Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOs) executive director Dr. Chris Mukiza on Tuesday rejected pressure to resign over errors in the recently released 2024 National Population and Housing Census report.
He expressed frustration with the personal attacks directed at him, hinting that [resignation appeals] may be the handwork of people who have been pursuing him since 2021 to get him out of his job in the favour of someone else.
“Everybody is on Mukiza’s neck. Why waste time on data? Why not say we want Mukiza’s neck?” he said during a breakfast meeting with journalists and media managers at Kampala Serena Hotel on Tuesday.
Mukiza said that despite the errors, the census results will serve as the official data guiding Uganda’s national planning for the next 10 years.
“Don’t expect any other census before 2034. This is the only one you’ll have,” he said.
In the final report launched on Thursday, Bagisu had been indicated as having a total population of two million in 2024, having dropped from 2.3 million in 2014. The Acholi were also shown to have dropped from 2.1 million to 1.9 million in 2024.
On the other hand, the Langi are shown to have increased from 1.6 million to 2.7 million and Bakiga were indicated to have grown from 1.4 million to 2.9 million, which indicated a growth rate of almost 100 percent.
Speaking at the event, Mukiza, however, clarified that these figures are erroneous and that this arose after their staff erroneously swapped figures of the tribes.
He said this occurred while making comparisons of the 2024 figures with those of 2014 in a bid to compute the population growth of the tribes.
He said, however, that these figures have since been corrected and that Bakiga now number 2.9 million, having grown from 2.3 million in 2014, while the Bagisu are 2 million, having grown from 1.6 million in 2014. Langi and Acholi are 2.7 million and 1.9 million respectively. In 2014, the Langi numbered 2.1 million while the Acholi were 1.4 million.
According to the report, the annual growth rate currently stands at 2.9 percent, which dropped from 3.18 from the previous census.
Population growth rate is the change in the number of individuals over a specific period.
Compared to the preliminary results released in June, Thursday’s findings provide more statistical information about Uganda’s demographics, including housing patterns and socioeconomic conditions, and provide detailed answers to the five Census questions, which include: How many we are? Where are we? How are we living? What do we own? Where do we access services from?
In the preliminary report, only two questions, namely, “How many are we and where do we live?” were addressed.
Population and Housing Censuses are the most comprehensive and reliable national data resource that provides critical input into national development planning and program development.
The Census further provides data to monitor and evaluate the impact of various national and international development frameworks
such as the third National Development Plan (NDP III), Vision 2040, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), among others.
