Kenya’s population stands at 47,564,296 according to census 2019 results released by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS). Presenting the Census Volume One report results at State House on Monday, KNBS Director General Zachary Mwangi said the population growth stands at 47.6%, in 2019, given that the total population was 37.7 million back in 2009.
Of the total population, 23,548,056 are males while 24,014,716 are females. Moreover 1,524 are intersex. The average household population has declined to 3.9 in 2019 from 4.2 in 2009. The Director General said the preparations for this year’s census began in 2016, including cartographic mapping, development of tools up to recruitment and training. Enumeration started on 24th and 25th August all through 31st August, afterwards, mapping was done on 1st and 2nd September to cover those not enumerated. “The enumeration process was monitored by independent observers from across Africa,” he said, adding that the encrypted data was then transmitted to servers through secure iCT infrastructure.
He said the data was collected, processed and analyzed as guided by the UN fundamental principles of official statistics and the UN handbook on editing of census data. Speaking in his address after receiving the Report officially, President Uhuru Kenyatta said it’s a monumental moment for Kenya since it’s the first country in Africa to release census results two months after the exercise was completed. He noted that this census was fully funded by the government and technology was fully embraced throughout the process, “I’m even prouder to note the mobile devices used in the census were assembled by our local universities and the data capture software was internally developed by our own bureau of statistics.”
He added that the numbers will be vital in the country’s planning, “The numbers released today….will go a long way in guiding the successful planning and implementation of government development initiative including our big Four Agenda and this for the benefit of all Kenyans,” he said. The results are set to be made available to the planners and all Kenyans according to the Head of State.