Uganda

E

Energy

In 2003 Uganda produced an estimate 1,729 million kWh of electricity. Almost all electricity is generated in hydroelectric plants, primarily at the large Owen Falls scheme on the Victoria Nile near Jinja, which has been expanded since the early 1990s and now accounts for most of the total installed capacity of 162 MW. Other hydroelectric plants are on the Kagera and Kiruruma rivers.

F

Currency and Banking

The unit of currency is the new Uganda shilling (1,833.90 shillings equalled US$1; early 2007), issued by the Bank of Uganda, which was founded in 1966. As part of efforts to control rampant inflation, the National Resistance Movement (NRM) government in 1987 devalued the currency by 77 per cent and introduced the new Ugandan shilling worth 100 old shillings. Four foreign banks operate in the country, in addition to two local private banks, one state-owned commercial bank, two development banks, and one cooperative bank.

G

Commerce and Trade

In 2004 exports earned US$639 million, while imports cost US$1,657 million. The leading export by far is coffee; cotton and tea are also of growing importance. Leading imports include machinery and transport equipment, petroleum, primary and fabricated metal, paper and paper products, food, and cotton textiles.

Uganda’s major trading partners include Kenya, the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Germany. Uganda, with Kenya and Tanzania, was a member of the East African Community (EAC), an organization designed to foster economic cooperation and development, until it was dissolved in 1977 after much conflict among its three members. In 2001 the three countries revived the EAC.

H

Labour

The Ugandan workforce was estimated at about 11.9 million people in 2005. Around 69 per cent of workers are engaged in farming (2003), largely on a subsistence basis.

I

Transport

Uganda has about 3,480 km (2,160 mi) of paved roads, as well as some 26,840 km (16,678 mi) of other roads, many of them passable only in the dry season. In 1999 there were 2.1 passenger cars for every 1,000 people. In 2004 the country was served by 259 km (161 mi) of railway, which is operated by Uganda Railways and is currently being rehabilitated, and there are rail links with the Indian Ocean via Kenya. A planned US$20 million rail link between Kampala and Johannesburg will reduce Uganda’s dependence on Kenyan and Tanzanian trade routes and expand trade links with South Africa. Ships on Lake Victoria link Uganda with Kenyan and Tanzanian ports. The national air carrier, the state-owned Uganda Airlines, is in the process of being privatized. The main international airport is at Entebbe on Lake Victoria.