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General Information Area: 241,139 sq km (93,104 sq miles). Population: 21,620,000 (official estimate 1999) Population Density: 89.7 per sq km. Capital: Kampala. Population: 774,241 (1991). GEOGRAPHY: Uganda shares borders with Sudan to the north, Kenya to the east, Lake Victoria to the southeast, Tanzania and Rwanda to the south and the Democratic Republic of Congo to the west. Kampala is on the shores of Lake Victoria, and the White Nile flowing out of the lake traverses much of the country. The varied scenery includes tropical forest and tea plantations on the slopes of the snowcapped Ruwenzori Mountains, the arid plains of the Karamoja, the lush, heavily populated Buganda, the rolling savannah of Acholi, Bunyoro, Tororo and Ankole, and the fertile cotton area of Teso. Government: Republic. Gained independence from the UK in 1962. Head of State: President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni since 1986. Head of Government: Prime Minister Apollo Nsibambi since 1999. Language: English is the official language, with Luganda and Swahili also widely spoken. Religion: Sixty per cent Christian, 32 per cent Animist and five per cent Muslim. Time: GMT + 3. Electricity: 240 volts AC, 50Hz. Communications:   Telephone IDD is available to and from principal towns in Uganda. Country code: 256. Service for local calls is unreliable. Mobile telephone GSM 900/1800 network. Main network operators are Uganda Telecom Ltd (website: www.utl.co.ug), Clovergem Celtel (website: www.msi-cellular.com) and MTN Uganda (website: www.mtn.co.ug). Coverage extends to all major towns. Fax Service is available at the Postal & Telecommunications Office, 35 Kampala Road, Kampala; central post offices in Jinja and Mbale between 0800-1600; and in some hotels. Internet ISPs include InfoCom (website: www.imul.com) and MTN Uganda (website: www.mtn.co.ug). Internet cafes exist in Kampala. Telegram Available in main towns. Post Airmail to Europe can take from three days to several weeks. Post office hours: Mon-Fri 0830-1230 and 1400-1730. Some post offices are open Sat 0830-1300. Press The English-language papers include Financial Times, The Monitor, New Vision, The Star and Weekly Topic. BBC World Service and Voice of America frequencies: From time to time these change. BBC (website: www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice): MHz 17.89 15.42 9.630 6.005 Voice of America (website: www.voa.gov): MHz 15.58 11.98 6.035 0.909 From www.columbusguides.com, Copyright © 2004 Highbury Columbus Travel Publishing Terms and Conditions apply.