Census: Ubos to count Ugandans living abroad

The Uganda Bureau of Statistics (Ubos) has revealed that it will count those who will be in Uganda during the 2024 National Population and Housing Census (Nphc) exercise, and nationals living outside the country.

The non-Ugandans who will be counted are refugees and anyone else who will be in Uganda on May 9, which is census night.

Ubos spokesperson Didacus Okoth said during a press conference in Kampala on Monday: “It is our primary role and responsibility to ensure that every citizen of this country is counted. If midnight on May 9 finds you within the borders of Uganda , then you are a candidate for enumeration and must be counted. We do not want to leave anyone who slept within the borders of Uganda on the night of May 9 uncounted.”

“We will also capture the data of Ugandans living abroad through their relatives, who will provide details of the person or persons through a questionnaire that asks if the household members have a relative abroad,” he added.

According to him, May 10 will be the census holiday and everyone is encouraged to stay home to facilitate a smooth start to the registration exercise.

“We call on all of you to cooperate and support the field teams by ensuring that our homes and communities are accurately counted. Your information will contribute to the best planning for the future of Uganda that we all want,” said Mr. Okoth .

Okoth said the questionnaires will include the floating population, institutions such as schools, hospitals and universities, households, the Uganda Police Force, the Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) and the Uganda Prisons Service (UPS).

“Digital technology will improve the quality of data, the timeliness of publication of results and in June the Bureau will be able to publish the preliminary results, in September we will have the provisional results and in December we will have the final results,” he said.

The national census is carried out every 10 years. This will be the first census to use digital technology to collect and process data.

According to Ubos, the digital system will allow them to produce accurate and timely demographic and economic statistics.