NAIROBI, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- Kenya on Monday announced results of a national census carried out from Aug. 24 to 31, which indicated the country's population stood at 47.6 million, up from 37.7 million in 2009.
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said the 2019 Kenya population and housing census results will guide policy formulation and distribution of resources in the country.
"The numbers released today, that indicate our population is 47.6 million, 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," said Kenyatta.
Kenya conducted the eighth national exercise since the country gained independence from Britain using state of the art technology to enhance accuracy.
The weeklong exercise entailed biometric capture of the population within the Kenyan borders alongside critical information like household income, levels of education, employment and health.
President Kenyatta said that timely release of census results will facilitate evidence-based planning as the government hasten implementation of a socio-economic transformation agenda. "These results now provide us with a unique opportunity to realign our development strategies, policies and programs," said Kenyatta.
He said that state agencies will utilize census results to facilitate seamless allocation of resources towards programs that uplift the living standards of citizens.
The results of 2019 Kenya's population and housing census 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 persons 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.
According to the 2019 census results, the five most populated counties include Nairobi, Kiambu, Nakuru, Kakamega and Bungoma while the five least population counties include Lamu, Isiolo, Samburu,Tana River and Taita Taveta.
Zachary Mwangi, director-general of Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) said that further analysis of the census results will be undertaken to produce four major reports focusing on administrative units up to sub-location, age and sex by county, political units and socio-economic dynamics.
