Kenyan Sample Characteristics
Census Characteristics
	1989	1999
Title	1989 Population and Housing census	1999 Population and Housing census
Census Agency	Central Bureau of Statistics Ministry of Finance and Planning	Central Bureau of Statistics Ministry of Finance and Planning
Population universe	All persons present in Kenya on the reference date. Microdata sample excludes vagrant population.	All persons present in Kenya on the reference date. The current version of the microdata sample excludes travelers and vagrants.
De jure/ de facto	de facto*	de facto*
Enumeration unit	Household	Household
Census day	October 25, 1989	August 25, 1999
Field work period	Unknown.	7 days after census day, to August 31
Enumeration forms	A long form was used to enumerate individuals in private households and in institutions such as schools, colleges, barracks, prisons, and hospitals. The long form includes both individual and housing characteristics. A greatly abbreviated form was used for persons in transit or who slept outdoors, in hotels or boarding houses.
Type of field work	Direct enumeration	Direct enumeration
Respondent	Householder or responsible adult
Undercount	No official estimate
Microdata sample characteristics
	1989	1999
Microdata source	Constructed by census agency. Microdata files dated October 31, 1995.	Constructed by census agency. Microdata files dated September 9, 2001.
Sample design	Systematic sample of every twentieth household.
Sampling unit	Households	Households
Sample fraction	5%	5%
Sample size (person records)	1,074,098	1,410,197
Sample weights	Self-weighting (expansion factor=20)	Self weighting (expansion factor=20)
Units identified
	1989	1999
Dwellings	Not identified in microdata sample	Not identified in microdata sample
Households	yes	yes
Persons	yes	yes
Special populations	Travelers, campers, lodgers (hotels)	Travelers, campers, lodgers (hotels) Note: These persons are not included in the current version of the microdata sample.
Group quarters	Included in microdata without identification	Included in microdata without identification
Definitions of units
	1989	1999
Private household	A person or a group of persons who live together in the same dwelling unit or homestead and eat together. They may or may not be related by blood or marriage
Group quarters	Group quarters consist of schools/colleges, barracks, prisons, hospitals and other institutions.
Special populations	Persons who sleep outdoors and travelers in hotels, lodges, and boarding houses
Dwelling/housing units	a) A homestead is a structurally separate and independent place of abode. b) A structure is a building that is used for dwelling purposes. In rural areas most of the structures will be found within a homestead and may contain one or more dwelling units. c) A dwelling unit is the abode occupied by the respondents and constitutes one or more households.
*The 1999 census is considered to be de facto. In cases where persons were likely to be omitted, such as those temporarily absent but somewhere else in Kenya, they are enumerated with their usual household (e.g., watchmen, nurses, police officers and shift workers on night duty, persons in transit by road, rail, or air, herdsmen out with cattle and livestock, night fishermen, hunters, honey harvesters and persons attending hospital out-patients).
Historical Note: Kenya has conducted five censuses since 1948. The first microdata sample drawn was for the 1969 census. Census microdata samples exist for the 1969 and 1979 enumerations. For 1979, two-thirds of the original microdata have been recovered by the Minnesota Population Center.
Sources: Central Bureau of Statistics Ministry of Finance and Planning, 1999 Population and housing census, vol II: Socio-economic profile of the population. Republic of Kenya, Kenya Population census 1989, Enumerator's instructions manual.