Kenya’s population hits the 40m mark

• Projections show the numbers have increased by 10m since the last count

Kenya’s population is expected to approach 40 million as the national population census is conducted on Monday night.

This is a big jump of 10 million from the 28.7 million recorded 10 years ago. In 1989, there were 21.4 million Kenyans.

The figure is also markedly higher than the projection of 35.7 million for this year and 36.3 million for next year published on the official Kenya National Bureau of Statistics website.

In fact, estimates show that the population had already hit the 36 million by 2003.

This year’s count will cost Sh7.4 billion.

From this evening, 145,000 enumerators and supervisors fan out across the country visiting homesteads to establish the number of people in Kenya and also to capture other critical data.

Nairobi provincial commissioner Njoroge Ndirangu, the alternate chairman of the census organising committee, has directed that all bars be closed by 7.30pm on Monday so that patrons can join their families for the count.

As the clock ticked towards the 2009 National Population and Housing Census, the seventh since 1948, President Kibaki declared Tuesday a public holiday.

In a public address to the nation broadcast from State House, the President announced that preparations for the counting were complete and urged all Kenyans to participate.

“The time has now come for us all to be counted. The programme is on schedule. All the districts have received the materials,” the President said during the 4pm television and radio address.

The counting will start from 6pm to 10pm Monday night, which is the official census night. However, the exercise will continue from 6am to 10pm daily until August 31.

The Head of State appealed to all Kenyans to observe limited movement and stay in-doors to be counted.

“The most critical day is Monday, August 24, which is the Census night. I, therefore, call upon all Kenyans to stay at home on this material day so as to participate fully in this noble exercise,” the President said, adding that the census is central to development planning.

He also asked pastoralists who have been moving in search of water and pasture for their livestock “to make arrangements that will enable them to be counted.”

The government through various ministries has put in place strategies to distribute relief food and water to pastoralists communities during the census.