Kenya’s Population Shoots Up to 47 Million

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta

By Awori Esther Lucy

NAIROBI, Kenya – The census done in Kenya in August last year has shown the nation’s population has shot up to 47.6 million up from the 37.7 million recorded in 2009.

The announcements released on Monday, will according to Kenyan president, Uhuru Kenyatta be key in guiding policy formulation issues, as well the distribution of resources in the 47 counties of Kenya.

“The numbers released today will go a long way in guiding the successful planning and implementation of government development initiatives, including the Big Four Agenda, for the benefit of all Kenyans,” Kenyatta said.

In its eighth such national exercise since Kenya gained independence from Britain, the authorities gathered biometric information on citizens alongside critical information such as household income, levels of education, employment and health.

Kenyatta said that timely release of census results will facilitate evidence-based planning as the government hastens implementation of a socioeconomic transformation agenda.

“These results now provide us with a unique opportunity to realign our development strategies, policies and programs,” he said. Kenya goes into polls next year, and analysts contend that the census will be key in understanding the exact voting numbers ahead of the polls.

President Kenyatta observed that state agencies will utilize census results to facilitate allocation of resources toward programs that uplift living standards.

The results indicated that out of the 47,564,296 people that were counted, 23,548,056 were male, 24,014,716 were female and 1,524 were intersex. The statistics recorded the number of intersex people for the first time.

However, the overall population growth rate declined from 2.9 percent in 2009 to 2.2 percent in 2019 while the average household size declined from 4.2 people in 2009 to 3.9 people in 2019.

 

Shift Media News

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