Uganda has a population of 45.9 million people, preliminary results from the 2024 National Population and Housing Census have indicated.
The 11th population census in Uganda since the first one was conducted in 1911, the census was the sixth since Uganda gained her independence from Britain in 1962. Conducted from May 10 to May 26, 2024, it was also the first digital census in Uganda.
Speaking at a ceremony for the dissemination of the National Population and Housing Census 2024 preliminary results at the Kampala Serena Hotel, Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) Executive Director Dr Chris Mukiza claimed that the census cost less money compared to Kenya’s conducted in 2019. Dr Mukiza noted that Uganda’s census cost per capita was $1.9 while Kenya’s was $2.1.
“Our data is very accurate and robust. We hope the United Nations won’t make noise again [that they have more accurate data than ours,” he said.
Cost cutting measures included a decision not to purchase or hire cars for the transportation of materials. “All the vehicles we used to transport census materials to the districts were provided by UPDF, Uganda Police, Uganda Prisons Service and Electoral Commission. So, we didn’t hire,” said Mukiza.
But the census exercise was not without challenges, Mukiza cited hard-to-reach areas such as islands and mountainous areas, failure to access households such as gated ones, unavailable correspondents, and refusal to be counted.
“During the census, we had refusals and the biggest culprits were religious cults. These were mainly predominant in the Busoga region,” recalled Mukiza. “The grand cult was in Mayuge who called themselves Njiri Nkalu. Those ones would say that they were counted by God and that they cannot be counted by earthly people.”
POPULATION: KEY FIGURES
Dr Mukiza has revealed that Uganda’s current population stands at 45.9 million – 45,935,046 people to be exact. The country has more females than males. Females make up 51 per cent of the total population.
Standing at 50.5 per cent, children between ages 0 and 17 years make up a little over a half of the population. From ages 18 to 30, the youth make up 22.7 per cent.
Compared to the previous census of 2014 when the country had 34.6 million people, 11.3 million more people were added to the country’s population in the past 10 years. This figure includes refugees, their number standing at 780,061.
The Uganda Bureau of Statistics boss further noted that there was a reduction in the size of households in Uganda. In 2024, the average household size is 4.4 persons with a growth rate of 2.9 per cent compared to 4.7 persons in the 2014 census.
President Yoweri Museveni said he was shocked by the census figures, which he noted were below his expectation.
You can see the number of people per sub region as well as the population in each city of Uganda Here and There.
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