Uganda’s population has reached 45.9 million people, according to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS).
This information was disclosed on Thursday, June 27, 2024, by UBOS Executive Director and Census Commissioner, Dr. Chris Mukiza, during the dissemination of the Preliminary Results of the National Population and Housing Census 2024 at Serena Hotel in Kampala.
He mentioned that this represents a growth of 11.3 million over the past decade and includes 780,061 refugees.
As per Dr. Mukiza, Uganda is a youthful nation with; 50.5% being children (0-17 years), 22.7% Youth (18-30 years), 5.0% Older persons (60+), and 55.6% Working Age Population (14-64 years).
This was the 11th census in Uganda, the sixth post-independence census, and the first digital census conducted from May 10th – May 26th, 2024.
“We had 135,230 field workers, 14,669 enumeration supervisors, and 4,715 sub-county/division supervisors with five sets of questionnaires,” noted Dr. Mukiza.
He highlighted some challenges, including hard-to-reach areas, inability to access some households, refusals by some religious cults, and deliberate refusals by households in gated communities, as well as internal border conflicts like in Apaa, Ombechi, and Nyamisingiri, among others.
“There were unavailable respondents, such as single-person households that leave early and return late. Additionally, the geography of some areas was not updated in the system.”
UBOS is releasing these preliminary census results exactly 31 days after the census concluded.
“As UBOS, we deliver what we promise. The Census cost per capita was $1.9 compared to $2 in Kenya,” stated Dr. Mukiza.