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Kenya 2019 Census Results: Population by County, Sex and Households

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In this article
  1. Headline Results at a Glance
  2. Key Takeaways
  3. Population by County (2019 Census)
  4. Notes on the Census
  5. Sources and useful links

How many of us are there? According to the 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census, Kenya had 47,564,296 people. The census was carried out by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) in August 2019, and the first results were released in November 2019. They are still Kenya’s official population count, used for everything from county revenue sharing to planning schools and hospitals. Here are the headline numbers and the population of every county.

Headline Results at a Glance

Item 2019 Census figure
Total population 47,564,296
Male 23,548,056
Female 24,014,716
Intersex 1,524
Total households 12,143,913
Conventional households 12,043,016
Group quarters (e.g. boarding schools, prisons, barracks, hospitals) 100,897
Land area 580,895 sq km
Population density 82 people per sq km

Key Takeaways

  • Women slightly outnumber men: there were about 467,000 more females than males.
  • A first for intersex Kenyans: 2019 was the first Kenyan census to count intersex persons, recording 1,524.
  • Nairobi is the biggest county with 4,397,073 people, followed by Kiambu (2,417,735) and Nakuru (2,162,202).
  • Lamu is the smallest with 143,920 people, followed by Isiolo (268,002) and Samburu (310,327).
  • Most crowded: Nairobi City has about 6,247 people per sq km and Mombasa about 5,495. Least crowded: Marsabit, at about 6 people per sq km.
  • Household size: dividing the total population by the number of households gives roughly 3.9 people per household.
  • Six counties had more than 1.5 million people: Nairobi, Kiambu, Nakuru, Kakamega, Bungoma and Meru.

Population by County (2019 Census)

Counties are ranked from the most to the least populated. Land area is in square kilometres and density is people per square kilometre (both rounded).

Rank County Total population Male Female Intersex Households Land area (sq km) Density
1 Nairobi City 4,397,073 2,192,452 2,204,376 245 1,506,888 704 6,247
2 Kiambu 2,417,735 1,187,146 1,230,454 135 795,241 2,539 952
3 Nakuru 2,162,202 1,077,272 1,084,835 95 616,046 7,505 288
4 Kakamega 1,867,579 897,133 970,406 40 433,207 3,017 619
5 Bungoma 1,670,570 812,146 858,389 35 358,796 3,024 552
6 Meru 1,545,714 767,698 777,975 41 426,360 7,014 220
7 Kilifi 1,453,787 704,089 749,673 25 298,472 12,553 116
8 Machakos 1,421,932 710,707 711,191 34 402,466 6,037 236
9 Kisii 1,266,860 605,784 661,038 38 308,054 1,323 957
10 Mombasa 1,208,333 610,257 598,046 30 378,422 220 5,495
11 Uasin Gishu 1,163,186 580,269 582,889 28 304,943 3,399 342
12 Narok 1,157,873 579,042 578,805 26 241,125 17,932 65
13 Kisumu 1,155,574 560,942 594,609 23 300,745 2,085 554
14 Kitui 1,136,187 549,003 587,151 33 262,942 30,430 37
15 Homa Bay 1,131,950 539,560 592,367 23 262,036 3,153 359
16 Kajiado 1,117,840 557,098 560,704 38 316,179 21,871 51
17 Migori 1,116,436 536,187 580,214 35 240,168 2,613 427
18 Murang’a 1,056,640 523,940 532,669 31 318,105 2,523 419
19 Siaya 993,183 471,669 521,496 18 250,698 2,530 393
20 Trans Nzoia 990,341 489,107 501,206 28 223,808 2,495 397
21 Makueni 987,653 489,691 497,942 20 244,669 8,177 121
22 Turkana 926,976 478,087 448,868 21 164,519 68,233 14
23 Kericho 901,777 450,741 451,008 28 206,036 2,436 370
24 Busia 893,681 426,252 467,401 28 198,152 1,700 526
25 Nandi 885,711 441,259 444,430 22 199,426 2,849 311
26 Bomet 875,689 434,287 441,379 23 187,641 2,507 349
27 Mandera 867,457 434,976 432,444 37 125,763 25,942 33
28 Kwale 866,820 425,121 441,681 18 173,176 8,254 105
29 Garissa 841,353 458,975 382,344 34 141,394 44,753 19
30 Wajir 781,263 415,374 365,840 49 127,932 56,774 14
31 Nyeri 759,164 374,288 384,845 31 248,050 3,325 228
32 Baringo 666,763 336,322 330,428 13 142,518 10,985 61
33 Nyandarua 638,289 315,022 323,247 20 179,686 3,286 194
34 West Pokot 621,241 307,013 314,213 15 116,182 9,123 68
35 Kirinyaga 610,411 302,011 308,369 31 204,188 1,478 413
36 Embu 608,599 304,208 304,367 24 182,743 2,821 216
37 Nyamira 605,576 290,907 314,656 13 150,669 897 675
38 Vihiga 590,013 283,678 306,323 12 143,365 564 1,047
39 Laikipia 518,560 259,440 259,102 18 149,271 9,508 55
40 Marsabit 459,785 243,548 216,219 18 77,495 70,944 6
41 Elgeyo-Marakwet 454,480 227,317 227,151 12 99,861 3,032 150
42 Tharaka-Nithi 393,177 193,764 199,406 7 109,860 2,564 153
43 Taita-Taveta 340,671 173,337 167,327 7 96,429 17,152 20
44 Tana River 315,943 158,550 157,391 2 68,242 37,904 8
45 Samburu 310,327 156,774 153,546 7 65,910 21,090 15
46 Isiolo 268,002 139,510 128,483 9 58,072 25,349 11
47 Lamu 143,920 76,103 67,813 4 37,963 6,283 23

Want to know more about a particular county, such as its constituencies and leaders? See our guide to all 47 counties in Kenya, the Kenya counties map and the list of constituencies in Kenya.

Notes on the Census

  • The figures above are from KNBS’s 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census, Volume I tables (population by county and sex, households, land area and density).
  • “Households” includes both conventional households and group quarters such as boarding schools, hospitals, prisons and barracks.
  • KNBS published the full results in several volumes, including distribution by administrative unit (county and sub-county), by age and sex, and by socio-economic characteristics (education, work, housing, ICT and more). In 2019 Kenya had 47 counties and 337 sub-counties.
  • Population figures for later years are projections, not census counts. The 2019 census remains the latest full count until the next national census.