Kenya's population grows by 10m over a decade

• The goodies provided for in new laws to be shared according to data in census report

Kenya’s population has increased by about 10 million people, or one third in a decade, the 2009 population and housing census, whose results will be released Tuesday morning, is expected to show.

The total count is a little over 38 million, up from 28.7 million in 1999.

Planning minister Mr Wycliffe Oparanya told the Nation on Monday that the national figure is “about 40 million”, meaning that population growth has been steady at one third over the last two decades.

Between 1989 and 1999, the national population grew by 34 per cent from 21.4 million to 28.7 million.

Mr Oparanya said the captured data will be representative of the 47 counties created by the new Constitution.

“The detailed results would also show population growth among various ethnic and religious groups in the country,” he said.

The minister, who spoke to the Nation by telephone from Mombasa, said that apart from the national statistics, the data collected gives details according to districts, constituencies and wards.

Mr Oparanya said giving the population of ethnic and religious groups should be taken positively because it will assist in general national development plans.

He said that, for the first time, population growth would be captured at intervals of five years, a development he said will make it easy to capture the data of both the young and the elderly.

“The report will help the Interim Independent Boundaries Review Commission draw up the boundaries of new administrative units and constituencies,” he said.

The new data will also help identify underdeveloped areas in terms of technology and those lagging behind in education.

“The report will be crucial in poverty index surveys and help the government design better ways of dealing with the situation,” he explained.

The minister defended the government against allegations that the results had been suspiciously delayed, saying that the report had not taken longer than previous ones.

Mr Oparanya said the results will be released Tuesday at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre.

“We have already briefed the President and the Prime Minister about the results and the two principals will not be attending the function,” said Mr Oparanya.