa
0° 00' N, 25° 00' E
Largest city Kinshasa
Official languages French
Government dictatorship
Joseph Kabila
Independence
 - Date
From Belgium
June 30, 1960
Area
 - Total
 - Water (%)
 
2,345,410 km² (
12th)
3.3%
Population
 - 2004 est.
 - ? census
 -
Density
 
58,317,930 (
23rd)
55,225,478
24/km² (
182)
GDP (PPP)
 -
2003 est.
 - Per capita
 
35,798 ¹ (
77)
673 (
162)
Currency Congolese franc (CDF)
Time zone
 - Summer (DST)
CET, EET (UTC+1 to +2)
not observed (
UTC+1 to +2)
Internet TLD .cd
Calling code +243
¹ Estimate is based on regression; other PPP figures are extrapolated from the latest International Comparison Programme benchmark estimates.

History

Main article: History of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Pre-European

The area now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo was populated as early as 10,000 years ago, and settled in the 7th and 8th centuries by Bantus from present-day Nigeria.

European exploration and administration (1870–1960)

European exploration and administration took place from the 1870s until the 1920s. The area was first mapped by the British explorer Henry Morton Stanley. He prepared the region for European colonization. Congo was given to King Leopold II of Belgium in the Conference of Berlin in 1885. He made the land his private property and named it 'Congo Free State'. In this Free State, the local population was brutalized in exchange for rubber, a growing market with the development of rubber tires. The selling of the rubber made a fortune for Leopold, who built several buildings in Brussels and Ostend to honour himself. During the period between 1885 and 1908, between 5 and 15 (the commonly accepted figure is ~10) million Congolese were killed by the mercenaries working for the Belgian king. However, there were international protests by not only famous writers such as Mark Twain, but also British diplomat Roger Casement, whose 1904 report on the Congo condemned the practice. Joseph Conrad's novella Heart of Darkness also takes place in Congo Free State. In 1908, the Belgian parliament bowed to international pressure in order to save their last bit of prestige in Europe, forcibly adopting the Free State as a Belgian colony from the king. From then on, it became the Belgian Congo, but in practical terms, things changed only slightly.

During World War II the small Congolese army achieved several victories against the Italians in north Africa.

The First Republic (1960–1965)

Congo became independent on June 30, 1960, after almost a decade of political struggle; Belgium finally withdrew, fearing a war for independence similar to that in Algeria. The first Prime Minister, Patrice-Emery Lumumba (1925–61), was a member of the politically minor Batatele tribe; he was educated in mission schools and later worked as a postal clerk. He became a member of the permanent committee of the All-African Peoples Conference (founded in Accra, 1958) and president of the Congolese National Movement, an influential political party. After a January 1959 uprising, he fled the country to escape arrest but soon returned. Late in 1959, accused of instigating public violence, he was jailed by the Belgians but was released (1960) to participate in the Brussels Congo conference, where he emerged as a leading negotiator. When the Republic of the Congo came into existence (June, 1960) Lumumba was its first premier and minister of defense.

Post-independence wars (1960–1965)

See main article Congo Crisis

Shortly after independence, the army, still led by Belgian officers, mutinied after hearing the declaration by a Belgian general that "things won't change just because of independence". The military revolt continued until President Kasavubu and Lumumba replaced the Belgian officers by Africans, which resulted in most Belgians fleeing and thus the crash of the young nation's administration. The Belgian government flew in troops to protect Belgian citizens, and Lumumba appealed for aid to the United Nations. The UN sent troops to reestablish order, which were strongly supported by the United States, which believed Lumumba to be a communist and wanted to avoid the Congo turning to the USSR by any means. At the same time the rich Katanga province declared its independence. As a military operation in August 1960 to regain a further secessionist province, Kasai, failed, Lumumba demanded that the UN move against Katanga, but when the UN reiterated to Lumumba that it was a neutral peacekeeping force and therefore could not fight against a seccessionist province, Lumumba asked the USSR for aid, which he received and utilised. This made it obvious to US President Eisenhower that the USSR was using Lumumba to establish a communist stronghold in central Africa. Eisenhower and Belgium gave the order to kill Lumumba, but an attempt with a poison toothbrush was not undertaken. Immediately after this, President Kasavubu, his rival for power, dismissed him as prime minister and he, in turn, dismissed Kasavubu as president. Shortly afterwards, Lumumba was put under house arrest by Colonel Joseph Mobutu. Lumumba escaped to join his supporters in Stanleyville but was recaptured and then flown (January, 1961), on orders from the Belgian Minister for African affairs, to his sworn enemies in Katanga. On the way he and two of his assistants were harshly tortured and shot by a Belgian-Congolese command. Their corpses were dissolved in sulfuric acid a few days later. In February, it was announced that he had been killed by angry villagers (which was not believed by many). Riots of protest took place in many parts of the world. See his Congo: My Country (1962) and Lumumba Speaks (ed. by Jean van Lierde, tr. 1972); study by T. R. Kanza (1972).

The CIA had aided Mobutu and was pleased with the outcome, having viewed the Soviet-backed Lumumba as a Communist puppet. Conversely, as Mobutu grew in power and prominence, he was accused of being an American puppet.

In recent years, the Belgian government has admitted that it also played a role in Lumumba's overthrow.

The Second Republic (1965–1997)

Following five years of extreme instability and civil unrest, Mobutu, now Lieutenant General, overthrew Kasavubu in a 1965 coup d'état. A one-party system was established, and Mobutu declared himself head of state. He would occasionally hold elections in which he was the only candidate. Relative peace and stability was achieved, but Mobutu's government was accused of human rights violations, repression, a cult of personality (every Congolese bank note displayed his image,) and excessive corruption — in 1984 he was said to have USD $4 billion, an amount close to the country's national debt, stashed away in personal Swiss bank accounts. In an effort to spread African national awareness, Mobutu renamed the country and river Zaïre, renamed himself Mobutu Sese Seko, and promoted old African values and traditions. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, U.S. relations with Kinshasa cooled, as Mobutu was no longer deemed a necessary Cold War ally and his opponents within Zaïre stepped up demands for reform.

The Third Republic (1997– )

Since 1994, the Congo has been rent by ethnic strife and civil war, touched off by a massive inflow of refugees from fighting in Rwanda and Burundi. The government of Mobutu Sese Seko was toppled by a rebellion led by Laurent-Désiré Kabila in May, 1997; his regime was subsequently challenged by a Rwandan and Ugandan-backed rebellion in August 1998. Troops from Zimbabwe, Angola, Namibia, Chad, and Sudan intervened to support the new regime in Kinshasa. See Foreign relations of Congo and First Congo War.

A cease-fire was signed on July 10, 1999; nevertheless, fighting continues apace especially in the eastern part of the country, financed by revenues from the illegal extraction of minerals such as coltan. Kabila was assassinated in January 2001 and his son Joseph Kabila was named head of state. The new president quickly began overtures to end the war. Fighting continued, even after an accord signed in South Africa in 2002. But by late 2003, a fragile peace prevailed. Kabila appointed four vice-presidents, two who had been fighting to oust him until July, 2003. See also: Second Congo War

Politics

Main article: Politics of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The government of former president Mobutu Sese Seko was toppled by a rebellion led by Laurent Kabila in May 1997; with the support of Rwanda- and Uganda. They were later to turn against Kabila and backed a rebellion against him in August 1998. Troops from Zimbabwe, Angola, Namibia, Chad, and Sudan intervened to support the Kinshasa regime. A cease-fire was signed on 10 July 1999 by the DROC, Zimbabwe, Angola, Uganda, Namibia, Rwanda, and Congolese armed rebel groups, but sporadic fighting continued. Kabila was assassinated on 16 January 2001 and his son Joseph Kabila was named head of state ten days later. In October 2002, the new president was successful in getting occupying Rwandan forces to withdraw from eastern Congo; two months later, an agreement was signed by all remaining warring parties to end the fighting and set up a government of national unity.

Political divisions

Main article: Political divisions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Cg-map.png

The Congo is divided into 10 provinces, and 1 independent city (Kinshasa):

Major Cities

  • Bandundu (Banningville)
  • Bukavu (Constermansville)
  • Djokupunda (Charlesville)
  • Ilebo (Port-Francqui)
  • Isiro (Paulis)
  • Kalemie (Albertville)
  • Kananga (Luluabourg)
  • Kinshasa (Léopoldville)
  • Kisangani (Stanleyville)
  • Kolwezi
  • Likasi (Jadotville)
  • Lubumbashi (Élisabethville)
  • Lukutu (Élisabetha)
  • Lusanga (Leverville)
  • Mbandaka (Coquilhatville)
  • Mbanza-Ngungu (Thysville)
  • Moba (Baudoinville)
  • Mobaye-Mbongo (Banzyville)
  • Mbuji-Mayi (Bakwanga)
  • Ubundu (Ponthierville)

Geography

Image of Kinshasa and Brazzaville, taken by NASA
Enlarge
Image of Kinshasa and Brazzaville, taken by NASA

Main article: Geography of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Congo is located in the west-central part of sub-Saharan Africa. It straddles the Equator, with one-third to the north and two-thirds to the south. Clockwise from the west, it is bounded by Angola, the Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, the Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania across Lake Tanganyika, and Zambia.

The capital, Kinshasa, is located in the country's western salient, immediately across the Congo River from Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of Congo.

The Congo includes the greater part of the Congo River Basin, which covers an area of almost a million square kilometers. The country's only outlet to the Atlantic Ocean is a narrow strip of land on the north bank of the Congo River.

The vast, low-lying central area is a basin-shaped plateau sloping toward the west and covered by tropical rainforest. This area is surrounded by mountainous terraces in the west, plateaux merging into savannas in the south and southwest, and dense grasslands extending beyond the Congo River in the north.

Economy

Main article: Economy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The economy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo - a nation endowed with vast potential wealth - has declined drastically since the mid-1980s. The two recent conflicts, which began in 1996, has dramatically reduced national output and government revenue, has increased external debt, and has resulted in the deaths from war, famine, and disease of perhaps 3.8 million people. Foreign businesses have curtailed operations due to uncertainty about the outcome of the conflict, lack of infrastructure, and the difficult operating environment. The war has intensified the impact of such basic problems as an uncertain legal framework, corruption, inflation, and lack of openness in government economic policy and financial operations. Conditions improved in late 2002 with the withdrawal of a large portion of the invading foreign troops. A number of IMF and World Bank missions have met with the government to help it develop a coherent economic plan, and President Joseph Kabila has begun implementing reforms. Much economic activity lies outside the GDP data.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Map of the major Bantu languages in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Enlarge
Map of the major Bantu languages in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The population was estimated at 56.6 million in 2003, growing quickly from 46.7 million in 1997. As many as 250 ethnic groups have been distinguished and named. The most numerous people are the Kongo, Luba, and Mongo. Although 700 local languages and dialects are spoken, the linguistic variety is bridged both by the use of French and the intermediary languages Kikongo, Tshiluba, Swahili, and Lingala.


About 80% of the Congolese population are Christian, predominantly Roman Catholic. Most of the non-Christians adhere to either traditional religions or syncretic sects. Traditional religions embody such concepts as monotheism, animism, vitalism, spirit and ancestor worship, witchcraft, and sorcery and vary widely among ethnic groups; none is formalized. The syncretic sects often merge Christianity with traditional beliefs and rituals. The most popular of these sects, Kimbanguism, was seen as a threat to the colonial regime and was banned by the Belgians. Kimbanguism, officially "the church of Christ on Earth by the prophet Simon Kimbangu," now has about 3 million members, primarily among the Bakongo of Bas-Congo and Kinshasa.

center
center

Culture

Main article: Culture of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Wildlife

The rainforests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo contain great biodiversity, including many rare and endemic species, including the bonobo, mountain gorilla, okapi and white rhino. Five of the country's national parks are listed as World Heritage Sites: the Garumba, Kahuzi-Biega, Salonga and Virunga National Parks, and the Okapi Wildlife Reserve. The civil war and resultant poor economic conditions have endangered much of this biodiversity. Many park wardens were either killed or could not afford to continue their work. All five sites are listed by UNESCO as World Heritage In Danger.

See also

Miscellaneous topics

External links



Countries in Africa

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Dependencies: Canary Islands | Ceuta and Melilla | Mayotte | Réunion | Saint Helena


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Congo snake Belgian Congo
Congo Free State South Central Niger-Congo (branch of the Niger-Congo language family)
Banana, Democratic Republic of the Congo .cg (abbreviation)
Zaire River Stanley Pool (lakelike expansion of the Congo River)
.cd (abbreviation) kongamoto
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Date Accessed: 27 May. 2005
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4. Rwan-da ^Top

Date Accessed: 27 May. 2005
Title: Rwanda: Map, History and Much More From Answers.com
URL: http://www.answers.com/Rwanda
Rwanda
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Rwanda
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Rwan·da (ru-än'd?) pronunciation (Formerly Ru·an·da (ru-än'd?))

A country of east-central Africa. By the late 18th century the region was the site of a Tutsi kingdom inhabited principally by Hutus. In 1890 it became part of German East Africa and later (1919) part of the Belgian League of Nations mandate of Ruanda-Urundi. Rwanda achieved independence from Belgium in 1962. In 1990 the country was invaded by the Rwandan Patriotic Front, a group largely composed of exiled Tutsis, which signed a peace agreement with the government in 1992. Ethnic fighting broke out again in 1994, however, with the Tutsis routing the Hutu government, causing over a million Hutus to flee to Zaire. Kigali is the capital and largest city. Population: 7,950,000 .

Rwan'dan adj. & n.
Rwanda (r?än') , officially Republic of Rwanda, republic (1992 pop. 7,164,994), 10,169 sq mi (26,338 sq km), E central Africa. It borders on Congo (Kinshasa) in the west, on Uganda in the north, on Tanzania in the east, and on Burundi in the south. Kigali is the capital and largest town.

Land and People

Most of Rwanda is situated at 5,000 ft (1,520 m) or higher, and the country has a rugged relief made up of steep mountains and deep valleys. The principal geographical feature is the Virunga mountain range, which runs north of Lake Kivu and includes Rwanda's loftiest point, Volcan Karisimbi (14,787 ft/4,507 m). There is some lower land (at elevations below 3,000 ft/910 m) along the eastern shore of Lake Kivu and the Ruzizi River in the west and near the Tanzanian border in the east. The country is divided into twelve prefectures. In addition to the capital, other towns include Butare, Gisenyi, and Ruhengeri.

About 80% of the inhabitants are Hutu, and the rest Tutsi, except for a small number of Twa, who are a Pygmy group. Since independence, ethnic violence has led to large-scale massacres and the creation of perhaps as many as three million refugees. Kinyarwanda (a Bantu tongue), French, and English are the official languages, and Swahili is also spoken. Rwanda is one of the most densely populated countries in Africa, and its population has a high annual growth rate that is usually around 3%. About 75% of the people are Christian (primarily Roman Catholic,) and 25% follow traditional religious beliefs. A small number of Tutsi are Muslim.

Economy

The economy of Rwanda is overwhelmingly agricultural, with most of the workers engaged in subsistence farming. Economic development in Rwanda is hindered by the needs of its large population and by its lack of easy access to the sea (and thus to foreign markets). The chief food crops are bananas, cassava, pulses, sorghum, and potatoes. The principal cash crops are coffee, tea, and pyrethrum. Large numbers of cattle, goats, and sheep are raised; most of the cattle are owned by the Tutsi. Food must be imported, as domestic production has fallen below subsistence levels. Food shortages were sharply exacerbated by the civil strife and severe refugee problems of the early 1990s, and exports were devastated. By the late 1990s the economy appeared to be reviving slowly.

Cassiterite and wolframite are mined in significant quantities, and natural gas is produced at Lake Kivu. Rwanda's industries are limited to small factories that manufacture textiles, chemicals, cement, and basic consumer goods such as processed food, beverages (especially beer), clothing, and footwear. The country has a good road network but no railroads. Kigali has an international airport.

The annual value of Rwanda's imports is usually considerably higher than its earnings from exports. The main imports are foodstuffs, machinery, motor vehicles, fuel, and construction materials; the principal exports are coffee, casseritite, wolframite, tea, pyrethrum, and hides. The chief trading partners are Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, and Kenya. Rwanda depends on outside aid to balance its national budget, to finance foreign purchases, and to fund development projects.

History

History to Independence

The Twa were the original inhabitants of Rwanda and were followed (c.A.D. 1000), and then outnumbered, by the Hutus. In the 14th or 15th cent., the Tutsis migrated into the area, gained dominance over the Hutus, and established several states. By the late 18th cent. a single Tutsi-ruled state occupied most of present-day Rwanda. It was headed by a mwami (king), who controlled regionally based vassals who were also Tutsi. They in turn dominated the Hutus, who, then as now, made up the vast majority of the population. Rwanda reached the height of its power under Mutara II (reigned early 19th cent.) and Kigeri IV (reigned 1853–95). Kigeri established a standing army, equipped with guns purchased from traders from the E African coast, and prohibited most foreigners from entering his kingdom.

Nonetheless, in 1890, Rwanda accepted German overrule without resistance and became part of German East Africa. A German administrative officer was assigned to Rwanda only in 1907, however, and the Germans had virtually no influence over the affairs of the country and initiated no economic development. During World War I, Belgian forces occupied (1916) Rwanda, and in 1919 it became part of the Belgian League of Nations mandate of Ruanda-Urundi (which in 1946 became a UN trust territory). Until the last years of Belgian rule the traditional social structure of Rwanda was not altered; considerable Christian missionary work, however, was undertaken.

In 1957 the Hutus issued a manifesto calling for a change in Rwanda's power structure that would give them a voice in the country's affairs commensurate with their numbers, and Hutu political parties were formed. In 1959, Mutara III died and was succeeded by Kigeri V. The Hutus contended that the new mwami had not been properly chosen, and fighting broke out between the Hutus and the Tutsis (who were aided by the Twa). The Hutus emerged victorious, and some 100,000 Tutsis, including Kigeri V, fled to neighboring countries. Hutu political parties won the election of 1960; Grégoire Kayibanda became interim prime minister. In early 1961 a republic was proclaimed, which was confirmed in a UN-supervised referendum later in the year. Belgium granted independence to Rwanda on July 1, 1962.

Independence and Civil Strife

Kayibanda was elected as the first president under the constitution adopted in 1962 and was reelected in 1965 and 1969. In 1964, following an incursion from Burundi, which continued to be controlled by its Tutsi aristocracy, many Tutsis were killed in Rwanda, and numerous others left the country. In 1971–72, relations with Uganda were bitter after President Idi Amin of Uganda accused Rwanda of aiding groups trying to overthrow him. In early 1973 there was renewed fighting between Hutu and Tutsi groups, and some 600 Tutsis fled to Uganda.

On July 5, 1973, a military group toppled Kayibanda without violence and installed Maj. Gen. Juvénal Habyarimana, a moderate Hutu who was commander of the national guard. In 1978 a new constitution was ratified and Habyarimana was elected president. He was reelected in 1983 and 1988. In 1988 over 50,000 refugees fled into Rwanda from Burundi.

Two years later Rwanda was invaded from Uganda by forces of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), consisting mainly of Tutsi refugees. They were repulsed, but Habyarimana agreed to a new multiparty constitution, promulgated in 1991. In early 1993, after Habyarimana signed a power-sharing agreement, Hutu violence broke out in the capital; subsequently, RPF forces launched a major offensive, making substantial inroads. A new accord was signed in August, and a UN peacekeeping mission was established. However, when Habyarimana and Burundi's president were killed in a suspicious plane crash in Apr., 1994, civil strife erupted on a massive scale. Rwandan soldiers and Hutu gangs slaughtered an estimated 500,000–1 million people, mostly Tutsis and moderate Hutus. The RPF resumed fighting and won control of the country, but over 2 million Rwandans, nearly all Hutus, fled the country.

In a gesture of reconciliation, the RPF named Pasteur Bizimungu, a Hutu, as president, but there were reprisals against Hutus by elements of the Tutsi-dominated army, and real power was believed to lie with RPF leader Paul Kagame, who became vice president and defense minister. The Hutu refugees remained crowded into camps in the Congo (then called Zaïre) and other neighboring countries, where Hutu extremists held power and, despite relief efforts by the United Nations and other international organizations, disease claimed some 100,000 lives. In 1995, a UN-appointed tribunal, based in Tanzania, began indicting and sentencing a number of higher-ranking people for genocide in the Hutu-Tutsi atrocities; however, the whereabouts of many suspects were unknown. Many individuals were also tried in Rwandan courts, but by 2002 slightly less than 5,000 (of 120,000 charged with crimes) had been tried. Over a million Hutu refugees flooded back into the country in 1996; by 1997, there was a growing war between the Rwandan army and Hutu guerrilla bands.

In 1998, Rwandan soldiers began aiding antigovernment rebels in the Congo who were attempting to overthrow the Congolese president, Laurent Kabila; Rwanda had helped Kabila overthrow Mobutu Sese Seko 18 months earlier. President Bizimungu resigned in Mar., 2000, accusing the parliament of using an anticorruption campaign to attack Hutu members of the government. Kagame officially succeeded Bizimungu as president in April, becoming the first Tutsi to be president of Rwanda.

Fighting in 1999 and 2000 between Rwandan and Ugandan forces in the Congo has led to tense relations between the two nations and occasional fighting between proxy forces in the Congo; each nation also has accused the other of aiding rebels against its own rule. Rwandan troops were withdrawn from the Congo in 2002 as the result of the signing of a peace agreement, but Rwanda forces fighting Hutu rebels have made incursions into the Congo and Burundi as well. Also in 2002, former president Bizimungu, who had become a critic of the government and established an opposition party, was arrested and charged with engaging in illegal political activity; he was convicted in 2004.

In May, 2003, votes approved a new constitution. In the subsequent presidential election in July, President Paul Kagame faced three Hutu candidates, the most prominent of which was former prime minister Faustin Twagiramungu. The election, the first in which Rwandans could vote for an opposition candidate, was won by Kagame, with 95% of the vote, but some observers accused the government of voting irregularities, and the campaign was marred by continual government interference with opposition rallies. The RPF also won a majority of the elected seats in the Chamber of Deputies in September.

Bibliography

See W. R. Louis, Ruanda-Urundi, 1884–1919 (1963); R. Lemarchand, Rwanda and Burundi (1970); F. Keane, Season of Blood: A Rwandan Journey (1996); P. Gourevitch, We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families (1998); L. Melvern, A People Betrayed: The Role of the West in Rwanda's Genocide (2000).

Rwanda

Rwanda

Local Time: May 27, 11:03 PM

Local Cities: Kigali

Rwanda (roo-ahn-duh)

Republic in central Africa bordered by Uganda to the north, Democratic Republic of Congo to the west, Burundi on the south, and Tanzania on the east. Its capital is Kigali.

  • Rwanda gained its independence from Belgium in 1962.
  • It has long been marked by ethnic strife between majority Hutus and dominant Tutsis. When its president died in a suspicious plane cash in 1994, Hutu militia massacred at least 500,000 Tutsis in an act of genocide.
  • Rwanda

    The international dialing code for Rwanda is:   250


    Rwanda

    Introduction

    Background: In 1959, three years before independence from Belgium, the majority ethnic group, the Hutus, overthrew the ruling Tutsi king. Over the next several years, thousands of Tutsis were killed, and some 150,000 driven into exile in neighboring countries. The children of these exiles later formed a rebel group, the Rwandan Patriotic Front, and began a civil war in 1990. The war, along with several political and economic upheavals, exacerbated ethnic tensions, culminating in April 1994 in the genocide of roughly 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus. The Tutsi rebels defeated the Hutu regime and ended the killing in July 1994, but approximately 2 million Hutu refugees - many fearing Tutsi retribution - fled to neighboring Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zaire. Since then, most of the refugees have returned to Rwanda. Despite substantial international assistance and political reforms - including Rwanda's first local elections in March 1999 - the country continues to struggle to boost investment and agricultural output and to foster reconciliation. A series of massive population displacements, a nagging Hutu extremist insurgency, and Rwandan involvement in two wars over the past four years in the neighboring DROC continue to hinder Rwanda's efforts.

    Geography

    Location: Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo
    Geographic coordinates: 2 00 S, 30 00 E
    Map references: Africa
    Area: total: 26,338 sq km
    water: 1,390 sq km
    land: 24,948 sq km
    Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Maryland
    Land boundaries: total: 893 km
    border countries: Burundi 290 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 217 km, Tanzania 217 km, Uganda 169 km
    Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
    Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
    Climate: temperate; two rainy seasons (February to April, November to January); mild in mountains with frost and snow possible
    Terrain: mostly grassy uplands and hills; relief is mountainous with altitude declining from west to east
    Elevation extremes: lowest point: Rusizi River 950 m
    highest point: Volcan Karisimbi 4,519 m
    Natural resources: gold, cassiterite (tin ore), wolframite (tungsten ore), methane, hydropower, arable land
    Land use: arable land: 32.43%
    permanent crops: 10.13%
    other: 57.44% (1998 est.)
    Irrigated land: 40 sq km (1998 est.)
    Natural hazards: periodic droughts; the volcanic Virunga mountains are in the northwest along the border with Democratic Republic of the Congo
    Environment - current issues: deforestation results from uncontrolled cutting of trees for fuel; overgrazing; soil exhaustion; soil erosion; widespread poaching
    Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection
    signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
    Geography - note: landlocked; most of the country is savanna grassland with the population predominantly rural

    People

    Population: 7,810,056
    note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2003 est.)
    Age structure: 0-14 years: 42.5% (male 1,667,128; female 1,651,422)
    15-64 years: 54.8% (male 2,128,495; female 2,148,694)
    65 years and over: 2.7% (male 85,576; female 128,741) (2003 est.)
    Median age: total: 18.1 years
    male: 17.8 years
    female: 18.3 years (2002)
    Population growth rate: 1.84% (2003 est.)
    Birth rate: 40.1 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
    Death rate: 21.72 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
    Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
    Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
    under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
    15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
    65 years and over: 0.66 male(s)/female
    total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
    Infant mortality rate: total: 102.61 deaths/1,000 live births
    female: 97.41 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
    male: 107.66 deaths/1,000 live births
    Life expectancy at birth: total population: 39.33 years
    male: 38.51 years
    female: 40.18 years (2003 est.)
    Total fertility rate: 5.6 children born/woman (2003 est.)
    HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 8.9% (2001 est.)
    HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 500,000 (2001 est.)
    HIV/AIDS - deaths: 49,000 (2001 est.)
    Nationality: noun: Rwandan(s)
    adjective: Rwandan
    Ethnic groups: Hutu 84%, Tutsi 15%, Twa (Pygmoid) 1%
    Religions: Roman Catholic 56.5%, Protestant 26%, Adventist 11.1%, Muslim 4.6%, indigenous beliefs 0.1%, none 1.7% (2001)
    Languages: Kinyarwanda (official) universal Bantu vernacular, French (official), English (official), Kiswahili (Swahili) used in commercial centers
    Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write
    total population: 70.4%
    male: 76.3%
    female: 64.7% (2003 est.)

    Government

    Country name: conventional long form: Rwandese Republic
    conventional short form: Rwanda
    local short form: Rwanda
    former: Ruanda
    local long form: Republika y'u Rwanda
    Government type: republic; presidential, multiparty system
    Capital: Kigali
    Administrative divisions: 12 prefectures (in French - prefectures, singular - prefecture; in Kinyarwanda - plural - NA, singular - prefegitura); Butare, Byumba, Cyangugu, Gikongoro, Gisenyi, Gitarama, Kibungo, Kibuye, Kigali Rurale, Kigali-ville, Umutara, Ruhengeri
    Independence: 1 July 1962 (from Belgium-administered UN trusteeship)
    National holiday: Independence Day, 1 July (1962)
    Constitution: on 5 May 1995, the Transitional National Assembly adopted as Fundamental Law the constitution of 18 June 1991, provisions of the 1993 Arusha peace accord, the July 1994 Declaration by the Rwanda Patriotic Front, and the November 1994 multiparty protocol of understanding
    Legal system: based on German and Belgian civil law systems and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
    Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal adult
    Executive branch: chief of state: President Maj. Gen. Paul KAGAME (FPR) (since 22 April 2000)
    head of government: Prime Minister Bernard MAKUZA (since 8 March 2000)
    cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
    elections: normally the president is elected by popular vote for a five-year term; special election for new president by deputies of the National Assembly and governmental ministers held 17 April 2000 (first national popular vote election to be held NA July 2003); prime minister is appointed by the president
    election results: Paul KAGAME (FPR) elected president in a special parliamentary/ministerial ballot receiving 81 of a possible 86 votes
    Legislative branch: unicameral Transitional National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale de Transition (a power-sharing body with 70 seats established on 12 December 1994 following a multiparty protocol of understanding; members were named by their parties, number of seats per party predetermined by the Arusha peace accord)
    note: four additional seats, two for women and two for youth, added in 2001
    election results: seats by party under the Arusha peace accord - FPR 13, MDR 13, PSD 13, PL 13, PDC 6, RPA 6, PSR 2, PDI 2, UDPR 2; note - the distribution of seats was predetermined, four additional seats (two for women and two for youth) added in 2001
    elections: the last national legislative elections were held 16 December 1988 for the National Development Council (the legislature prior to the advent of the Transitional National Assembly); no elections have been held for the Transitional National Assembly as the distribution of seats was predetermined by the Arusha peace accord (next to be held NA July 2003)
    Judicial branch: Supreme Court; communal courts; appeals courts
    Political parties and leaders: Centrist Democratic Party or PDC [Jean-Nipomuscene NAYINZIRA]; Democratic Socialist Party or PSD [J. Damascene NTAWUKURIRYAYO]; Democratic Popular Union of Rwanda or UDPR [leader NA]; Democratic Republican Movement or MDR [Celestin KABANDA]; Islamic Democratic Party or PDI [Andre BUMAYA]; Liberal Party or PL [Pie MUGABO]; Party for Democratic Renewal (officially banned) [Pasteur BIZIMUNGU and Charles NTAKARUTINKA]; Rwanda Patriotic Front or FPR [Maj. Gen. Paul KAGAME]; Rwandan Socialist Party or PSR [leader NA]
    Political pressure groups and leaders: IBUKA - association of genocide survivors
    International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CEEAC, CEPGL, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
    Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Zac NSENGA
    chancery: 1714 New Hampshire Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20009
    FAX: [1] (202) 232-4544
    telephone: [1] (202) 232-2882
    Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Margaret K. McMILLION
    embassy: #337 Boulevard de la Revolution, Kigali
    mailing address: B. P. 28, Kigali
    telephone: [250] 50 56 01 through 03
    FAX: [250] 57 2128
    Flag description: three horizontal bands of sky blue (top, double width), yellow, and green, with a golden sun with 24 rays near the fly end of the blue band

    Economy

    Economy - overview: Rwanda is a poor rural country with about 90% of the population engaged in (mainly subsistence) agriculture. It is the most densely populated country in Africa; landlocked with few natural resources and minimal industry. Primary foreign exchange earners are coffee and tea. The 1994 genocide decimated Rwanda's fragile economic base, severely impoverished the population, particularly women, and eroded the country's ability to attract private and external investment. However, Rwanda has made substantial progress in stabilizing and rehabilitating its economy to pre-1994 levels, although poverty levels are higher now. GDP has rebounded, and inflation has been curbed. Export earnings, however, have been hindered by low beverage prices, depriving the country of much needed hard currency. Attempts to diversify into non-traditional agriculture exports such as flowers and vegetables have been stymied by a lack of adequate transportation infrastructure. Despite Rwanda's fertile ecosystem, food production often does not keep pace with population growth, requiring food to be imported. Rwanda continues to receive substantial amounts of aid money and was approved for IMF-World Bank Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative debt relief in late 2000. But Kigali's high defense expenditures cause tension between the government and international donors and lending agencies.
    GDP: purchasing power parity - $9 billion (2002 est.)
    GDP - real growth rate: 4% (2002 est.)
    GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,200 (2002 est.)
    GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 45%
    industry: 20%
    services: 35% (2002 est.)
    Population below poverty line: 60% (2001 est.)
    Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 4.2%
    highest 10%: 24.2% (1985)
    Distribution of family income - Gini index: 28.9 (1985)
    Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.5% (2002 est.)
    Labor force: 4.6 million (2000)
    Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 90%
    Unemployment rate: NA%
    Budget: revenues: $199.3 million
    expenditures: $445 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)
    Industries: cement, agricultural products, small-scale beverages, soap, furniture, shoes, plastic goods, textiles, cigarettes
    Industrial production growth rate: 7% (2001 est.)
    Electricity - production: 96.78 million kWh (2001)
    Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 2.3%
    hydro: 97.7%
    other: 0% (2001)
    nuclear: 0%
    Electricity - consumption: 140 million kWh (2001)
    Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2001)
    Electricity - imports: 50 million kWh (2001)
    Oil - production: 0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
    Oil - consumption: 5,300 bbl/day (2001 est.)
    Oil - exports: NA (2001)
    Oil - imports: NA (2001)
    Oil - proved reserves: 0 bbl (January 2002 est.)
    Natural gas - proved reserves: 28.32 billion cu m (January 2002 est.)
    Agriculture - products: coffee, tea, pyrethrum (insecticide made from chrysanthemums), bananas, beans, sorghum, potatoes; livestock
    Exports: $68 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)
    Exports - commodities: coffee, tea, hides, tin ore
    Exports - partners: Germany 17.7%, Pakistan 7.4%, Netherlands 6.7%, Belgium 5.6%, US 5.1% (2000)
    Imports: $253 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)
    Imports - commodities: foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, steel, petroleum products, cement and construction material
    Imports - partners: Kenya 22.1%, Belgium 9.0%, US 9.5%, Japan 3.5%, Germany 3.1% (2000)
    Debt - external: $1.3 billion (2000 est.)
    Economic aid - recipient: $372.9 million (1999)
    Currency: Rwandan franc (RWF)
    Currency code: RWF
    Exchange rates: Rwandan francs per US dollar - 475.365 (2002), 442.992 (2001), 389.696 (2000), 333.942 (1999), 312.314 (1998)
    Fiscal year: calendar year

    Communications

    Telephones - main lines in use: 600,000 note - 90% in Kigali (2002)
    Telephones - mobile cellular: 81,000 (2001)
    note: Rwanda has mobile cellular service between Kigali and several prefecture capitals (2002)
    Telephone system: general assessment: telephone system primarily serves business and government
    domestic: the capital, Kigali, is connected to the centers of the prefectures by microwave radio relay and, recently, by cellular telephone service; much of the network depends on wire and HF radiotelephone
    international: international connections employ microwave radio relay to neighboring countries and satellite communications to more distant countries; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) in Kigali (includes telex and telefax service)
    Radio broadcast stations: AM 0, FM 3 (two main FM programs are broadcast through a system of repeaters and the third FM program is a 24 hour BBC program), shortwave 1 (2002)
    Television broadcast stations: NA
    Internet country code: .rw
    Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 2 (2002)
    Internet users: 20,000 (2002)

    Transportation

    Railways: 0 km
    Highways: total: 12,000 km
    paved: 1,000 km
    unpaved: 11,000 km (1999)
    Waterways: Lac Kivu navigable by shallow-draft barges and native craft
    Ports and harbors: Cyangugu, Gisenyi, Kibuye
    Airports: 9 (2002)
    Airports - with paved runways: total: 4
    over 3,047 m: 1
    914 to 1,523 m: 2
    under 914 m: 1 (2002)
    Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 5
    914 to 1,523 m: 2
    under 914 m: 3 (2002)

    Military

    Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie
    Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 1,932,637 (2003 est.)
    Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 982,909 (2003 est.)
    Military expenditures - dollar figure: $59.57 million (FY02)
    Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 3% (FY02)

    Transnational Issues

    Disputes - international: Tutsi, Hutu, and other conflicting ethnic groups, associated political rebels, armed gangs, and various government forces continue fighting in Great Lakes region, transcending the boundaries of Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda to gain control over populated areas and natural resources - government heads pledge to end conflicts, but localized violence continues despite UN peacekeeping efforts



     

    Rwanda

    Rwanda is a small landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of central Africa. It is bordered by Uganda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania. Prior to European colonization, it was the site of one of the region's most complex monarchical systems. Its fertile and hilly terrain supports one of the densest populations in Africa. It is best known to the outside world for the 1994 Rwandan Genocide that resulted in the deaths of up to one million people.

    Repubulika y'u Rwanda
    Republique Rwandaise
    Republic of Rwanda
    Flag of Rwanda Coat of Arms of Rwanda
    (Flag) (Coat of Arms)
    National motto: Liberty, Cooperation, Progress
    National anthem: Rwanda nziza
    Location of Rwanda
    Capital Kigali
    1° 57' S, 30° 4' E
    Largest city Kigali
    Official languages French, Kinyarwanda, English, Swahili
    Government
    President
    Prime Minister
    republic; pres. multy-p. syst.
    Paul Kagame
    Bernard Makuza
    Independence
     - Date
    From Belgium
    July 1, 1962
    Area
     - Total
     - Water (%)
     
    26,338 km² (
    144th)
    5.3%
    Population
     - 2004 est.
     - ? census
     -
    Density
     
    7,954,013 (
    91st)
    unavailable
    281/km² (
    33)
    GDP (PPP)
     -
    2003 est.
     - Per capita
     
    10,462 (
    123)
    1,268 (
    144)
    Currency Rwandan franc (RWF)
    Time zone
     - Summer (DST)
    EET (UTC+2)
    not observed (
    UTC+2)
    Internet TLD .rw
    Calling code +250

    History

    Main article: History of Rwanda

    The earliest known inhabitants of the region now known as Rwanda were the pygmy Twa. At later stages groups known as Hutus and Tutsis also settled in the same region.

    In 1895 Rwanda became a German colony. However at early stages the Germans were completely dependent on the indigenous government. The colonizers favoured Tutsis over Hutus, creating a bigger gap between the two than had existed before. After Germany's loss in World War I, the colony was taken over by Belgium. Belgian rule in the region was far more direct and far harsher than that of the Germans. Belgian forced labour policies were mainly enforced by Tutsis, further polarising the Hutu-Tutsi situation.

    After World War II Rwanda became a UN trust territory with Belgium as the administrative authority. Through a series of processes, including several reforms, the assassination of King Charles in 1959 and the fleeing of the last Tutsi monarch, King Kigeri V, to Uganda, the Hutu gained more and more power and upon Rwanda's independence in 1962, the Hutu held virtually all power.

    In 1990, the Tutsi-dominated Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF) invaded Rwanda from their base in Uganda. The military government of Juvénal Habyarimana responded with genocidal programs against Tutsis, whom it claimed were trying to re-enslave the Hutus. Fighting continued until 1992, when the government and the RPF signed a cease-fire agreement known as the Arusha accords in Arusha, Tanzania.

    In 1994, President Habyarimana was assasinated [1] (http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/rwanda.htm)when his plane was shot down while landing in Kigali, and over the next three months, the military and militia groups killed over 800,000 Tutsis and Hutu moderates in the Rwandan Genocide. The RPF launched another invasion, and captured the northern part of the country by July. The war ended as the French peacekeepers secured the southern part of the country.

    Over 2 million Hutus fled the country after the war, fearing Tutsi retribution. Most have since returned, although some militias remain in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and have become involved in that country's civil war.

    Politics

    Main article: Politics of Rwanda

    After its military victory in July 1994, the Rwandese Patriotic Front organized a coalition government similar to that established by President Juvénal Habyarimana in 1992. Called the Broad Based Government of National Unity, its fundamental law is based on a combination of the constitution, the 1993 Arusha accords, and political declarations by the parties. Habyarimana's National Movement for Democracy and Development was outlawed.

    Political organizing was banned until 2003. The first post-war presidential and legislative elections were held in August and September 2003, respectively.

    Provinces

    Map of Rwanda
    Enlarge
    Map of Rwanda

    Rwanda is divided into 12 provinces:

    • Kibungo
    • Kibuye
    • Kigali Rural
    • Kigali City
    • Umutara
    • Ruhengeri


    Geography

    Main article: Geography of Rwanda

    This small country is located near the centre of Africa, a few degrees south of the Equator. It is separated from the Democratic Republic of the Congo by Lake Kivu and the Ruzizi River valley to the west; it is bounded on the north by Uganda, to the east by Tanzania, and to the south by Burundi. The capital, Kigali, is located in the centre of the country.

    Rwanda's countryside is covered by grasslands and small farms extending over rolling hills, with areas of rugged mountains that extend southeast from a chain of volcanoes in the northwest. The divide between the Congo and Nile drainage systems extends from north to south through western Rwanda at an average elevation of almost 9,000 feet. On the western slopes of this ridgeline, the land slopes abruptly toward Lake Kivu and the Ruzizi River valley, and constitute part of the Great Rift Valley. The eastern slopes are more moderate, with rolling hills extending across central uplands at gradually reducing altitudes, to the plains, swamps, and lakes of the eastern border region.

    Economy

    A Rwandan market
    A Rwandan market

    Main article: Economy of Rwanda

    Rwanda is a rural country with about 90% of the population engaged in (mainly subsistence) agriculture. It is the most densely populated country in Africa; is landlocked; and has few natural resources and minimal industry. Primary exports are coffee and tea.

    Demographics

    Main article: Demographics of Rwanda

    The population consists of three ethnic groups. The Hutus, who comprise the majority of the population, are farmers of Bantu origin. The Tutsis are a pastoral people who arrived in the area in the 15th century. Until 1959, they formed the dominant caste under a feudal system based on cattleholding. The Twa are thought to be the remnants of the earliest settlers of the region. Rwanda's population density, even after the 1994 genocide, is among the highest in Sub-Saharan Africa. Nearly every family in this country with few villages lives in a self-contained compound on a hillside. The urban concentrations are grouped around administrative centers.

    Culture

    Main article: Culture of Rwanda

    Miscellaneous topics

    External links



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    Encyclopedia information about Rwanda
    The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
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    Map information about Rwanda
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    The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil. Copyright © 2002 by
    Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved. More from Geography
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    5. Uganda map and information page ^Top

    Date Accessed: 27 May. 2005
    Title: Uganda map and information page by World Atlas
    URL: http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/africa/ug.htm
     
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    arrow Official Name Republic of Uganda

    arrow Population 26,219,000

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    arrow Languages English (official), local dialects

    arrow National Day 9 October; Independence Day

    arrow Religions Catholic, Protestant, traditional beliefs.

    arrow Latitude/Longitude 0° 32'N, 32° 58'E

    arrow Highest Point Mt. Stanley (16,765 ft.) (5,110 m)

    arrow Land Area 199,550 sq km (77,046 sq miles)

    arrow Land Divisions 56 districts; including Adjumani, Apac, Arua, Bugiri, Bundibugyo, Bushenyi, Busia, Gulu, Hoima, Iganga, Jinja, Kabale, Kabarole, Kaberamaido, Kalangala, Kampala, Kamuli, Kamwenge, Kanungu, Kapchorwa, Kasese, Katakwi, Kayunga, Kibale, Kiboga, Kisoro, Kitgum, Kotido, Kumi, Kyenjojo, Lira, Luwero, Masaka, Masindi, Mayuge, Mbale, Mbarara, Moroto, Moyo, Mpigi, Mubende, Mukono, Nakapiripirit, Nakasongola, Nebbi, Ntungamo, Pader, Pallisa, Rakai, Rukungiri, Sembabule, Sironko, Soroti, Tororo, Wakiso and Yumbe.

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    6. U-gan-da ^Top

    Date Accessed: 27 May. 2005
    Title: Uganda: Map, History and Much More From Answers.com
    URL: http://www.answers.com/Uganda
    Uganda
    (Click to enlarge)
    Uganda
    (Mapping Specialists, Ltd.)
    U·gan·da (yu-gan'd?, u-gän') pronunciation

    A country of east-central Africa. Inhabited since Paleolithic and Neolithic times, the region was settled by migrating Bantu people around A.D. 1100 and by Nilotic peoples from the north in the late 17th century. Various kingdoms and states were established beginning in the 14th century, including the Bantu kingdom of Buganda, which became a British protectorate in 1894. The protectorate was later extended to the entire region, which became independent as Uganda in 1962. Kampala is the capital and the largest city. Population: 26,400,000 .

    U·gan'dan adj. & n.
    Uganda (yugän'd?, ugän') , officially Republic of Uganda, republic (1995 est. pop. 19,573,000), 91,133 sq mi (236,036 sq km), E central Africa. It borders on Tanzania and Rwanda in the south, on Congo (Kinshasa) in the west, on Sudan in the north, and on Kenya in the east. Kampala is Uganda's capital and its largest city.

    Land and People

    Lying astride the equator, most of Uganda consists of a fertile plateau (average elevation 4,000 ft/1,220 m), in the center of which is Lake Kyoga. The plateau is bounded (W) by the western branch of the Great Rift Valley, including lakes Albert and Edward (in each case about half of the lake is in Uganda) and the Albert Nile River; by the Ruwenzori Range (SW), including Margherita Peak (16,794 ft/5,119 m), Uganda's loftiest point, and the Virunga Mts.; by Lake Victoria (S), about half of which is in Uganda; and by several mountain ranges (E and N). The eastern mountains include Mt. Elgon (14,178 ft/4,321 m), part of which is in Kenya, and Mt. Moroto (10,114 ft/3,083 m). Altogether, about 18% of Uganda is made up of water surface and about 7% comprises highland situated at more than 5,000 ft (1,520 m). The country is divided into 39 districts. In addition to Kampala, other cities include Entebbe, Gulu, Jinja, Masaka, and Mbale.

    About 90% of Uganda's inhabitants live in rural areas. Approximately 70% of the people speak one of the Bantu languages; the main Bantu ethnic groups, all of whom live in the southern half of the country, are the Ganda (who make up about 18% of the country's total population), Soga, Ankole, Nyoro, and Toro. Other language groups in Uganda are the Western Nilotic (principally the Acholi, Lango, and Alur), whose speakers live in the north and make up about 15% of the population; the Eastern Nilotic (mainly the Karamojong, Pokot, Teso, and Turkana), whose members live in the northeast and make up about 10% of the population; and the Sudanic (the Lugbara), whose speakers live in the northwest and make up about 5% of the population. Between 1980 and 1985, thousands of refugees (mostly Tutsis) from Rwanda and Zaïre (now the Congo) settled in Uganda. English is the country's official language; Swahili is widely spoken in commercial centers. About two thirds of the people are Christian; the rest either follow traditional religious beliefs or are Muslim.

    Economy

    The economy of Uganda, which was devastated during the Idi Amin regime of the 1970s and the subsequent civil war, made a significant comeback beginning in the mid-1980s, when economic reforms aimed at dampening inflation and boosting production and export earnings were undertaken. The country is overwhelmingly agricultural, and farming employs over 80% of the workforce. Most of the farms are small in size. The chief food crops are cassava, sweet potatoes, plantains, millet, sorghum, corn, and pulses. The principal cash crops are coffee, cotton, tea, tobacco, and sugarcane. Large numbers of poultry, cattle, goats, and sheep are raised. There is a sizable fishing industry, and much hardwood (especially mahogany) is cut.

    Copper ore, once the leading mineral resource, has been virtually mined out. Other minerals extracted on a small scale include tin and iron ores, beryl, tungsten, and gold. Uganda's few manufactures are limited mainly to processed agricultural goods, but they also include textiles, chemical fertilizers, and cement. There is a large hydroelectric plant at Owen Falls, located on the Victoria Nile where it leaves Lake Victoria.

    Uganda has two main rail lines; one traverses the southern part of the country, the other connects Tororo on the Kenya border with Gulu in the north. The country is linked by rail with Mombasa, Kenya, on the Indian Ocean. The annual value of Uganda's imports is usually considerably higher than the value of its exports. The principal exports are coffee (which accounts for the bulk of export revenues), cotton, gold, and tea. The leading imports are transportation equipment, machinery, consumer goods, chemicals, fuel, and foodstuffs. The main trade partners are the European Union countries, Kenya, and Japan.

    Government>

    Uganda is governed by a president, who is elected by popular vote for a five-year term. There is a unicameral 265-seat legislature, whose members also serve for five years. According to the 1995 constitution, the National Resistance Movement (NRM) is the only political organization allowed to sponsor candidates for public office, at least until a referendum is held in 2000.

    History

    Early History

    Around 500 B.C., Bantu-speaking people migrated into SW Uganda from the west. By the 14th cent. they were organized in several kingdoms (known as the Cwezi states), which had been established by the Hima. Around 1500, Nilotic-speaking Luo people from present-day SE Sudan settled the Cwezi states and established the Bito dynasties of Buganda (in some Bantu languages, the prefix Bu means state; thus, Buganda means “state of the Ganda people”), Bunyoro, and Ankole. Later in the 16th cent., other Luo-speaking peoples conquered N Uganda, forming the Alur and Acholi ethnic groups. In the 17th cent. the Lango and Teso migrated into Uganda.

    During the 16th and 17th cent., Bunyoro was the leading state of S Uganda, controlling an area that stretched into present-day Rwanda and Tanzania. From about 1700, Buganda began to expand (largely at the expense of Bunyoro), and by 1800 it controlled a large territory bordering Lake Victoria from the Victoria Nile to the Kagera River. Buganda was centrally organized under the kabaka (king), who appointed regional administrators and maintained a large bureaucracy and a powerful army. The Ganda raided widely for cattle, ivory, and slaves. In the 1840s Muslim traders from the Indian Ocean coast reached Buganda, and they exchanged firearms, cloth, and beads for the ivory and slaves of Buganda. Beginning in 1869, Bunyoro, ruled by Kabarega and using guns obtained from traders from Khartoum, challenged Buganda's ascendancy. By the mid-1880s, however, Buganda again dominated S Uganda.

    European Contacts and Religious Conflicts

    In 1862, John Hanning Speke, a British explorer interested in establishing the source of the Nile, became the first European to visit Buganda. He met with Mutesa I, as did Henry M. Stanley, who reached Buganda in 1875. Mutesa, fearful of attacks from Egypt, agreed to Stanley's proposal to allow Christian missionaries (who Mutesa mistakenly thought would provide military assistance) to enter his realm. Members of the British Protestant Church Missionary Society arrived in 1877, and they were followed in 1879 by representatives of the French Roman Catholic White Fathers; each of the missions gathered a group of converts, which in the 1880s became fiercely antagonistic toward one another. At the same time, the number of Ganda converts to Islam was growing.

    In 1884, Mutesa died and was succeeded as kabaka by Mwanga, who soon began to persecute the Christians out of fear for his own position. In 1888, Mwanga was deposed by the Christians and Muslims and replaced by his brothers. He regained the throne in 1889, only to lose it to the Muslims again after a few weeks. In early 1890, Mwanga permanently regained his throne, but at the expense of losing much of his power to Christian chiefs.

    The Colonial Era

    During the period in 1889 when Mwanga was kabaka, he was visited by Carl Peters, the German colonialist, and signed a treaty of friendship with Germany. Great Britain grew alarmed at the growth of German influence and the potential threat to its own position on the Nile. In 1890, Great Britain and Germany signed a treaty that gave the British rights to what was to become Uganda. Later that year Frederick Lugard, acting as an agent of the Imperial British East Africa Company (IBEA), arrived in Buganda at the head of a detachment of troops, and by 1892 he had established the IBEA's authority in S Uganda and had also helped the Protestant faction defeat the Roman Catholic party in Buganda.

    In 1894, Great Britain officially made Uganda a protectorate. The British at first ruled Uganda through Buganda, but when Mwanga opposed their growing power, they deposed him, replaced him with his infant son Daudi Chwa, and began to rule more directly. From the late 1890s to 1918, the British established their authority in the rest of Uganda by negotiating treaties and by using force where necessary. In 1900 an agreement was signed with Buganda that gave the kingdom considerable autonomy and also transformed it into a constitutional monarchy controlled largely by Protestant chiefs. In 1901 a railroad from Mombasa on the Indian Ocean reached Kisumu, on Lake Victoria, which in turn was connected by boat with Uganda; the railroad was later extended to Jinja and Kampala. In 1902 the Eastern prov. of Uganda was transferred to the British East Africa Protectorate (Kenya) for administrative reasons.

    In 1904 the commercial cultivation of cotton was begun, and cotton soon became the major export crop; coffee and sugar production accelerated in the 1920s. The country attracted few permanent European settlers, and the cash crops were mostly produced by African smallholders and not on plantations as in other colonies. Many Asians (Indians, Pakistanis, and Goans) settled in Uganda, where they played a leading role in the country's commerce. During the 1920s and 30s the British considerably reduced Buganda's independence.

    In 1921 a legislative council for the protectorate was established; its first African member was admitted only in 1945, and it was not until the mid-1950s that a substantial number of seats was allocated to Africans. In 1953, Mutesa II was deported for not cooperating with the British; he was allowed to return in 1955, but the rift between Buganda and the rest of Uganda remained. In 1961 there were three main political parties in Uganda—the Uganda People's Congress (UPC), whose members were mostly non-Ganda; the Democratic party, made up chiefly of Roman Catholic Ganda; and the Kabaka Yekka [Kabaka only] party, comprising only Ganda.

    An Independent Nation

    On Oct. 9, 1962, Uganda became independent, with A. Milton Obote, a Lango leader of the UPC, as prime minister. Buganda was given considerable autonomy. In 1963, Uganda became a republic, and Mutesa was elected president. The first years of independence were dominated by a struggle between the central government and Buganda. In 1966, Obote introduced a new constitution that ended Buganda's autonomy. The Ganda protested vigorously and seemed on the verge of taking up arms when Obote captured the kabaka's palace at Mengo, forced the kabaka to flee the country, and ended effective Ganda resistance.

    In 1967 a new constitution was introduced giving the central government—especially the president—much power and dividing Buganda into four districts; the traditional kingships were also abolished. In 1969, Obote decided to follow a leftist course in the hope of bridging the country's ethnic and regional differences through a common social policy.

    Amin's Reign of Terror

    In Jan., 1971, Obote, at the time outside the country, was deposed in a coup by Maj. Gen. Idi Amin. Amin was faced with opposition within the army by officers and troops loyal to Obote, but by the end of 1971 he was in firm control. Amin cultivated good relations with the Ganda. In 1972–73 he initiated severe diplomatic wrangles with the United States and Israel, both of which had provided Uganda with military and economic aid and were now accused of trying to undermine the government. Amin purged the Lango and Acholi tribes and moved against the army. In Aug., 1972, he ordered Asians who were not citizens of Uganda to leave the country, and within three months all 60,000 had left, most of them for Great Britain. Although a small minority, Asians had played a significant role in Ugandan business and finance, and their expulsion hurt the economy. From 1971 to 1973, there were border clashes with Tanzania, partly instigated by exiled Ugandans loyal to Obote, but, in early 1973, Amin and Julius Nyerere, president of Tanzania, reached an agreement that appeared to head off future incidents.

    Amin's rule became increasingly autocratic and brutal; it is estimated that over 300,000 Ugandans were killed during the 1970s. His corrupt and arbitrary system of administration exacerbated rifts in the military, which led to a number of coup attempts. Israel conducted a successful raid on the Entebbe airport in 1976 to rescue passengers on a plane hijacked by Palestinian terrorists. Amin's expulsion of Israeli technicians won him the support of Arab nations such as Libya.

    In 1976, Amin declared himself president for life and Uganda claimed portions of W Kenya; the move was diverted by the threat of a trade embargo. In 1978, Uganda invaded Tanzania in an attempt to annex the Kagera region. The next year Tanzania launched a successful counterinvasion and effectively unified disparate anti-Amin forces under the Uganda National Liberation Front (UNLF). Amin's forces were driven out and Amin himself fled the country.

    Uganda after Amin

    Tanzania left an occupation force in Uganda that participated in the looting of Kampala. Yusufu Lule was installed as president but was quickly replaced by Godfrey Binaisa. The UNLF, suffering from internal strife, was swept out of power by Milton Obote and his party, the Uganda People's Congress. The National Resistance Army (NRA) conducted guerrilla campaigns throughout the country and, following the withdrawal of Tanzanian troops in 1981, attacked former Amin supporters. In the early 1980s, approximately 200,000 Ugandans sought refuge in neighboring Rwanda, Congo, and Sudan. In 1985, a military coup deposed Obote, and Lt. Gen. Tito Okello became head of state.

    When it was not given a role in the new regime, the NRA continued its guerrilla campaign and took Kampala in 1986, and its leader, Yoweri Museveni, became the new president. He instituted a series of measures, including cutbacks in the civil service and army and privatization of state-owned companies, in a generally successful effort to rebuild the shattered economy. AIDS became a serious health problem during the 1980s and has continued to claim many lives in Uganda.

    In 1993, Museveni permitted the restoration of traditional kings, including King Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II, the kabaka of the Baganda people, but did not grant the kings political power. In 1994 a constituent assembly was elected; the resulting constitution, promulgated in 1995, legalized and extended a ban on political party activity, although allowing party members to run as independents. In May, 1996, Museveni was easily returned to office in the country's first direct presidential elections. A new parliament, chosen in nonpartisan elections in June of the same year, was dominated by Museveni supporters.

    In the 1980s and 90s rebel militias based in Sudan and Congo (Kinshasa) staged intermittent attacks on border areas of Uganda. Fighting with northern rebels, mainly the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), which consisted of former government forces defeated by Museveni in 1986, continued into the next decade. In 2002, after Sudanese officials permitted Ugandan forces to attack rebels bases in Sudan, the conflict intensified, but the army failed to achieve any significant success.

    Ugandan troops also became involved in ongoing civil unrest in the Congo (then called Zaïre), first (1997) helping rebel groups to oust Mobutu Sese Seko and install Laurent Kabila as president, and then (1998) backing groups who sought to overthrow Kabila. Conflicts also erupted with Rwandan troops in the Congo in 1999. Uganda claimed its only interest was in securing its own borders. In early 2000, Ugandan officials discovered the bodies of nearly 800 people who had died by mass murder and mass suicide; they had been members of the Ugandan millennialist Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God. In May, 2000, new fighting between Rwandan and Ugandan forces in the Congo led to tense relations with Rwanda.

    In June a referendum was held in which Ugandans could vote for Museveni's “no-party” system or a multiparty democracy. Museveni argued that Uganda was not ready for political parties, which he said had divided the nation by tribe and religion. Opposition leaders, calling Museveni's system a one-party state, called for a boycott of the referendum. Museveni secured the voters' approval, but by a narrower margin than in 1996; although 88% voted yes, the turnout was only 51%. In the presidential election in Mar., 2001, Museveni was reelected, but his margin of victory was inflated by apparent vote fraud. His popularity was, in part, diminished by discontent with Uganda's intervention in Congo's civil war and signs of corruption in the government. Uganda's forces were largely withdrawn from Congo by the end of 2002, but there was fighting in 2003 between the remaining Ugandan forces and Congolese rebels allied with Rwanda shortly before the last Ugandan troops withdrew. Early in 2004 LRA rebels massacred perhaps as many as 200 civilians in N Uganda. The attack prompted a renewed government offensive that achieved some successes against the LRA; late in 2004 there was a brief truce with the LRA.

    Bibliography

    See D. E. Apter, The Political Kingdom in Uganda (2d ed. 1967); P. M. Gukiina, Uganda: A Case Study in African Political Development (1972); G. S. Ibingira, The Forging of an African Nation (1973); J. Jorgensen, Uganda (1981); A. Omara-Otunnu, Politics and the Military in Uganda, 1890–1985 (1987); D. Berg-Schlosser and R. Siegler, Political Stability and Development: A Comparative Analysis of Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda (1990).

    Uganda

    Uganda

    Local Time: May 28, 12:06 AM

    Local Cities: Kampala

    Uganda (yooh-gan-duh, ooh-gahn-duh)

    Landlocked nation on Lake Victoria in east-central Africa, bordered by Tanzania and Rwanda to the south, Democratic Republic of Congo to the west, Sudan to the north, and Kenya to the east. Its capital and largest city is Kampala.

  • From 1971 to 1979, Uganda was ruled by the notorious military strongman Idi Amin. It is estimated that Amin killed as many as 300,000 Ugandans through internal purges and campaigns of terror before he was overthrown.
  • Under Amin, Uganda was a sponsor of international terrorism. In 1976, a French airliner was hijacked and flown to Entebbe Airport outside Kampala. An Israeli commando unit subsequently rescued the hostages in a sensational raid.
  • Uganda

    The international dialing code for Uganda is:   256


    Uganda Shilling



    Uganda

    Introduction

    Background: Uganda achieved independence from the UK 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. During the 1990s, the government promulgated non-party presidential and legislative elections.

    Geography

    Location: Eastern Africa, west of Kenya
    Geographic coordinates: 1 00 N, 32 00 E
    Map references: Africa
    Area: total: 236,040 sq km
    water: 36,330 sq km
    land: 199,710 sq km
    Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Oregon
    Land boundaries: total: 2,698 km
    border countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 765 km, Kenya 933 km, Rwanda 169 km, Sudan 435 km, Tanzania 396 km
    Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
    Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
    Climate: tropical; generally rainy with two dry seasons (December to February, June to August); semiarid in northeast
    Terrain: mostly plateau with rim of mountains
    Elevation extremes: lowest point: Lake Albert 621 m
    highest point: Margherita Peak on Mount Stanley 5,110 m
    Natural resources: copper, cobalt, hydropower, limestone, salt, arable land
    Land use: arable land: 25.34%
    permanent crops: 8.77%
    other: 65.89% (1998 est.)
    Irrigated land: 90 sq km (1998 est.)
    Natural hazards: NA
    Environment - current issues: draining of wetlands for agricultural use; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; water hyacinth infestation in Lake Victoria; 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, Wetlands
    signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification
    Geography - note: landlocked; fertile, well-watered country with many lakes and rivers

    People

    Population: 25,632,794
    note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2003 est.)
    Age structure: 0-14 years: 50.8% (male 6,528,724; female 6,486,736)
    15-64 years: 46.8% (male 5,985,911; female 6,024,798)
    65 years and over: 2.4% (male 266,930; female 339,695) (2003 est.)
    Median age: total: 14.7 years
    female: 14.8 years (2002)
    male: 14.6 years
    Population growth rate: 2.96% (2003 est.)
    Birth rate: 46.57 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
    Death rate: 16.95 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
    Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population
    note: according to the UNHCR, by the end of 2001, Uganda was host to 178,815 refugees from a number of neighboring countries, including: Sudan 155,996, Rwanda 14,375, and Democratic Republic of the Congo 7,459 (2003 est.)
    Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
    under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
    15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
    65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female
    total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
    Infant mortality rate: total: 87.9 deaths/1,000 live births
    female: 80.17 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
    male: 95.41 deaths/1,000 live births
    Life expectancy at birth: total population: 44.88 years
    male: 43.42 years
    female: 46.38 years (2003 est.)
    Total fertility rate: 6.72 children born/woman (2003 est.)
    HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 5% (2001 est.)
    HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 600,000 (2001 est.)
    HIV/AIDS - deaths: 84,000 (2001 est.)
    Nationality: noun: Ugandan(s)
    adjective: Ugandan
    Ethnic groups: Baganda 17%, Ankole 8%, Basoga 8%, Iteso 8%, Bakiga 7%, Langi 6%, Rwanda 6%, Bagisu 5%, Acholi 4%, Lugbara 4%, Batoro 3%, Bunyoro 3%, Alur 2%, Bagwere 2%, Bakonjo 2%, Jopodhola 2%, Karamojong 2%, Rundi 2%, non-African (European, Asian, Arab) 1%, other 8%
    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 in the capital 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.)

    Government

    Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Uganda
    conventional short form: Uganda
    Government type: republic
    Capital: Kampala
    Administrative divisions: 55 districts; Adjumani, Apac, Arua, Bugiri, Bundibugyo, Bushenyi, Busia, Gulu, Hoima, Iganga, Jinja, Kabale, Kabarole, Kalangala, Kampala, Kamuli, Kamwenge, Kanungu, Kapchorwa, Kasese, Katakwi, Kayunga, Kibale, Kiboga, Kisoro, Kitgum, Kotido, Kumi, Kyenjojo, Lira, Luwero, Masaka, Masindi, Mayuge, Mbale, Mbarara, Moroto, Moyo, Mpigi, Mubende, Mukono, Nakapiripirit, Nakasongola, Nebbi, Ntungamo, Pader, Pallisa, Rakai, Rukungiri, Sembabule, Sironko, Soroti, Tororo, Wakiso, Yumbe
    note: there may be one additional district: Kaberamaido
    Independence: 9 October 1962 (from UK)
    National holiday: Independence Day, 9 October (1962)
    Constitution: 8 October 1995; adopted by the interim, 284-member Constituent Assembly, charged with debating the draft constitution that had been proposed in May 1993; the Constituent Assembly was dissolved upon the promulgation of the constitution in October 1995
    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
    Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
    Executive branch: chief of state: President Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI (since seizing power 26 January 1986); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
    head of government: President Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI (since seizing power 29 January 1986); Prime Minister Apollo NSIBAMBI (since 5 April 1999); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government; the prime minister assists the president in the supervision of the cabinet
    cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among elected legislators
    election results: Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI elected president; percent of vote - Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI 69.3%, Kizza BESIGYE 27.8%
    elections: president reelected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 12 March 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); note - first popular election for president since independence in 1962 was held in 1996; prime minister appointed by the president
    Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (303 members - 214 directly elected by popular vote, 81 nominated by legally established special interest groups [women 56, army 10, disabled 5, youth 5, labor 5], 8 ex officio members; members serve five-year terms)
    election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; note - election campaigning by party was not permitted
    elections: last held 26 June 2001 (next to be held May or June 2006);
    Judicial branch: Court of Appeal (judges are appointed by the president and approved by the legislature); High Court (judges are appointed by the president)
    Political parties and leaders: only one political organization, the Movement (formerly the NRM)[President MUSEVENI, chairman] is allowed to operate unfettered; note - the president maintains that the Movement is not a political party, but a mass organization, which claims the loyalty of all Ugandans
    note: the constitution requires the suspension of political parties while the Movement organization is in governance; of the political parties that exist but are prohibited from sponsoring candidates, the most important are the Ugandan People's Congress or UPC [Milton OBOTE]; Democratic Party or DP [Paul SSEMOGERERE]; Conservative Party or CP [Ken LUKYAMUZI]; Justice Forum [Muhammad Kibirige MAYANJA]; and National Democrats Forum [Chapaa KARUHANGA]
    Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
    International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, C, EADB, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
    Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Edith Grace SSEMPALA
    FAX: [1] (202) 726-1727
    telephone: [1] (202) 726-7100 through 7102, 0416
    chancery: 5911 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011
    Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Jimmy KOLKER
    embassy: 1577 Ggaba Rd., Kampala
    mailing address: P. O. Box 7007, Kampala
    telephone: [256] (41) 234-142
    FAX: [256] (41) 258-451
    Flag description: six equal horizontal bands of black (top), yellow, red, black, yellow, and red; a white disk is superimposed at the center and depicts a red-crested crane (the national symbol) facing the hoist side

    Economy

    Economy - overview: Uganda has substantial natural resources, including fertile soils, regular rainfall, and sizable mineral deposits of copper and cobalt. Agriculture is the most important sector of the economy, employing over 80% of the work force. Coffee accounts for the bulk of export revenues. Since 1986, the government - with the support of foreign countries and international agencies - has acted to rehabilitate and stabilize the economy by undertaking currency reform, raising producer prices on export crops, increasing prices of petroleum products, and improving civil service wages. The policy changes are especially aimed at dampening inflation and boosting production and export earnings. During 1990-2001, the economy turned in a solid performance based on continued investment in the rehabilitation of infrastructure, improved incentives for production and exports, reduced inflation, gradually improved domestic security, and the return of exiled Indian-Ugandan entrepreneurs. Ongoing Ugandan involvement in the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, corruption within the government, and slippage in the government's determination to press reforms raise doubts about the continuation of strong growth. In 2000, Uganda qualified for enhanced Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt relief worth $1.3 billion and Paris Club debt relief worth $145 million. These amounts combined with the original HIPC debt relief added up to about $2 billion. Growth for 2001-02 was solid despite continued decline in the price of coffee, Uganda's principal export. Prospects for 2003 are mixed, with probable strengthening of coffee prices yet with halting growth in the economies of major export customers.
    GDP: purchasing power parity - $31 billion (2002 est.)
    GDP - real growth rate: 5.5% (2002 est.)
    GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,260 (2002 est.)
    GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 43%
    industry: 19%
    services: 38% (2001 est.)
    Population below poverty line: 35% (2001 est.)
    Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 4%
    highest 10%: 21% (2000)
    Distribution of family income - Gini index: 37.4 (1996)
    Inflation rate (consumer prices): 0.1% (2002 est.)
    Labor force: 12 million (2001 est.)
    Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 82%, industry 5%, services 13% (1999 est.)
    Unemployment rate: NA%
    Budget: revenues: $959 million
    expenditures: $1.04 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY98/99 est.)
    Industries: sugar, brewing, tobacco, cotton textiles, cement
    Industrial production growth rate: 6.3% (2002 est.)
    Electricity - production: 1.928 billion kWh (2001)
    Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 0.9%
    hydro: 99.1%
    other: 0% (2001)
    nuclear: 0%
    Electricity - consumption: 1.62 billion kWh (2001)
    Electricity - exports: 174 million kWh (2001)
    Electricity - imports: 1 million kWh (2001)
    Oil - production: 0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
    Oil - consumption: 8,750 bbl/day (2001 est.)
    Oil - exports: NA (2001)
    Oil - imports: NA (2001)
    Agriculture - products: coffee, tea, cotton, tobacco, cassava (tapioca), potatoes, corn, millet, pulses; beef, goat meat, milk, poultry, cut flowers
    Exports: $476 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)
    Exports - commodities: coffee, fish and fish products, tea; gold, cotton, flowers, horticultural products
    Exports - partners: Germany 12.0%, Netherlands 10.2%, US 8.7%, Spain 8.0%, Belgium 7.2% (2000 est.)
    Imports: $1.14 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
    Imports - commodities: capital equipment, vehicles, petroleum, medical supplies; cereals
    Imports - partners: Kenya 41.0%, UK 7.6%, India 6.8%, South Africa 6.5%, Japan 3.5% (2000)
    Debt - external: $2.8 billion (2002 est.)
    Economic aid - recipient: $1.4 billion (2000)
    Currency: Ugandan shilling (UGX)
    Currency code: UGX
    Exchange rates: Ugandan shillings per US dollar - 1,797.55 (2002), 1,755.66 (2001), 1,644.48 (2000), 1,454.83 (1999), 1,240.31 (1998)
    Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June

    Communications

    Telephones - main lines in use: 50,074; however, 80,868 main lines have been installed (1998)
    Telephones - mobile cellular: 9,000 (1998)
    Telephone system: general assessment: seriously inadequate; two cellular systems have been introduced, but a sharp increase in the number of main lines is essential; e-mail and Internet services are available
    domestic: intercity traffic by wire, microwave radio relay, and radiotelephone communication stations, fixed and mobile cellular systems for short-range traffic
    international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Inmarsat; analog links to Kenya and Tanzania
    Radio broadcast stations: AM 7, FM 33, shortwave 2 (2001)
    Television broadcast stations: 8 (plus one low-power repeater) (2001)
    Internet country code: .ug
    Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 2 (2000)
    Internet users: 60,000 (2002)

    Transportation

    Railways: total: 1,241 km
    narrow gauge: 1,241 km 1.000-m gauge (2002)
    Highways: total: 27,000 km
    paved: 1,800 km
    unpaved: 25,200 km (of which about 4,200 km are all-weather roads) (1990)
    Waterways: Lake Victoria, Lake Albert, Lake Kyoga, Lake George, Lake Edward, Victoria Nile, Albert Nile
    Ports and harbors: Entebbe, Jinja, Port Bell
    Merchant marine: total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 5,091 GRT/8,229 DWT
    ships by type: roll on/roll off 3
    note: these ships are in cargo and passenger (ferry) service on Uganda's inland waterways (2002 est.)
    Airports: 27 (2002)
    Airports - with paved runways: total: 4
    over 3,047 m: 3
    1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002)
    Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 23
    2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
    1,524 to 2,437 m: 6
    914 to 1,523 m: 9
    under 914 m: 7 (2002)

    Military

    Military branches: Ugandan Peoples' Defense Force (including Army, Marine unit, Air Wing)
    Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 5,476,612 (2003 est.)
    Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 2,974,259 (2003 est.)
    Military expenditures - dollar figure: $124.7 million (FY02)
    Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 2.1% (FY02)

    Transnational Issues

    Disputes - international: Tutsi, Hutu, and other ethnic groups, associated political rebels, armed gangs, and various government forces continue fighting in the Great Lakes region, transcending the boundaries of Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda to gain control over populated areas and natural resources; government heads pledge to end conflict, but localized violence continues despite UN peacekeeping efforts; conflict in Sudan has extended rebel forces and refugees into Uganda


    National Anthem of: Uganda

    Oh Uganda! may God uphold thee,
    We lay our future in thy hand.
    United, free,
    For liberty
    Together we'll always stand.

    Oh Uganda! the land of freedom.
    Our love and labour we give,
    And with neighbours all
    At our country's call
    In peace and friendship we'll live.

    Oh Uganda! the land that feeds us
    By sun and fertile soil grown.
    For our own dear land,
    We'll always stand:
    The Pearl of Africa's Crown.

    Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

    The noun Uganda has one meaning:

    Meaning #1: a landlocked republic in eastern Africa; achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1962
      Synonym:
    Republic of Uganda


    Uganda

    The Republic of Uganda is a country in east central Africa. It is bordered in the east by Kenya, in the north by Sudan, by the Democratic Republic of Congo in the west, Rwanda in the southwest and Tanzania in the south. The southern part of the country includes a substantial portion of Lake Victoria, within which it shares borders with Kenya and Tanzania. It is named after the Buganda tribe.

    Republic of Uganda
    Flag of Uganda Coat of Arms of Uganda
    (Flag) (Coat of Arms)
    National motto: For God and My Country
    National anthem: Oh Uganda, Land of Beauty
    Location of Uganda
    Capital Kampala
    Largest city Kampala
    Official languages English
    Government Authoritarian republic
    Yoweri Museveni
    Independence
    October 9, 1962
    Area
     - Total
     - Water (%)
     
    236,040 km² (
    81st)
    36,330 km² (15.39%)
    Population
     - 2000 est.
     - census
     -
    Density
     
    24,699,073 (
    42nd)

    105/km² (
    )
    GDP (PPP)
     -
    2003 est.
     - Per capita
     
    $6.198 billion (
    108th)
    $245 (
    170th)
    Currency Shilling (UGX)
    Time zone
     - Summer (DST)
    Local time (UTC+3)
    not observed (
    UTC+3)
    Internet TLD .ug
    Calling code +256 (+006 from Kenya and Tanzania)

    History

    Main article: History of Uganda

    Little is known about the history of the region until the arrival of the first non-Africans, although humans are known to have lived in the area since at least the first millennium BC. When Arabs and Europeans arrived in the 19th century, they encountered a number of kingdoms in the area, supposedly founded in the 16th century. The largest and most important of these kingdoms was the still-existing Buganda.

    The area was placed under the charter of the British East Africa Company in 1888, and became a protectorate under the United Kingdom in 1894. Uganda was granted independence in 1962.

    A 1971 coup saw Idi Amin take power, ruling as a dictator for the coming decade. His rule cost an estimated 300,000 Ugandans' lives. His reign was ended by a Tanzanian invasion in 1979. The situation improved little with the coming of Milton Obote, who was deposed in 1985, although rebels continued to fight long afterwards. Current president Yoweri Museveni has been in power since 1986.

    Politics

    Main article: Politics of Uganda

    The president, currently Yoweri Kaguta Museveni is both head of state and head of government. The president appoints a prime minister, who aids him in his tasks. The parliament is formed by the National Assembly, which has 303 members. 86 of these members are nominated by interest groups, including women and the Ugandan army. The remaining members are elected for five-year terms during general elections.

    Districts

    Main article: Districts of Uganda

    Uganda is divided into 56 districts, listed below. The districts are all named after their chief town.

    • CENTRAL:
    • Kalangala
    • Kampala
    • Kayunga
    • Kiboga
    • Luwero
    • Masaka
    • Mpigi
    • Mubende
    • Mukono
    • Nakasongola
    • Rakai
    • Sembabule
    • Wakiso
    • EASTERN:
    • Bugiri
    • Busia
    • Iganga
    • Jinja
    • Kaberamaido
    • Kamuli
    • Kapchorwa
    • Katakwi
    • Kumi
    • Mayuge
    • Mbale
    • Pallisa
    • Sironko
    • Soroti
    • Tororo
    • NORTHERN:
    • Adjumani
    • Apac
    • Arua
    • Gulu
    • Kitgum
    • Kotido
    • Lira
    • Moroto
    • Moyo
    • Nakapiripirit
    • Nebbi
    • Pader
    • Yumbe
    • WESTERN:
    • Bundibugyo
    • Bushenyi
    • Hoima
    • Kabale
    • Kabarole
    • Kamwenge
    • Kanungu
    • Kasese
    • Kibaale
    • Kisoro
    • Kyenjojo
    • Masindi
    • Mbarara
    • Ntungamo
    • Rukungiri

    Geography

    Map of Uganda
    Enlarge
    Map of Uganda

    Main article: Geography of Uganda

    Although landlocked, Uganda has access to several large water bodies, including Lake Victoria, Lake Albert, Lake Kyoga and Lake Edward. The country is located on a plateau, averaging about 900 m above sea level. Although generally tropical in nature, the climate differs between parts of the country.

    Most important cities are located in the south, near Lake Victoria, including the capital Kampala and the nearby city of Entebbe.

    Economy

    Main article: Economy of Uganda

    Uganda has substantial natural resources, including fertile soils, regular rainfall, and sizable mineral deposits of copper and cobalt. Agriculture is the most important sector of the economy, employing over 80% of the work force. Coffee accounts for the bulk of export revenues. Since 1986, the government - with the support of foreign countries and international agencies - has acted to rehabilitate and stabilize the economy by undertaking currency reform, raising producer prices on export crops, increasing prices of petroleum products, and improving civil service wages. The policy changes are especially aimed at dampening inflation and boosting production and export earnings. During 1990-2001, the economy turned in a solid performance based on continued investment in the rehabilitation of infrastructure, improved incentives for production and exports, reduced inflation, gradually improved domestic security, and the return of exiled Indian-Ugandan entrepreneurs. Ongoing Ugandan involvement in the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, corruption within the government, and slippage in the government's determination to press reforms raise doubts about the continuation of strong growth. In 2000, Uganda qualified for enhanced Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt relief worth $1.3 billion and Paris Club debt relief worth $145 million. These amounts combined with the original HIPC debt relief added up to about $2 billion. Growth for 2001-02 was solid despite continued decline in the price of coffee, Uganda's principal export. Prospects for 2003 are mixed, with probable strengthening of coffee prices yet with halting growth in the economies of major export customers.

    Demographics

    Main article: Demographics of Uganda

    People from many different tribes live in Uganda, none of which has a significant majority. There are therefore also many different languages spoken, although English is the country's official language. Luganda is also widely spoken, and taught in schools throughout Uganda.

    Christian and Muslim missionaries first arrived in the 1860s, attempting to convert the Bugandan king. At present, about two-thirds of the population has adopted Christianity. The remaining one-third is split about evenly between Muslims and members of traditional faiths.

    Culture

    Main article: Culture of Uganda

    Due to the large number of tribes, many still living within their own kingdoms, culture within Uganda is diverse. A lot of the Asians (mostly from India) who were expelled during the regime of Amin are returning to Uganda.

    Miscellaneous topics

    External links

    See also



    Countries in Africa

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    Best of the Web

    Some good "Uganda" pages on the web:


    World Leaders
    www.cia.gov
     
    Mentioned In
    uganda is mentioned in the following topics:
    List of Governors-General of Uganda Eriya Kategaya
    Albert Nile (Part of the upper Nile River in northwest Uganda) Lango
    Paulo Muwanga List of political parties in Uganda
    Presidential Commission of Uganda Uganda Airlines
    Buganda (region and former kingdom) Masaka
    More>
     

    Copyrights:

    Dictionary definition of Uganda
    The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2004, 2000 by
    Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. More from Dictionary
    Encyclopedia information about Uganda
    The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
    www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/ More from Encyclopedia
    Map information about Uganda
    The World Factbook is prepared by the Central Intelligence Agency. More from Map
    Local Time information about Uganda
    Copyright © 2001 -
    Chaos Software. All rights reserved More from Local Time
    Geography information about Uganda
    The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil. Copyright © 2002 by
    Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved. More from Geography
    Dialing Code information about Uganda
    © 1999-2005 by GuruNet. All rights reserved. More from Dialing Code
    Stats information about Uganda
    The World Factbook 2003 is prepared by the Central Intelligence Agency. More from Stats
    National Anthems information about Uganda
    © 1999-2005 by GuruNet. All rights reserved. More from National Anthems
    WordNet information about Uganda
    WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. More from WordNet
    Wikipedia information about Uganda
    This article is licensed under the
    GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Uganda". More from Wikipedia
    Translations for Uganda
    Copyright © 2005,
    WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved. More from Translations


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    Bibliography ^ Top

    Democractic Republic of the Congo (DRC) map and information page by World Atlas. 27 May. 2005 <http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/africa/cd.htm>.
    Congo: Map, History and Much More From Answers.com. 27 May. 2005 <http://www.answers.com/topic/congo-country-zaire>.
    Rwanda map and information page by World Atlas. 27 May. 2005 <http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/africa/rw.htm>.
    Rwanda: Map, History and Much More From Answers.com. 27 May. 2005 <http://www.answers.com/Rwanda>.
    Uganda map and information page by World Atlas. 27 May. 2005 <http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/africa/ug.htm>.
    Uganda: Map, History and Much More From Answers.com. 27 May. 2005 <http://www.answers.com/Uganda>.