Uganda Facts Uganda is a landlocked country in Eastern Africa bordered by Sudan to the north, the Democratic Republic of Congo to the west, Rwanda and Tanzania to the south and Kenya to the east. Uganda is slightly smaller than the State of Oregon and is situated on the north shore of Lake Victoria and lies astride the equator. The population of the country is roughly 30,000,000. Most of the people live in the south-central region near Lake Victoria and the capital city Kampala. Uganda was granted independence by the British in 1962. The transition from British rule was peaceful. Uganda's first leaders were Apollo Milton Obote and the Baganda King Edward Mutesa II. Although the king was the constitutional head of government, Obote, as prime minister, governed through his cabinet. Sadly, Obote soon became power hungry and took over the country in a bloodless coup. King Edward Mutesa was forced to the United Kingdom to live the rest of his life in exile. In 1971, Obote was overthrown by the infamous Idi Amin. Amin, who was at first a man of the people, descended into megalomania and paranoia. It was his practice to execute his political opponents and rival tribes people with impunity. It has been estimated that Amin was responsible for the deaths of over 300,000 people. Obote with the help of Tanzanian troops returned to Uganda to overthrow Amin in 1979. In 1986, Lt. General Yoweri Kaguta Museveni seized power and established a government that remains in place today. Under Museveni's tenure, Uganda's economy has stabilized, its education improved, and its infrastructure steadily rebuilt. From 1987 to 2006, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) was engaged in brutal armed rebellion in the north of the country. Operating from bases in the southern Sudan, LRA insurgents inflicted terrifying violence on the population. In particular, the LRA abducted tens of thousands of children and at clandestine bases, terrorized them into virtual slavery as guards, concubines, and soldiers. In November 2005, the United Nations announced its intent to increase its activities in northern Uganda in the coming year to help the 2 million Ugandans displaced by Africa's longest running, yet least reported, conflict. In part because of United Nation assistance, a peace treaty was signed in September of 2006 bringing to an end almost 20 years of conflict. Uganda was ground zero of the AIDS pandemic in the 1980's and 90’s. At one point, 200 people a day were dying of the disease. As the adults died, Uganda became a nation of orphans and is now considered the youngest country in the world with 50% of the population under the age of 14. Fortunately, the Ugandan government, through an innovative program known as ABC (abstinence or betrothal or condoms), curtailed HIV infection rates to a fraction of what they were at the height of the epidemic. Nevertheless, HIV/AIDS remains a serious problem in the country. After dictatorships, AIDS and civil war, Uganda is progressing nicely. Indeed, Uganda's worst days seem to be behind her. The people there have been described as the friendliest in all of Africa. They are an optimistic and ambitious people who are proud of their country and all the progress it has made over the last two decades. However, continued progress depends on raising the standard of living of its citizens (the average Ugandan lives on US $1/day), assuring greater access to education and healthcare, reducing the national debt, upgrading the country's communications and manufacturing sectors, and continued political and legal reform.