- Nairobi City is the Most Populous county in Kenya based on Census 2019
- Kiambu and Nakuru counties are 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
- The court cancelled the census figures in three counties, affecting the census 2019 outcome.
According to the census 2019 conducted by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, the total population in combination of 23,548,056 males, 24,014,716 females, and 1,524 intersexes stood at 47,564,296.
The population density stood at 82 per sq km, while the number of households (000’s) was at 12,143.9. Additionally, the result presented an average household size of 3.9, with an intercensal growth rate of 2.2 percent.
Court Ruling on 2019 Census Affecting Three Counties
However, the recent court ruling affecting Kenya’s three North Eastern counties—Mandera, Wajir, and Garissa—debunked the outcome of the population size, rendering them null and void, further ordering a repeat of the census in these counties.
The ruling delivered by Justice John Onyiego at the Garissa High Court on January 28th, 2025, cited discrepancies found in the census 2019 results.
The ruling came after a lengthy legal battle initiated by Abdullahi Bashir Sheik and 24 others who claimed that the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) manipulated the census data, which adversely affected resource allocation and political representation in the region.
Further, the court found out that the reported population decline in these counties was inconsistent with historical trends, thus raising doubts about the accuracy of the census figures.
The court also directed that government agencies ought to rely on the 2009 census data for planning and resource distribution until the new census is completed.
Similarly, the court prohibited constitutional bodies like the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) from using the disputed census of 2019 for any official purposes, including the delimitation of boundaries and resource allocation.
With regards to the court order prohibiting the government and constitutional institutions from relying on the census 2019 figures for the three counties, it remains clear that even the national figures remain challenged.
According to census 2019 results, Garissa, Wajir, and Mandera counties had a population size of 841, 353, 781, 263, and 867,457, respectively.
Nairobi City, Kiambu, and Nakuru counties have the top slot in terms of population size as per the census 2019 figures. Both counties had 4,397,073, 2,417,735, and 2,162,202 people, respectively.
Lamu, Isiolo, Samburu, and Tana River counties had the least population size, at 143,920, 268,002, 310,327, and 315,943, respectively.
