All Persons Found in Uganda on Census Night Will be Counted; Ugandans Abroad Will be Catered for-UBOS
By The Public Lens
The Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) spokesperson, Didacus Okoth, has said that Ugandans living in and out of the country will be counted during the upcoming National Population and Housing Census (NPHC) 2024 exercise scheduled for May 09, 2024.
Okoth revealed that UBOS shall also capture the data of Ugandans living abroad through their relatives who will provide the details of the person or persons using a questionnaire that asks if the household members have a relative abroad.
While addressing the media in Kampala on Monday Okoth said UBOS, as a national agency is mandated to count every citizen including those out of the country.
“It is our core function and responsibility to ensure that every citizen of this country is counted. If the midnight of May 9 finds you within the boundaries of Uganda, then you are a candidate of enumeration and you must be counted,” he said, ” We do not want to leave anybody who will have slept within the boundaries of Uganda on the night of May 9 uncounted.”
“Even refugees who are non-Ugandans plus any other persons who will be in the country on the census night will be counted,” Okoth said.
Okoth reaffirmed that May 10 will be a census public holiday and encouraged everyone to stay home that day in order to facilitate the smooth start of the enumeration exercise.
“We call upon all of you to cooperate and support the field teams by ensuring that our households and communities are accurately counted. Your information will contribute to the better planning for the future of Uganda we all desire.” He said.
Okoth further explained that questionnaires to be used during the census exercise will include the population, institutions like schools, hospitals and universities, households, Uganda Police Force, Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), and Uganda Prisons Service (UPS).
“The digital technology will enhance the quality of data, the timeliness of the release of the results and by June, the Bureau will be able to release preliminary results, by September we shall have the provisional results and by December we shall have the final results,” he said.
The national census takes place after every 10 years and this will be the first census to use digital technology to collect and process data.
According to UBOS the use of digital technology will enable them to produce accurate and timely demographics and economic statistics.