Did you know that Ruiru Town in Kiambu County has more people than Kisumu City? Well, according to the 2019 census by Kenya National Bureau of Statists (KNBS), that is the reality.
According to KNBS, in 2019, Kenya had a population of 47.6 million, lower than what the majority of people and stakeholders expected.
But the ranking of towns in terms of the number of people they have is what has elicited different reactions online.
Nairobi City in Nairobi County leads with a population of 4,397,093 followed by Mombasa City in Mombasa County with 1,208,333. Nairobi and Mombasa are the only (towns) with a population of more than a million.
Nakuru in Nakuru County is the third most populous in Kenya with 570,674 followed by Ruiru Town in Kiambu County with 490,120. Eldoret in Uasin Gishu County has a population of 475,716 then Kisumu shocking many with just 397,957.
Here is a list of most populous towns in Kenya as released by the Kenya National Bureau of Statists (KNBS):
The breaking down of the numbers by KNBS is now going to elicit more discussions, especially among politicians, some of who feel “short-changed”.
Kenyans feel the population might have been higher than what was released by KNBS with some quoting the numbers at more than 52 million.
The numbers given play a big role in Kenya’s political landscape as they are broken down on who among the people are within the voting age. This plays a role during political negotiations with the famous phrase “what are you bringing on the table.”
The numbers will also determine whether some constituencies will be faced out by the IEBC for failing to meet the threshold in terms of the number of the people as outlined in the law.