The 2009 national housing and population census results to be released tomorrow will include a detailed analysis of Kenya’s ethnic composition.

Director of Population and Social Statistics Dr. Collins Opiyo said unlike in 1999 where the information on tribes was captured but was never made public this time the Government has decided to publicize the same.

“This time as a Government we have decided it will be unprofessional not to release this information to Kenyans but we also advice them to use it responsibly,” he said.

Opiyo who was speaking during the 2009 census pre-launch media workshop at a Nairobi hotel said it was important to avail official statistical and cultural information to avoid misinformation. The data captured during the enumeration exercise includes demographic and social characteristics of sex, age, marital status, nationality and religion, education characteristics and ICT and asset ownership as well as housing conditions and amenities. It is also the first time that new topics such as disability, maternal mortality (deaths), livestock census (stock variety), use of ICT (computer/Internet, mobile phones), emigrants and births/deaths notification.

“The information we are going to release is from 158 districts as created and gazetted by December 2008 and that does not mean that we cannot be able to give results for the rest. We can reconstitute once we know the new boundaries and what has been gazetted,” Dr. Opiyo added.

He said Sh8.4 billion was used on the census exercise which was administered by 150,000 personnel. Asked to comment on the issue of census officials who have not received their payments, the population director said there were few cases of workers who are yet to receive their dues and it is because they either did not provide their bank account details or gave wrong details to their respective District Census Committees.

“We are still sorting out the few genuine cases. We want to make sure taxpayers’ money go to the right persons and no amount of pressure will make us to pay the wrong people.” The country’s population based on previous census results stood at 28.7 million people (1999), 21.4 million people (1989), 15.3 million people (1979) and 10.9 million (1969).

The last time the country carried out the census in 1999 the national population stood at 28.7 million people,