Kenya
-- Demography
The
population
of Kenya
is estimated
at 28,337,071
(July
1998)
[1] The
Kenyan
government
conducts
a full
census
every
ten years.
The first
official
census
since
independence
was conducted
in April
1969.
It put
the nation's
population
at 10,942,705.
When the
next census
was undertaken
in August
1979,
the figure
had risen
to 15,327,061
(allowing
for an
estimated
under-enumeration
of 5%).
According
to 1989
official
estimates,
the total
population
had climbed
to 21.4
million,
a figure
that yields
an annual
growth
rate of
3.3%,
down from
4.1% ten
years
earlier.
The UN
has estimated
Kenya's
population
in mid-1996
at 31.8m,
and the
World
Bank has
forecast
the nation's
average
demographic
growth
in 1993-2000
at 2.5%.
In recent
years,
the average
family
size has
decreased
from 6.7
children
per woman
in 1989
to 5.4
in 1993,
according
to a report
by the
Ministry
of Training,
Technology
and Research.
An important
factor
in this
decline
is an
increase
in the
number
of deaths
due to
AIDS.
The
1989 census
did not
provide
a breakdown
of the
population
by national
origin,
so the
numbers
of non-Africans
is unknown.
Estimates
from a
decade
earlier
put the
Asian
population
at 59,000,
a significant
drop from
139,000
in 1969.
During
the 1970s
many Asians
emigrated,
mainly
to the
UK. Today,
the Asian
population
has stabilized.
The most
recent
census
(taken
in 1989,
but released
only in
March
1994)
is the
first
to record
the ethnic
composition
of the
population,
though
its findings
are contested
on several
grounds
(see also
the Kenya
"Ethnicity"
section).
There
are few
reliable
data on
total
employment
levels
in Kenya
due to
difficulties
in assessing
the informal
sector.
In a 1994-96
Development
Plan,
the Ministry
of Planning
and National
Development
estimated
that 2.24m
Kenyans
were employed
(in 1995)
in the
urban
and rural
informal
sectors.
In 1993,
6.54m
Kenyans
were estimated
to be
employed
in some
capacity,
including
part-time,
in rural
areas.
The Development
Plan projected
that total
employment
would
increase
from 8.78m
in 1993
to 10.25m
in 1996,
with 75%
of new
jobs in
rural
areas.[2]
Demographic
Statistics
Population
Year19401950196019701980199020002010
Millions4.56.08.111.216.724.937.556.6
Population
distribution
by age:
Age%
0-1451.4
15-2924.8
30-4413.2
45-597.0
60-743.0
75
and over0.6
Source:
Kurian,
George
Thomas
1992.
Encyclopedia
of the
Third
World,
fourth
edition,
volume
III, Facts
on File:
New York,
N.Y
Other
demographic
indicators,
1998 estimates
Population
growth
rate1.71%
Birth
rate per
1,00031.68
Death
rate per
1,00014.19
Sex
Ratio
(Males/Females)
At
birth1.03
Under
151.02
15-641.0
over
650.78
Infant
mortality
rate per
1,000
births59.38
Total
fertility
rate 4.07
children
born per
woman
Source:
CIA World
Fact Book,
1998.
[1]
CIA World
Fact Book,1998
[2] The
Economist
Intelligence
Unit,
1998,
Country
Profile.
Kenya,
The Unit:
London,
pp.17-18.