Chris Mukiza, the Census Commissioner of the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), has said that at 99% of the population of Uganda was enumerated as of Sunday this week.
The 1%, he said was left out because of some people who were not found at their homes and those that refused to be enumerated especially in the Kampala Metropolitan Area.
“We have arrested those that deliberately refused to be counted and those that missed, we are following a case by case basis to make sure that they get enumerated and that exercise shall not go beyond this week,” Dr Mukiza said during a press conference at their office this morning.
The UN recommendation for the time within which Population and Housing Census can last is a minimum of 30 days among their over 190 countries that subscribe to the practice.
Recent statistics also show that Canada with 98% enumerated area in the country has been the highest reach for the member countries. This means that the Ubos’ 99% throws it atop of all the others.
Mr Mukiza said, “I am confident that we have done our job and we are trying to mop up before we release the preliminary findings on June 24.”
He also expressed gratitude to local government leaders, district information technology officers, sub-county and county chiefs, and local council chairpersons for their effective leadership in the recent census activities.
According to Mukiza, these stakeholders, along with supervisors and enumerators, demonstrated exceptional commitment and determination in completing their assigned enumeration areas within the allocated time.
Mukiza noted that the enthusiasm observed during the 2024 census reflects growing confidence in the census process. Preliminary data indicates a significant increase in the number of households, with a trend towards smaller household sizes compared to the 2014 census.
“Already indicators show that there are more households in this year’s exercise than there were in 2014. We are trying to figure out why it is so and we are also seeing that there are more single bedroom in the households,” Mukiza said.
The Census Commissioner emphasized UBOS’s adherence to the census roadmap, moving into data processing, editing, and analysis phases. Preliminary results will be released on June 24, followed by provisional results on September 24, and the final report on December 24.
UBOS also plans to conduct a post-enumeration survey in July 2024 to validate the coverage and quality of data collected during the main census, in line with internationally accepted best practices.
The 2024 census, Uganda’s first digital census, faced several challenges, including initial system failures, complaints from enumerators about their pay, and reports from a significant number of Ugandans claiming that enumerators did not reach their areas. Despite these hurdles, the dedication of the census stakeholders has been widely recognized and commended.
