A population census is the process of collecting, compiling, evaluating, analyzing and publishing demographic, social and/or economic data pertaining to all persons in a country or a well delimited part of a country. On the night of August 24th 2009, Kenya will hold its fifth National Population and Housing Census as an independent country.

Since 1969, Kenya is among the few countries in Africa that have carried out a population and housing census every ten years. The census provides us with a window to our current realities and provides us with the information we require to embrace the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. The counting of people is a universal exercise and virtually every country in the world carries a census albeit in varying intervals.

Information gathered from the census is an integral requirement for the development planning process and management of the affairs of a country. The statistics will tell us of our current status and can be used to provide information on how we can move on where we intend to go.

The census data is useful to the private sector for appraising market conditions and for making informed investment decisions. For example, it is important for estimating customer demand which depend among other factors, on size, composition and geographical distribution of the population. The census data is also widely used in conducting social and economic research.
As examples of usage of data, the census is designed to meet various data needs such as:

* The basis of updating population data bases up to the lowest level of administrative unit.
* Valuable input in monitoring the progress of implementation of vision 2030 and for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDG)
* Basis of preparing population projections.
* Benchmark data for studying the direction and trend of population changes.
* Access to hospitals, VCT centers and schools.
* Access to the use of ICT and mobile phones.
* Access to water and sanitation.

Importance of the Census:

The census provides a statistical snapshot of our country and its people. A vast majority of all countries regularly carry out a census to collect important information about the social and economic situation of the people living in its various regions.

Confidentiality:

All information collected will be confidential and used for planning and research only. All census officials will swear an “Oath of secrecy” as embodied in the Statistics Act 2006.The Oath forbids census officials to divulge the information collected to unauthorized persons.

Ethnic and Religious Compositions:

Yes, information on tribe/ethnicity will be collected due to its statistical and cultural value. The value lies not so much in the numbers, but in the label/attribute. Ethnic origin data paint a picture of Kenya’s cultural diversity and provide insight into the changing in-migration patterns and increasing diversity. Governments, community groups, ethnic and cultural organizations, school boards, hospitals, and researchers use ethnic data to assess the social-economic characteristics of people of different backgrounds.

A number of quality assurance measures are in place to ensure complete and accurate information is collected. Qualified and well trained senior supervisors and supervisors will control quality at the field level, while experts and key stakeholders from vrious census committees will oversee the exercise nationally. Additionally, an independent team of experts in census taking is expected to monitor the exercise nationally.

KENYANS IN DIASPORA

Household members will be asked some questions about their relatives living abroad.

Release Date

It is expected that preliminary results will be released by end of December 2009,with full reports on the various aspects of the census expected in the next year.

On The Day

Time: Counting of people will start on the night of 24th August 2009 and continue up to 31st August when counting is scheduled to end. People will be counted with reference to where they spent the night of the 24th August. It is expected that enumerators will spend about 30minutes in each house, though this may be shorter or longer depending on the size of the household.

Security: The security agencies are fully involved and are part of the national and district census committees. Enumerators will have official identity cards and T-shirts for ease of identification. Also they have been recruited from where they live therefore; they are people who are known by the locals. Enumerators will also be accompanied by village elders or headmen who are well known by the households.

If you are not counted: It may not be possible to reach everyone everywhere on the night of 24th August. The census teams will proceed with enumeration throughout the week, but all information will refer to the night of 24th August-census reference night. Those not enumerated by August 31st should report to the local provincial administrative office. However care must be taken to ensure that you have indeed not been enumerated. It is not uncommon for members who are momentarily away from their households to be enumerated in absentia.

(This is information i got from the government of Kenya)