The Republic of Uganda

Uganda’s barkcloth making, one of humanity’s oldest textile crafts, is inscribed on UNESCO’s list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Uganda is known as the “Pearl of Africa,” a name popularized by Winston Churchill after his 1907 journey through the country.

Uganda is home to the source of the Nile, the world’s longest river, which begins its journey north from Lake Victoria at Jinja.

Uganda is home to around half of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas, most of them in the UNESCO-listed Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.

Uganda has one of the youngest populations in the world, with more than half of its people under the age of 18.

Uganda is Africa’s largest refugee-hosting country, internationally recognized for its policy of granting refugees land and the right to work.

Uganda is one of Africa’s leading coffee exporters and the birthplace of Robusta coffee, which still grows wild in its forests.

The Rwenzori Mountains, known as the “Mountains of the Moon,” hold rare equatorial glaciers and Africa’s third-highest peak, Margherita Peak.

Uganda shares Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest lake and the world’s largest tropical lake, with Kenya and Tanzania.

The Kingdom of Buganda, one of Africa’s oldest surviving traditional kingdoms, was restored in 1993 and continues to play a cultural role alongside the modern state.

At Murchison Falls, the Nile forces its way through a rock gorge just seven meters wide, creating one of the most powerful waterfalls in the world.

Uganda is home to more than 1,000 bird species, around half of all those found in Africa, making it one of the continent’s top birdwatching destinations.