Uganda - Media

In 1998, there were some 50,000 mainline telephones in use, with a total of 80,868 lines available. The same year, there were 9,000 cellular phone subscribers.

Radio Uganda, founded in 1954, controls radio broadcasting in the country, while television is in the hands of the Uganda Television Service; both operate as part of the government's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Radio Uganda broadcasts daily in 22 languages, including English, French, Swahili, and local languages; television programs are in English, Swahili, and Luganda. As of 2001 there were 7 AM and 33 FM radio stations and 8 television stations. In 2000 there were 127 radios and 27 television sets for every 1,000 people.

The government-operated New Vision, with a 2002 circulation of 40,000 is published in English in Kampala. Two other major dailies published in Kampala are The Monitor (in English, 34,000) and Munno (in Luganda, 15,000).

The constitution provides for free speech and a free press; however, the government is said at times to restrict these rights in practice. The occasional use of sedition laws and imprisonment of some members of the media lead to the general practice of self-censorship.