Official Name:
Republic of Uganda
Capital:
Kampala - population: 850,000 (1998 est)
Head of State:
President Yoweri Museveni
National Currencies and current exchange rates:
Ugandan shilling (Ush=100 cents); Average exchange rate in 1999: Ush1,455:US$1; Exchange rate on 20/2/2001 – Ush1,660:US$1.
National Day and other important days:
1 January (New Year's Day), 26 January (Liberation Day), 8 March (International Women's Day), 1 May (Labour Day), 3 June (Martyr's Day), 9 October (Independence Day), 25 and 26 December (Christmas).
Variable dates:
Good Friday, Easter Monday, Eid Al-Fitr, Eid Al-Adha.
System Of Government:
Unitary republic
Ethnic groups:
There are over 20 ethnic groups of which the Baganda, Banyankole and Basoga are the largest. Approximately 99 per cent of the population is of African descent, 1 per cent European or Asian. Prior to Idi Amin's expulsion in 1972 of "non-citizens", there were about 70,000 Asians and 10,000 Europeans.
Languages
English - official and taught in grade schools, used in courts of law; Ganda or Luganda - most widely spoken; Niger-Congo languages, Nilo-Saharan languages, Swahili, Arabic
Religions
About 71 per cent of the population follow Christianity, traditional beliefs (13 per cent), Islam (5 per cent), others (11 per cent).
