Tribes and their numbers: Statistics bureau releases Kenya ethnic composition results

By , K24 Digital
On Fri, 21 Feb, 2020 17:04 | 2 mins read
Kenya’s debt stands at 65.6% of the gross domestic product and the national treasury is in the process of seeking another Ksh252.9 billion from the IMF. [PHOTO | FILE]
A busy street in Nairobi, Kenya. PHOTO | FILE
Kenya’s debt stands at 65.6% of the gross domestic product and the national treasury is in the process of seeking another Ksh252.9 billion from the IMF. [PHOTO | FILE]

The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) on Friday afternoon released statistics results showing the distribution of ethnic groups in Kenya as per the 2019 population census.

Members of the Kikuyu ethnic community are the majority in Kenya with a population of 8.14 million.

Luhya ethnic group follows with a population size of 6.82 million, Kalenjins come in third with a size of 6.4 million, the Luos are fourth with a population size of 5.1 million, the Kambas are fifth with a population size of 4.7 million, Somalis wrap up the Top Six, with a collective population of 2.8 million.

Members of the Kisii ethnic community are seventh with a population size of 2.7 million, the Mijikenda are eighth with a population size of 2.5 million.

Members of the Meru ethnic group are ninth with a population size of 2.0 million, and Maasais wrap up the Top Ten with a population size of 1.2 million.

The results show that at least 75 per cent of the Kenyan population is aged below 35 years.

Members of the Christian religious faith comprises 85.5 per cent of the Kenyan population, with 33.4 per cent being protestants, 20.6 per cent being Catholics and 20.4 per cent being of the Evangelical denomination.

The Muslim population stands at 11 per cent, with below 3.5 per cent being Hindus, and members of other religious faiths.

Kenyans of working age (15 to 64 years) in 2019 rose to 27.2 million from 20.7 million in 2009. That age bracket represents 57.1 of the total population in 2019.

At least 6.4 million Kenyans revealed they practiced farming, with a majority saying they grew maize, beans and banana crops.

Livestock and poultry farmers revealed the number of domestic animals they kept. The population of chicken in Kenya is 38.8 million, goats is 28 million, sheep is 19.3 million, cattle is 15.8 million.

The 2019 Census data also indicated that 50.4 per cent of houses in Kenya are connected to the electrical grid, compared to 22.7 per cent in 2009.

Nineteen per cent of Kenyan households today use solar energy compared to 1.6 per cent in 2009.

Sixty one per cent of Kenyans own their own homes compared to 30.7 per cent, who live in rented houses.

Twenty million, six hundred thousand (20, 694, 315) Kenyans aged above 3 years own a mobile phone, representing 47.3 per cent of the total population.

Nairobi leads as the most-populated urban centre with a size of 4.4 million Kenyans. Mombasa follows at 1.2 million, Nakuru comes third with a population of 590, 000 Kenyans, Ruiru is fourth with 490, 000 and Eldoret is fifth with 476, 000.

Thirty-one per cent of Kenyans live in urban settings in 2019 compared to 24.1 per cent in 2009.

The KNBS Census results release held February 21 at the Treasury Building on Harambee Avenue, Nairobi, was attended by Treasury minister Ukur Yattani.