Kenya’s population grows by a million per year

Kenya’s population has grown by an average of one million people per year in the past 10 years, provisional data obtained by the Saturday Nation shows.

The data, based on the national census in August, shows that the number of people in the country grew by 37.43 per cent, from 28,686,607 at the 1999 census to 39,423,264 this year.

The figures also show that the country has a population density of 67 people per square kilometre, up from 49.

Documents obtained by the Saturday Nation from the Ministry of Planning show that the data was based on the country’s eight provinces, and included a breakdown of the population numbers in 69 regions of the provinces.

The figures are close to projections made ahead of the 2009 National Population and Housing Census, and indicate that the country’s literacy level is at 61.6 per cent, with Nairobi leading the pack at 87.1 per cent.

The lowest literacy level is recorded by North Eastern Province at 8.3 per cent, although Moyale in Eastern Province is said to have a literacy level of 1.6 per cent.

Nairobi Province has the highest population density of 4,684 people per square kilometre after its population grew from 2,143,254 to 3,260,124 — a 52.1 per cent growth and the highest anywhere in the country.

The most populous province in the country is Rift Valley — with a population of 10 million, up from the 6.9 million people recorded in the last census.

Highest number

The region with the highest number of people in Rift Valley is Nakuru, which is home to 1.7 million, while the region with the lowest population in the province is Koibatek, with 200,755.

The province with the lowest population is North Eastern, which has 1.3 million people, although it recorded the second highest growth after Nairobi.

Central Province had the lowest population growth of 28.4 per cent over the period, from 3,724,159 to 4,784,778 in the 10 years under review.

Nyanza Province is reported to have a population of 5,725,744, an increase of 1.3 million from the 1999 figures.

Western Province has 4.68 million people, up from 3,358,776 in 1999, while Coast Province has 3,419,757, up from 2,480,000 million in 1999.

Mombasa is said to have a population of 923,334, and has the second highest population density in the country — 4,014 people per square kilometre.

Nyanza Province is reported to have a population of 5,725,744 a massive increase of 1.3 million people from the 1999 figures.

Kiambu region has the highest population in Central province, reported at 956,956. On the other end is Murang’a region, which is reported to have a population of 449,769

The data from the province is divided into three regions - Garissa, Mandera and Wajir.