Census of Business Establishments, 2019/20.
Uganda
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Nov 28, 2025
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Nov 28, 2025
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Identification
Survey ID Number
DDI-UGA-UBOS-COBE-2019-v01
Title
Census of Business Establishments, 2019/20.
Country
| Name | Country code |
|---|---|
| Uganda | UGA |
Abstract
UgandaBureau of Statistics carried out the Census of Business Establishments(COBE)in 2019/20. This was the first digital COBE after the previous ones being analogue. The Census covered all the businesses with a fixed location all overthe countryand economicactivities conducted by government agencies. All classified activities in government like public administration and Defensewere excluded.
The economic activities undertaken by the business establishments were classified according to the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC) Revision 4 and the report is structured according to 17major industry groups. To show the spread of businesses, thecountry was sub-divided into 14subRegions, namely Acholi, Ankole,Bukedi,Bunyoro, Busoga, Elgon,Kampala, Karamoja, Kigezi, Lango, Buganda, Teso, Tooro and West Nile. In order to identifychanges in the number of businesses, comparison was made betweenCOBE 2019/20 and COBE 2010/11.
From the COBE 2019/20 results, there were 686,700 businesses in the country compared to 458,106 businesses in COBE 2010/11, implying a growth in number of businesses by 49.9 percent since 2010/11. Majority (57.0%) of the businesses were in the Trade sector followed by Accommodation & Food Services(10.0%) and Recreation and Personal Services(9.8%). Informal businesses represent81.7percent.The largestproportion of the informal businesseswas in Karamoja sub Regionrepresenting 90.8 percentand the least proportion was in Kampala sub Region with 71.0percent.Mining & Quarrying recorded the biggest proportion of informal businesses of 91.2 percent. The Forestry sector recorded the smallest proportion of 7.6percent.
The economic activities undertaken by the business establishments were classified according to the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC) Revision 4 and the report is structured according to 17major industry groups. To show the spread of businesses, thecountry was sub-divided into 14subRegions, namely Acholi, Ankole,Bukedi,Bunyoro, Busoga, Elgon,Kampala, Karamoja, Kigezi, Lango, Buganda, Teso, Tooro and West Nile. In order to identifychanges in the number of businesses, comparison was made betweenCOBE 2019/20 and COBE 2010/11.
From the COBE 2019/20 results, there were 686,700 businesses in the country compared to 458,106 businesses in COBE 2010/11, implying a growth in number of businesses by 49.9 percent since 2010/11. Majority (57.0%) of the businesses were in the Trade sector followed by Accommodation & Food Services(10.0%) and Recreation and Personal Services(9.8%). Informal businesses represent81.7percent.The largestproportion of the informal businesseswas in Karamoja sub Regionrepresenting 90.8 percentand the least proportion was in Kampala sub Region with 71.0percent.Mining & Quarrying recorded the biggest proportion of informal businesses of 91.2 percent. The Forestry sector recorded the smallest proportion of 7.6percent.
Unit of Analysis
The unit of analysis was business establishments
Version
Version Description
v1
Coverage
Geographic Coverage
National Coverage
Universe
The census covered all the business establishments in all industrial sectors: Forestry, Fishing, Mining & Quarrying, Food Processing, Other Manufacturing, Utilities, Construction, Trade, Transport & Storage, Accommodation & Food Services, Information & Communication, Financial & Insurance Services, Real Estate & Business Services, Education, Health & Social Work, and Recreation & Personal Services.
Producers and sponsors
Funding Agency/Sponsor
| Name | Abbreviation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Government of Uganda | GOU | Funding the survey |
Sampling
Sampling Procedure
The initial strategy was to cover businesses in and around Kampala and the Districts in the Central region. It was estimated that, about 65 percent of the businesses were in and around Kampala City. There wasa total of 88 Enumerators grouped in 16 teams of fivetosix members.
Field work for the COBE started in July2019 and was completed in May2023, in nine differentphases.The census activities took longer than expected due to episodes of COVID 19 that disrupted activities in the wholeworld. Phase1 began in July2019 through December 2019 mainly in the divisions of Kampala Capital City Authority and eventually Kayunga District was covered in the last phase. Kampala was completed in four phases where each phase was completed in 25 days. The fifthto the ninthPhases were used to cover upcountry districts. The Teams were re-grouped according to their proficiency in the local languages in the areas theywere assigned.There weretwo Teams in the Greater Masaka region, two teamsin WesternRegion, one Team in Busoga sub-Region, one Team in Bugisu sub-Region, one Team in Karamoja sub-Region, one Team in Teso sub-region,one in Lango sub-Region, one in Acholi sub-Region and one in West Nile sub-Region.
There were six office supervision teamswhose major work was to undertake spot checks on the Teams wherever they were deployed. The Supervision Teams weresent every week in at least four regions simultaneously to check on the progress of the fieldwork.
Field work for the COBE started in July2019 and was completed in May2023, in nine differentphases.The census activities took longer than expected due to episodes of COVID 19 that disrupted activities in the wholeworld. Phase1 began in July2019 through December 2019 mainly in the divisions of Kampala Capital City Authority and eventually Kayunga District was covered in the last phase. Kampala was completed in four phases where each phase was completed in 25 days. The fifthto the ninthPhases were used to cover upcountry districts. The Teams were re-grouped according to their proficiency in the local languages in the areas theywere assigned.There weretwo Teams in the Greater Masaka region, two teamsin WesternRegion, one Team in Busoga sub-Region, one Team in Bugisu sub-Region, one Team in Karamoja sub-Region, one Team in Teso sub-region,one in Lango sub-Region, one in Acholi sub-Region and one in West Nile sub-Region.
There were six office supervision teamswhose major work was to undertake spot checks on the Teams wherever they were deployed. The Supervision Teams weresent every week in at least four regions simultaneously to check on the progress of the fieldwork.
Data Collection
Data Collection Mode
The data capture application software was developed in CSpro (CSentry). The application was installed on the tablets that were used by the enumerators to collect data. Each Supervisor and Enumerator had a unique username that would facilitate review of the quality of the data collected by each individual. Field interviewers worked togetherwith the field supervisorsto edit thecaptured raw data, allocating the right administrative codes and activity codes to the activities asper the activity description. Thereafter, the data was sent to the Team Leader,who would transmit it to UBOS Servers for further office editing and subsequent data merging.
Further cleaning of the data was done by the Digital Solutions staff, converted to a STATA file and sent to Desk Editors in office. Subsequent analysis of the data was undertaken usingSTATA 18.
Further cleaning of the data was done by the Digital Solutions staff, converted to a STATA file and sent to Desk Editors in office. Subsequent analysis of the data was undertaken usingSTATA 18.
Metadata production
DDI Document ID
DDI-UGA-UBOS-COBE-2019-v01