The total population of Kenya was estimated at approximately 52.44 million people in 2024. Following a continuous upward trend, the total population has risen by around 36.72 million people since 1980. Between 2024 and 2030, the total population will rise by around 5.54 million people, continuing its consistent upward trajectory.This indicator describes the total population in the country at hand. This total population of the country consists of all persons falling within the scope of the census.

The total population in Kenya was estimated at 52.4 million people in 2024, according to the latest census figures and projections from Trading Economics. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - Kenya Population - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Historical chart and dataset showing total population for Kenya by year from 1950 to 2025.

Key information about Kenya population

• The Kenya population reached 51.5 million people in Dec 2023, compared with the previously reported figure of 50.6 million people in Dec 2022
• The data reached an all-time high of 51.5 million people in Dec 2023 and a record low of 6.1 million people in Dec 1950

• In the latest reports, Kenya Unemployment Rate increased to 3.0 % in Dec 2020
• Monthly earnings of the Kenya population was 590.5 USD in Jun 2023
• Kenya Labour Force Participation Rate increased to 73.7 % in Dec 2023

Population ages 70-74, female (% of female population) in Kenya was reported at 0.81483 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Kenya - Population ages 70-74, female (% of female population) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

While the East African region, including Kenya, is one of first regions believed to have modern humans inhabit it, population growth in the region remained slow to non-existent throughout the 19th century; in the past hundred years, however, Kenya’s population has seen an exponential increase in size, going from 2.65 million in 1920, to an estimated 53.77 million in 2020.

Along with this population growth, Kenya has seen rapid urbanization and industrialization, particularly in recent decades. The metropolitan area of Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, with an estimated population of 9.35 million in 2020, now contains on its own over three and a half times the population of the entire country just a century earlier.

In 2023, the annual population growth in Kenya increased by 0.1 percentage points (+5.21 percent) compared to 2022. In total, the population growth amounted to 1.98 percent in 2023. Population growth deals with the annual change in total population, and is affected by factors such as fertility, mortality, and migration.Find more key insights for the annual population growth in countries like Ethiopia and Tanzania.

Population density (people per sq. km of land area) in Kenya was reported at 95.32 sq. Km in 2022, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Kenya - Population density (people per sq. km) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

Abstract

IPUMS-International is an effort to inventory, preserve, harmonize, and disseminate census microdata from around the world. The project has collected the world's largest archive of publicly available census samples. The data are coded and documented consistently across countries and over time to facillitate comparative research. IPUMS-International makes these data available to qualified researchers free of charge through a web dissemination system.

The IPUMS project is a collaboration of the Minnesota Population Center, National Statistical Offices, and international data archives. Major funding is provided by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the Demographic and Behavioral Sciences Branch of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Additional support is provided by the University of Minnesota Office of the Vice President for Research, the Minnesota Population Center, and Sun Microsystems.

Geographic coverage

National coverage

Analysis unit

Households

UNITS IDENTIFIED: - Dwellings: No - Households: Yes

UNIT DESCRIPTIONS: - Group quarters: Group quarters consist of schools/colleges, barracks, prisons, hospitals and other institutions.

Universe

All persons who spent the Census Night in

Kind of data

Census/enumeration data [cen]

Sampling procedure

MICRODATA SOURCE: Constructed by census agency.

SAMPLE DESIGN: Systematic sample of every tenth household.

SAMPLE FRACTION: 10%

SAMPLE UNIVERSE: The microdata sample includes conventional households, unconventional households (i.e. group quarters and those included in special populations), and households in refugee camps.

SAMPLE SIZE (person records): 3,841,935

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

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.

Kenya KE: Population: Total data was reported at 49,699,862.000 Person in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 48,461,567.000 Person for 2016. Kenya KE: Population: Total data is updated yearly, averaging 22,252,232.000 Person from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 49,699,862.000 Person in 2017 and a record low of 8,105,440.000 Person in 1960. Kenya KE: Population: Total data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Kenya – Table KE.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Total population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship. The values shown are midyear estimates.; ; (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision. (2) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (4) United Nations Statistical Division. Population and Vital Statistics Reprot (various years), (5) U.S. Census Bureau: International Database, and (6) Secretariat of the Pacific Community: Statistics and Demography Programme.; Sum; Relevance to gender indicator: disaggregating the population composition by gender will help a country in projecting its demand for social services on a gender basis.

Kenya's population was forecast to reach **** million people in 2050. According to the same forecast, the country had around **** million inhabitants in 2020, ranking among the most populated nations in Africa. In 2019, the last official census conducted in Kenya counted a population of some **** million people.

Results of Kenya's 6th National Census i.e The 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census Volume I, II, III, and IV reports.

Kenya KE: Population: as % of Total: Male: Aged 15-64 data was reported at 56.522 % in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 56.147 % for 2016. Kenya KE: Population: as % of Total: Male: Aged 15-64 data is updated yearly, averaging 48.868 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 56.522 % in 2017 and a record low of 46.680 % in 1982. Kenya KE: Population: as % of Total: Male: Aged 15-64 data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Kenya – Table KE.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Male population between the ages 15 to 64 as a percentage of the total male population. Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.; ; World Bank staff estimates based on age/sex distributions of United Nations Population Division's World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision.; Weighted average;

Graph and download economic data for Population, Total for Kenya (POPTOTKEA647NWDB) from 1960 to 2024 about Kenya and population.

Population, female (% of total population) in Kenya was reported at 50.28 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Kenya - Population, female (% of total) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

Kenya KE: Population: Growth data was reported at 2.523 % in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 2.561 % for 2016. Kenya KE: Population: Growth data is updated yearly, averaging 3.190 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3.818 % in 1982 and a record low of 2.523 % in 2017. Kenya KE: Population: Growth data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Kenya – Table KE.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Annual population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage . Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.; ; Derived from total population. Population source: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision, (2) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (4) United Nations Statistical Division. Population and Vital Statistics Reprot (various years), (5) U.S. Census Bureau: International Database, and (6) Secretariat of the Pacific Community: Statistics and Demography Programme.; Weighted average;

Graph and download economic data for Population Growth for Kenya (SPPOPGROWKEN) from 1961 to 2024 about Kenya, population, and rate.

Population ages 65 and above, male (% of male population) in Kenya was reported at 2.531 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Kenya - Population ages 65 and above, male (% of total) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

Kenya KE: Population: Female: Ages 20-24: % of Female Population data was reported at 9.202 % in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 9.138 % for 2016. Kenya KE: Population: Female: Ages 20-24: % of Female Population data is updated yearly, averaging 8.733 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 10.180 % in 2006 and a record low of 6.789 % in 1965. Kenya KE: Population: Female: Ages 20-24: % of Female Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Kenya – Table KE.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Female population between the ages 20 to 24 as a percentage of the total female population.; ; World Bank staff estimates based on age/sex distributions of United Nations Population Division's World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision.; ;

Abstract

The 1993 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) was a nationally representative survey of 7,540 women age 15-49 and 2,336 men age 20-54. The KDHS was designed to provide information on levels and trends of fertility, infant and child mortality, family planning knowledge and use, maternal and child health, and knowledge of AIDS. In addition, the male survey obtained data on men's knowledge and attitudes towards family planning and awareness of AIDS. The data are intended for use by programme managers and policymakers to evaluate and improve family planning and matemal and child health programmes. Fieldwork for the KDHS took place from mid-February until mid-August 1993. All areas of Kenya were covered by the survey, except for seven northem districts which together contain less than four percent of the country's population.

The KDHS was conducted by the National Council for Population and Development (NCPD) and the Central Bureau of Statistics of the Government of Kenya. Macro International Inc. provided financial and technical assistance to the project through the intemational Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) contract with the U.S. Agency for International Development.

OBJECTIVES

The KDHS is intended to serve as a source of population and health data for policymakers and the research community. It was designed as a follow-on to the 1989 KDHS, a national-level survey of similar size that was implemented by the same organisations. In general, the objectives of KDHS are to: - assess the overall demographic situation in Kenya, - assist in the evaluation of the population and health programmes in Kenya, - advance survey methodology, and - assist the NCPD to strengthen and improve its technical skills to conduct demographic and health surveys.

The KDHS was specifically designed to: - provide data on the family planning and fertility behaviour of the Kenyan population to enable the NCPD to evaluate and enhance the National Family Planning Programme, - measure changes in fertility and contraceptive prevalence and at the same time study the factors which affect these changes, such as marriage patterns, urban/rural residence, availability of contraception, breastfeeding habits and other socioeconomic factors, and - examine the basic indicators of maternal and child health in Kenya.

KEY FINDINGS

The 1993 KDHS reinforces evidence of a major decline in fertility which was first revealed by the findings of the 1989 KDHS. Fertility continues to decline and family planning use has increased. However, the disparity between knowledge and use of family planning remains quite wide. There are indications that infant and under five child mortality rates are increasing, which in part might be attributed to the increase in AIDS prevalence.

Geographic coverage

The 1993 KDHS sample is national in scope, with the exclusion of all three districts in North Eastern Province and four other northern districts (Samburu and Turkana in Rift Valley Province and Isiolo and 4 Marsabit in Eastern Province). Together the excluded areas account for less than 4 percent of Kenya's population.

Analysis unit

• Household
• Women age 15-49
• Men age 20-54
• Children under five

Universe

The population covered by the 1993 KDHS is defined as the universe of all women age 15-49 in Kenya and all husband age 20-54 living in the household.

Kind of data

Sample survey data

Sampling procedure

The sample for the 1993 KDHS was national in scope, with the exclusion of all three districts in Northeastern Province and four other northern districts (Isiolo and Marsabit from Eastern Province and Samburu and Turkana from Rift Valley Province). Together the excluded areas account for less than four percent of Kenya's population. The KDHS sample points were selected from a national master sample maintained by the Central Bureau of Statistics, the third National Sample Survey and Evaluation Programme (NASSEP-3), which is an improved version of NASSEP2 used in the 1989 survey. This master sample follows a two-stage design, stratified by urban-rural residence, and within the rural stratum, by individual district. In the first stage, 1989 census enumeration areas (EAs) were selected with probability proportional to size. The selected EAs were segmented into the expected number of standard-sized clusters to form NASSEP clusters. The entire master sample consists of 1,048 rural and 325 urban ~ sample points ("clusters"). A total of 536 clusters---92 urban and 444 rural--were selected for coverage in the KDHS. Of these, 520 were successfully covered. Sixteen clusters were inaccessible for various reasons.

As in the 1989 KDHS, selected districts were oversampled in the 1993 survey in order to produce more reliable estimates for certain variables at the district level. Fifteen districts were thus targetted in the 1993 KDHS: Bungoma, Kakamega, Kericho, Kilifi, Kisii, Machakos, Meru, Murang'a, Nakuru, Nandi, Nyeri, Siaya, South Nyanza, Taita-Taveta, and Uasin Gishu; in addition, Nairobi and Mombasa were also targetted. Although six of these districts were subdivided shortly before the sample design was finalised) the previous boundaries of these districts were used for the KDHS in order to maintain comparability with the 1989 survey. About 400 rural households were selected in each of these 15 districts, just over 1000 rural households in other districts, and about 18130 households in urban areas, for a total of almost 9,000 households. Due to this oversampling, the KDHS sample is not self-weighting at the national level.

After the selection of the KDHS sample points, fieldstaff from the Central Bureau of Statistics conducted a household listing operation in January and early February 1993, immediately prior to the launching of the fieldwork. A systematic sample of households was then selected from these lists, with an average "take" of 20 households in the urban clusters and 16 households in rural clusters, for a total of 8,864 households selected. Every other household was identified as selected for the male survey, meaning that, in addition to interviewing all women age 15-49, interviewers were to also interview all men age 20-54. It was expected that the sample would yield interviews with approximately 8,000 women age 15-49 and 2,500 men age 20-54.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face

Research instrument

Four types of questionnaires were used for the KDHS: a Household Questionnaire, a Woman's Questionnaire, a Man's Questionnaire and a Services Availability Questionnaire. The contents of these questionnaires were based on the DHS Model B Questionnaire, which is designed for use in countries with low levels of contraceptive use. Additions and modifications to the model questionnaires were made during a series of meetings organised around specific topics or sections of the questionnaires (e.g., fertility, family planning). The NCPD invited staff from a variety of organisations to attend these meetings, including the Population Studies Research Institute and other departments of the University of Nairobi, the Woman's Bureau, and various units of the Ministry of Health. The questionnaires were developed in English and then translated into and printed in Kiswahili and eight of the most widely spoken local languages in Kenya (Kalenjin, Kamba, Kikuyu, Kisii, Luhya, Luo, Meru, and Mijikenda).

a) The Household Questionnaire was used to list all the usual members and visitors of selected households. Some basic information was collected on the characteristics of each person listed, including his/her age, sex, education, and relationship to the head of the household. The main purpose of the Household Questionnaire was to identify women and men who were eligible for individual interview. In addition, information was collected about the dwelling itself, such as the source of water, type of toilet facilities, materials used to construct the house, and ownership of various consumer goods.

b) The Woman's Questionnaire was used to collect information from women aged 15-49. These women were asked questions on the following topics: Background characteristics (age, education, religion, etc.), Reproductive history, Knowledge and use of family planning methods, Antenatal and delivery care, Breastfeeding and weaning practices, Vaccinations and health of children under age five, Marriage, Fertility preferences, Husband's background and respondent's work, Awareness of AIDS. In addition, interviewing teams measured the height and weight of children under age five (identified through the birth histories) and their mothers.

c) Information from a subsample of men aged 20-54 was collected using a Man's Questionnaire. Men were asked about their background characteristics, knowledge and use of family planning methods, marriage, fertility preferences, and awareness of AIDS.

d) The Services Availability Questionnaire was used to collect information on the health and family planning services obtained within the cluster areas. One service availability questionnaire was to be completed in each cluster.

Cleaning operations

All questionnaires for the KDHS were returned to the NCPD headquarters for data processing. The processing operation consisted of office editing, coding of open-ended questions, data entry, and editing errors found by the computer programs. One NCPD officer, one data processing supervisor, one questionnaire administrator, two office editors, and initially four data entry operators were responsible for the data processing operation. Due to attrition and the need to speed up data processing, another four data entry operators were later hired