Kampala, Uganda | THE BLACK EXAMINER | The Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) has received approval from the Cabinet to conduct the national population and housing census, which was rescheduled for May 10, 2024.

The decision by the Cabinet comes after UBOS postponed the census for a month, citing delays in procuring essential equipment. Dr. Chris Baryomunsi, the Minister of ICT and National Guidance, stated that the government had resolved the logistical issues that led to the delay. This prompted the Cabinet to grant UBOS the green light to reschedule the census.

Uganda conducts population censuses every ten years, and to facilitate a smooth operation, the government has declared May 10, 2024, as a public holiday. The census will be the first one conducted digitally in Uganda since gaining independence in 1962, utilizing smart devices for accurate data collection, analysis, and dissemination.

Census data provides crucial information on age and sex distribution, household composition, and size. This data plays a vital role in planning and decision-making for social and economic development.

Dr. Chris Mukiza, the Executive Director of UBOS, revealed that over 110,000 enumerators will be deployed across 135 districts, along with 10,900 parish supervisors and IT experts.

Uganda’s last national housing census was conducted in 2014 and estimated the country’s population at 45 million. Uganda will be the fourth East African Community (EAC) country, after Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania, to collect census data digitally.

The digital census will be Uganda’s sixth population census since independence and is budgeted at 339.6 billion Shillings, with 10 percent of the funding, approximately 34 billion, coming from the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA).

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