Uganda, landlocked country on the equator in East Africa. The country contains a varied landscape of savanna, dense forests, and tall mountains, as well as almost half of Lake Victoria, the largest lake in Africa, and the primary source of the Nile River. Uganda is an ethnically diverse nation with a deeply ingrained intellectual and artistic culture. Poor but developing, Uganda’s economy is predominantly agricultural. Uganda was the site of several powerful kingdoms, most notably Buganda and Bunyoro, before the arrival of European colonists in the late 19th century. Uganda became a British protectorate in 1894, and its present borders were established in 1926. It gained independence from British rule in 1962. In the 1970s and early 1980s the nation suffered two bloody dictatorial regimes, under Idi Amin and Milton Obote, and two wars. In 1986 Uganda came under the control of pragmatic leader Yoweri Museveni, who introduced democratic and economic reforms. Kampala is Uganda’s capital and largest city.