Economy: Uganda is largely a free market economy and in recent years has maintained a growth rate of about 5% per annum. Agriculture provides about 60% of GDP and over 80% of the adult population are either subsistence farmers or work in agriculture related fields. Major export crops include coffee, tea and tobacco. Industry is diverse and centred around Kampala. It is mainly small scale and aimed at supplying the domestic market with basic products. The majority of manufactured goods are imported. Tourism is increasing very rapidly and is now makes a significant contribution to the economy.

Geography: Uganda lies between the two arms of the Great Rift Valley in East Africa. It is crossed by the Equator. It is roughly the same size as Great Britain having an area of 241,139 sq. km. Of this 17% sq km is made up of swamps and open fresh water bodies, 12% forest reserves and game parks. It is bordered by Kenya to the East, Sudan to the North, DRC to the West and Tanzania and Rwanda to the south.

The country has an average elevation of 1200m above sea level. Mountain areas are the Rwenzori mountains (5000m) with permanent snow cover and Mount Elgon (4300m).

Uganda's climate is equatorial but this is tempered by its elevated altitude and average daytime temperatures range between 20C and 27C. Average annual rainfall is in the region of 1000mm. There are two rainy seasons - March to early May and September to December.

Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa and second largest in the world. It is also the source of the River Nile. Lakes Edward and Albert lie to the west of the country.

The landscape and vegetation have exceptional diversity. Uganda lies at the overlap between tropical East African savannah and the West African rainforest zones. The south of the country is mostly covered by forest and sub-tropical cultivation (plantains, coffee and tea). There are woodland and open savannah grassland areas. The north is drier than the rest of the country. It is covered in semi-desert and dry acacia woodland, which lacks the heavy intertwining canopy found in tropical forests.

The population of Uganda is about 23,000,000 according to year 2003 estimates. Kampala, the capital city has a population of around 2,000,000. The percentage of urban and rural population is 14% and 86% respectively. Annual population growth rate (natural increase) is 2.7%.

History : Uganda was under British rule between 1900 and 1962. Prior to that it had for many centuries been made up of a number of separate kingdoms divided mainly along tribal lines.

Post independent Uganda had a turbulent history under a number of Presidents until President Yoweri Museveni gained control in 1986 and managed to bring a war torn and divided country together. Since that time the country has been largely trouble free with the exception of occasional local disturbances and, as a result, has enjoyed rapid economic growth.

Travel And Accommodation : The main airport is at Entebbe which is about a forty minute drive from the capital city Kampala. British Airways operates several direct weekly flights from and to London and several other major international airlines also serve Entebbe.

There is no shortage of hotels of all qualities in Kampala and most other towns can offer tourist standard hotel accommodation. Most National Parks also have a choice of accommodation ranging from campsites to luxury safari lodges.