Prime
Least, most populous districts
President Museveni shakes hands with the State minister for Planning, Mr David Bahati, during the launch of the National Population and Housing Census at the Serena Kampala Hotel on Thursday. PHOTO BY STEPHEN WANDERA.
Kampala. Wakiso tops the list of most populous districts with close to two million people, while Kalangala is least populated with less than 60,000 people in the district.
The new list of most populous districts released by Uganda Bureau of Statistics (Ubos) on Thursday puts Kampala city in the second position, with slightly more than 1.5 million people, followed by Kibaale District in the third position with 785,008 people. Arua has 782,077, Kasese has 694,992, Mubende 684,337, Mukono 596, 804, Hoima 572, 986, Kabale 528,231, and Tororo with 517,082.
Under the list of the 10 least populous districts, Ntoroko, one of the new districts, has only 67,005 people, Bukwo 89,356, Buvuma 89, 890, Kween 93,667, Lyantonde 93,753, Butambala 100,840, Moroto 103,432, Otuke 104,254, and Kapchorwa with 105,186 people.
Importance
Mr Julius Mishambi Kapwepwe, the director Uganda Debt Network, a development organisation, said: “The statistics confirm the need to manage better and expand government programmes like Youth Livelihood Fund, rural development strategy, and financial inclusiveness to distribute economic empowerment opportunities beyond Kampala and Wakiso districts.”
According to a senior demographer at Ubos, Kampala and Wakiso have more people than other districts in the country mainly due to rural-urban migration fuelled by “noticeable absence or breakdown in service delivery”, poverty, unemployment and the need to have access to key services such as electricity, education, roads and medical care.
Mr Wilfred Niwagaba (MP Ndorwa West), who represents a rural district, said: “Some districts are populous because of social and economic opportunities. The tragedy is that the 69 per cent the President said have no money because they are engaged in subsistence farming live in the villages where poverty is biting and this is a sign of backwardness”.
At the launch of the National Population and Housing Census on Thursday in Kampala, President Museveni noted that there is steady progress and reiterated his campaign promise to inject Shs1 trillion in wealth creation/Naads programme to assist struggling communities, especially in the countryside. Acknowledging that there is more work to be done in spite of the progress registered in the last 30 years of his leadership, the President promised to prioritise wealth creation, focusing on improving household incomes in the next five years.
Nearly half (47 per cent) of the households reside in dwellings with one room for sleeping, while 29 per cent in two rooms. In urban areas, at least 57 per cent sleep in one room and 44 per cent in rural areas. In the last 10 years, the population of Ugandans who sleep in one room has marginally reduced from 50 per cent to 47 per cent.
Although majority of the population (42 per cent) aged 14-64 years not working were full time students, the population neither in employment nor education stood at 58 per cent of the total population. This means that 58 per cent of the 34.6million people don’t add any value to national development on account of poverty and unemployment in the country.
“The fertility rate has declined but we are among the highest growing countries in the world, with at least 60 per cent of the school-going age,” the executive director Ubos, Dr Ben Paul Mungyereza, said; adding: “This means we must invest a lot in service delivery and empower the youth with skills to compete with our counterparts in the region.”
According to statistics from the 2014 National Population and Housing Census, only 7.4 million of 34.6 million people live in towns, the rest (27.4 million) live in villages, a sign of “backwardness” according to some Opposition leaders who talked to Daily Monitor.
Currently, there are 259 urban centres in the country, up from 67 in 1991 and 75 in 2002. These include one Capital City, 33 municipalities, 163 town councils and 62 town boards.
Urban population increases
However, Dr Mungyereza noted that the urban population has been increasing from about 1.7 million people in 1991 to nearly 7.4 million people in 2014. He partly attributed this to increased number of urban centres.
Ms Esperance Fundira, the United Nations Population Fund country representative, whose reference to “steady progress” mesmerised Mr Museveni, said “population data is indispensable for Uganda’s development to enable policymakers make smart investment in infrastructure, education, health and other interventions outlined in the national development agenda.”
Steady progress?
Even with up to 69 per cent of Ugandan households “incomeless”, Ms Fundira said: “The results show steady progress and there is reason to be proud,” adding that data is required for effective planning and accountability purposes. “The data will also help the government to benchmark progress. It is time to transform our commitments into results and ensure no one is left behind.”
Census
Only 7.4 million of 34.6 million people live in towns, the rest (27.4 million) live in villages, a sign of “backwardness” according to some Opposition leaders who talked to Daily Monitor.
