Abstract

The 2014 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) provides information to help monitor and evaluate population and health status in Kenya. The survey, which follows up KDHS surveys conducted in 1989, 1993, 1998, 2003, and 2008-09, is of special importance for several reasons. New indicators not collected in previous KDHS surveys, such as noncommunicable diseases, fistula, and men's experience of domestic violence, are included. Also, it is the first national survey to provide estimates for demographic and health indicators at the county level. Following adoption of a constitution in Kenya in 2010 and devolution of administrative powers to the counties, the new 2014 KDHS data should be valuable to managers and planners. The 2014 KDHS has specifically collected data to estimate fertility, to assess childhood, maternal, and adult mortality, to measure changes in fertility and contraceptive prevalence, to examine basic indicators of maternal and child health, to estimate nutritional status of women and children, to describe patterns of knowledge and behaviour related to the transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, and to ascertain the extent and pattern of domestic violence and female genital cutting. Unlike the 2003 and 2008-09 KDHS surveys, this survey did not include HIV and AIDS testing. HIV prevalence estimates are available from the 2012 Kenya AIDS Indicator Survey (KAIS), completed prior to the 2014 KDHS. Results from the 2014 KDHS show a continued decline in the total fertility rate (TFR). Fertility decreased from 4.9 births per woman in 2003 to 4.6 in 2008-09 and further to 3.9 in 2014, a one-child decline over the past 10 years and the lowest TFR ever recorded in Kenya. This is corroborated by the marked increase in the contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) from 46 percent in 2008-09 to 58 percent in the current survey. The decline in fertility accompanies a marked decline in infant and child mortality. All early childhood mortality rates have declined between the 2003 and 2014 KDHS surveys. Total under-5 mortality declined from 115 deaths per 1,000 live births in the 2003 KDHS to 52 deaths per 1,000 live births in the 2014 KDHS. The maternal mortality ratio is 362 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births for the seven-year period preceding the survey; however, this is not statistically different from the ratios reported in the 2003 and 2008-09 KDHS surveys and does not indicate any decline over time. The proportion of mothers who reported receiving antenatal care from a skilled health provider increased from 88 percent to 96 percent between 2003 and 2014. The percentage of births attended by a skilled provider and the percentage of births occurring in health facilities each increased by about 20 percentage points between 2003 and 2014. The percentage of children age 12-23 months who have received all basic vaccines increased slightly from the 77 percent observed in the 2008-09 KDHS to 79 percent in 2014. Six in ten households (59 percent) own at least one insecticide-treated net, and 48 percent of Kenyans have access to one. In malaria endemic areas, 39 percent of women received the recommended dosage of intermittent preventive treatment for malaria during pregnancy. Awareness of AIDS is universal in Kenya; however, only 56 percent of women and 66 percent of men have comprehensive knowledge about HIV and AIDS prevention and transmission. The 2014 KDHS was conducted as a joint effort by many organisations. The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) served as the implementing agency by providing guidance in the overall survey planning, development of survey tools, training of personnel, data collection, processing, analysis, and dissemination of the results. The Bureau would like to acknowledge and appreciate the institutions and agencies for roles they played that resulted in the success of this exercise: Ministry of Health (MOH), National AIDS Control Council (NACC), National Council for Population and Development (NCPD), Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), Ministry of Labour, Social Security and Services, United States Agency for International Development (USAID/Kenya), ICF International, United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA), the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DfID), World Bank, Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), German Development Bank (KfW), World Food Programme (WFP), Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), Micronutrient Initiative (MI), US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), and the World Health Organization (WHO). The management of such a huge undertaking was made possible through the help of a signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) by all the partners and the creation of active Steering and Technical Committees.

Geographic coverage

County, Urban, Rural and National

Analysis unit

Households

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

The sample for the 2014 KDHS was drawn from a master sampling frame, the Fifth National Sample Survey and Evaluation Programme (NASSEP V). This is a frame that the KNBS currently operates to conduct household-based surveys throughout Kenya. Development of the frame began in 2012, and it contains a total of 5,360 clusters split into four equal subsamples. These clusters were drawn with a stratified probability proportional to size sampling methodology from 96,251 enumeration areas (EAs) in the 2009 Kenya Population and Housing Census. The 2014 KDHS used two subsamples of the NASSEP V frame that were developed in 2013. Approximately half of the clusters in these two subsamples were updated between November 2013 and September 2014. Kenya is divided into 47 counties that serve as devolved units of administration, created in the new constitution of 2010. During the development of the NASSEP V, each of the 47 counties was stratified into urban and rural strata; since Nairobi county and Mombasa county have only urban areas, the resulting total was 92 sampling strata. The 2014 KDHS was designed to produce representative estimates for most of the survey indicators at the national level, for urban and rural areas separately, at the regional (former provincial1) level, and for selected indicators at the county level. In order to meet these objectives, the sample was designed to have 40,300 households from 1,612 clusters spread across the country, with 995 clusters in rural areas and 617 in urban areas. Samples were selected independently in each sampling stratum, using a two-stage sample design. In the first stage, the 1,612 EAs were selected with equal probability from the NASSEP V frame. The households from listing operations served as the sampling frame for the second stage of selection, in which 25 households were selected from each cluster. The interviewers visited only the preselected households, and no replacement of the preselected households was allowed during data collection. The Household Questionnaire and the Woman's Questionnaire were administered in all households, while the Man's Questionnaire was administered in every second household. Because of the non-proportional allocation to the sampling strata and the fixed sample size per cluster, the survey was not self-weighting. The resulting data have, therefore, been weighted to be representative at the national, regional, and county levels.

Sampling deviation

Not available

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

The 2014 KDHS used a household questionnaire, a questionnaire for women age 15-49, and a questionnaire for men age 15-54. These instruments were based on the model questionnaires developed for The DHS Program, the questionnaires used in the previous KDHS surveys, and the current information needs of Kenya. During the development of the questionnaires, input was sought from a variety of organisations that are expected to use the resulting data. A two-day workshop involving key stakeholders was held to discuss the questionnaire design. Producing county-level estimates requires collecting data from a large number of households within each county, resulting in a considerable increase in the sample size from 9,936 households in the 2008-09 KDHS to 40,300 households in 2014. A survey of this magnitude introduces concerns related to data quality and overall management. To address these concerns, reduce the length of fieldwork, and limit interviewer and respondent fatigue, a decision was made to not implement the full questionnaire in every household and, in so doing, to collect only priority indicators at the county level. Stakeholders generated a list of these priority indicators. Short household and woman's questionnaires were then designed based on the full questionnaires; the short questionnaires contain the subset of questions from the full questionnaires required to measure the priority indicators at the county level. Thus, a total of five questionnaires were used in the 2014 KDHS: (1) a full Household Questionnaire, (2) a short Household Questionnaire, (3) a full Woman's Questionnaire, (4) a short Woman's Questionnaire, and (5) a Man's Questionnaire. The 2014 KDHS sample was divided into halves. In one half, households were administered the full Household Questionnaire, the full Woman's Questionnaire, and the Man's Questionnaire. In the other half, households were administered the short Household Questionnaire and the short Woman's Questionnaire. Selection of these subsamples was done at the household level-within a cluster, one in every two

Abstract

The 2022 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (2022 KDHS) is the seventh DHS survey implemented in Kenya. The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) in collaboration with the Ministry of Health (MoH) and other stakeholders implemented the survey. Survey planning began in late 2020 with data collection taking place from February 17 to July 19, 2022. ICF provided technical assistance through The DHS Program, which is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and offers financial support and technical assistance for population and health surveys in countries worldwide. Other agencies and organizations that facilitated the successful implementation of the survey through technical or financial support were the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Bank, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Nutrition International, the World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Clinton Health Access Initiative, and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

SURVEY OBJECTIVES The primary objective of the 2022 KDHS is to provide up-to-date estimates of demographic, health, and nutrition indicators to guide the planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of population and health-related programs at the national and county levels. The specific objectives of the 2022 KDHS are to: Estimate fertility levels and contraceptive prevalence Estimate childhood mortality Provide basic indicators of maternal and child health Estimate the Early Childhood Development Index (ECDI) Collect anthropometric measures for children, women, and men Collect information on children's nutrition Collect information on women's dietary diversity Obtain information on knowledge and behavior related to transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) Obtain information on noncommunicable diseases and other health issues Ascertain the extent and patterns of domestic violence and female genital mutilation/cutting

Geographic coverage

National coverage

Analysis unit

Household, individuals, county and national level

Universe

The survey covered sampled households

Sampling procedure

The sample for the 2022 KDHS was drawn from the Kenya Household Master Sample Frame (K-HMSF). This is the frame that KNBS currently operates to conduct household-based sample surveys in Kenya. In 2019, Kenya conducted a Population and Housing Census, and a total of 129,067 enumeration areas (EAs) were developed. Of these EAs, 10,000 were selected with probability proportional to size to create the K-HMSF. The 10,000 EAs were randomized into four equal subsamples. The survey sample was drawn from one of the four subsamples. The EAs were developed into clusters through a process of household listing and geo-referencing. To design the frame, each of the 47 counties in Kenya was stratified into rural and urban strata, resulting in 92 strata since Nairobi City and Mombasa counties are purely urban.

The 2022 KDHS was designed to provide estimates at the national level, for rural and urban areas, and, for some indicators, at the county level. Given this, the sample was designed to have 42,300 households, with 25 households selected per cluster, resulting into 1,692 clusters spread across the country with 1,026 clusters in rural areas and 666 in urban areas.

Mode of data collection

Computer Assisted Personal Interview [capi]

Research instrument

Eight questionnaires were used for the 2022 KDHS: 1. A full Household Questionnaire 2. A short Household Questionnaire 3. A full Woman's Questionnaire 4. A short Woman's Questionnaire 5. A Man's Questionnaire 6. A full Biomarker Questionnaire 7. A short Biomarker Questionnaire 8. A Fieldworker Questionnaire.

The Household Questionnaire collected information on: o Background characteristics of each person in the household (for example, name, sex, age, education, relationship to the household head, survival of parents among children under age 18) o Disability o Assets, land ownership, and housing characteristics o Sanitation, water, and other environmental health issues o Health expenditures o Accident and injury o COVID-19 (prevalence, vaccination, and related deaths) o Household food consumption

The Woman's Questionnaire was used to collect information from women age 15-49 on the following topics: o Socioeconomic and demographic characteristics o Reproduction o Family planning o Maternal health care and breastfeeding o Vaccination and health of children o Children's nutrition o Woman's dietary diversity o Early childhood development o Marriage and sexual activity o Fertility preferences o Husbands' background characteristics and women's employment activity o HIV/AIDS, other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and tuberculosis (TB) o Other health issues o Early Childhood Development Index 2030 o Chronic diseases o Female genital mutilation/cutting o Domestic violence

The Man's Questionnaire was administered to men age 15-54 living in the households selected for long Household Questionnaires. The questionnaire collected information on: o Socioeconomic and demographic characteristics o Reproduction o Family planning o Marriage and sexual activity o Fertility preferences o Employment and gender roles o HIV/AIDS, other STIs, and TB o Other health issues o Chronic diseases o Female genital mutilation/cutting o Domestic violence

The Biomarker Questionnaire collected information on anthropometry (weight and height). The long Biomarker Questionnaire collected anthropometry measurements for children age 0-59 months, women age 15-49, and men age 15-54, while the short questionnaire collected weight and height measurements only for children age 0-59 months.

The Fieldworker Questionnaire was used to collect basic background information on the people who collected data in the field. This included team supervisors, interviewers, and biomarker technicians.

All questionnaires except the Fieldworker Questionnaire were translated into the Swahili language to make it easier for interviewers to ask questions in a language that respondents could understand.

Cleaning operations

Data were downloaded from the central servers and checked against the inventory of expected returns to account for all data collected in the field. SyncCloud was also used to generate field check tables to monitor progress and flag any errors, which were communicated back to the field teams for correction.

Secondary editing was done by members of the central office team, who resolved any errors that were not corrected by field teams during data collection. A CSPro batch editing tool was used for cleaning and tabulation during data analysis.

Response rate

A total of 42,022 households were selected for the sample, of which 38,731 (92%) were found to be occupied. Among the occupied households, 37,911 were successfully interviewed, yielding a response rate of 98%. The response rates for urban and rural households were 96% and 99%, respectively. In the interviewed households, 33,879 women age 15-49 were identified as eligible for individual interviews. Interviews were completed with 32,156 women, yielding a response rate of 95%. The response rates among women selected for the full and short questionnaires were the similar (95%). In the households selected for the male survey, 16,552 men age 15-54 were identified as eligible for individual interviews and 14,453 were successfully interviewed, yielding a response rate of 87%.

Abstract

The 1998 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) is a nationally representative survey of 7,881 wo 881 women age 15-49 and 3,407 men age 15-54. The KDHS was implemented by the National Council for Population and Development (NCPD) and the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), with significant technical and logistical support provided by the Ministry of Health and various other governmental and nongovernmental organizations in Kenya. Macro International Inc. of Calverton, Maryland (U.S.A.) provided technical assistance throughout the course of the project in the context of the worldwide Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) programme, while financial assistance was provided by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID/Nairobi) and the Department for International Development (DFID/U.K.). Data collection for the KDHS was conducted from February to July 1998. Like the previous KDHS surveys conducted in 1989 and 1993, the 1998 KDHS was designed to provide information on levels and trends in fertility, family planning knowledge and use, infant and child mortality, and other maternal and child health indicators. However, the 1998 KDHS went further to collect more in-depth data on knowledge and behaviours related to AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), detailed “calendar” data that allows estimation of contraceptive discontinuation rates, and information related to the practice of female circumcision. Further, unlike earlier surveys, the 1998 KDHS provides a national estimate of the level of maternal mortality (i.e. related to pregnancy and childbearing).The KDHS data are intended for use by programme managers and policymakers to evaluate and improve health and family planning programmes in Kenya. Fertility. The survey results demonstrate a continuation of the fertility transition in Kenya. At current fertility levels, a Kenyan women will bear 4.7 children in her life, down 30 percent from the 1989 KDHS when the total fertility rate (TFR) was 6.7 children, and 42 percent since the 1977/78 Kenya Fertility Survey (KFS) when the TFR was 8.1 children per woman. A rural woman can expect to have 5.2 children, around two children more than an urban women (3.1 children). Fertility differentials by women's education level are even more remarkable; women with no education will bear an average of 5.8 children, compared to 3.5 children for women with secondary school education. Marriage. The age at which women and men first marry has risen slowly over the past 20 years. Currently, women marry for the first time at an average age of 20 years, compared with 25 years for men. Women with a secondary education marry five years later (22) than women with no education (17).The KDHS data indicate that the practice of polygyny continues to decline in Kenya. Sixteen percent of currently married women are in a polygynous union (i.e., their husband has at least one other wife), compared with 19 percent of women in the 1993 KDHS, 23 percent in the 1989 KDHS, and 30 percent in the 1977/78 KFS. While men first marry an average of 5 years later than women, men become sexual active about onehalf of a year earlier than women; in the youngest age cohort for which estimates are available (age 20-24), first sex occurs at age 16.8 for women and 16.2 for men. Fertility Preferences. Fifty-three percent of women and 46 percent of men in Kenya do not want to have any more children. Another 25 percent of women and 27 percent of men would like to delay their next child for two years or longer. Thus, about three-quarters of women and men either want to limit or to space their births. The survey results show that, of all births in the last three years, 1 in 10 was unwanted and 1 in 3 was mistimed. If all unwanted births were avoided, the fertility rate in Kenya would fall from 4.7 to 3.5 children per woman. Family Planning. Knowledge and use of family planning in Kenya has continued to rise over the last several years. The 1998 KDHS shows that virtually all married women (98 percent) and men (99 percent) were able to cite at least one modern method of contraception. The pill, condoms, injectables, and female sterlisation are the most widely known methods. Overall, 39 percent of currently married women are using a method of contraception. Use of modern methods has increased from 27 in the 1993 KDHS to 32 percent in the 1998 KDHS. Currently, the most widely used methods are contraceptive injectables (12 percent of married women), the pill (9 percent), female sterilisation (6 percent), and periodic abstinence (6 percent). Three percent of married women are using the IUD, while over 1 percent report using the condom and 1 percent use of contraceptive implants (Norplant). The rapid increase in use of injectables (from 7 to 12 percent between 1993 and 1998) to become the predominant method, plus small rises in the use of implants, condoms and female sterilisation have more than offset small decreases in pill and IUD use. Thus, both new acceptance of contraception and method switching have characterised the 1993-1998 intersurvey period. Contraceptive use varies widely among geographic and socioeconomic subgroups. More than half of currently married women in Central Province (61 percent) and Nairobi Province (56 percent) are currently using a method, compared with 28 percent in Nyanza Province and 22 percent in Coast Province. Just 23 percent of women with no education use contraception versus 57 percent of women with at least some secondary education. Government facilities provide contraceptives to 58 percent of users, while 33 percent are supplied by private medical sources, 5 percent through other private sources, and 3 percent through community-based distribution (CBD) agents. This represents a significant shift in sourcing away from public outlets, a decline from 68 percent estimated in the 1993 KDHS. While the government continues to provide about two-thirds of IUD insertions and female sterilisations, the percentage of pills and injectables supplied out of government facilities has dropped from over 70 percent in 1993 to 53 percent for pills and 64 percent for injectables in 1998. Supply of condoms through public sector facilities has also declined: from 37 to 21 percent between 1993 and 1998. The survey results indicate that 24 percent of married women have an unmet need for family planning (either for spacing or limiting births). This group comprises married women who are not using a method of family planning but either want to wait two year or more for their next birth (14 percent) or do not want any more children (10 percent). While encouraging that unmet need at the national level has declined (from 34 to 24 percent) since 1993, there are parts of the country where the need for contraception remains high. For example, the level of unmet need is higher in Western Province (32 percent) and Coast Province (30 province) than elsewhere in Kenya. Early Childhood Mortality. One of the main objectives of the KDHS was to document current levels and trends in mortality among children under age 5. Results from the 1998 KDHS data make clear that childhood mortality conditions have worsened in the early-mid 1990s; this after a period of steadily improving child survival prospects through the mid-to-late 1980s. Under-five mortality, the probability of dying before the fifth birthday, stands at 112 deaths per 1000 live births which represents a 24 percent increase over the last decade. Survival chances during age 1-4 years suffered disproportionately: rising 38 percent over the same period. Survey results show that childhood mortality is especially high when associated with two factors: a short preceding birth interval and a low level of maternal education. The risk of dying in the first year of life is more than doubled when the child is born after an interval of less than 24 months. Children of women with no education experience an under-five mortality rate that is two times higher than children of women who attended secondary school or higher. Provincial differentials in childhood mortality are striking; under-five mortality ranges from a low of 34 deaths per 1000 live births in Central Province to a high of 199 per 1000 in Nyanza Province. Maternal Health. Utilisation of antenatal services is high in Kenya; in the three years before the survey, mothers received antenatal care for 92 percent of births (Note: These data do not speak to the quality of those antenatal services). The median number of antenatal visits per pregnancy was 3.7. Most antenatal care is provided by nurses and trained midwives (64 percent), but the percentage provided by doctors (28 percent) has risen in recent years. Still, over one-third of women who do receive care, start during the third trimester of pregnancy-too late to receive the optimum benefits of antenatal care. Mothers reported receiving at least one tetanus toxoid injection during pregnancy for 90 percent of births in the three years before the survey. Tetanus toxoid is a powerful weapon in the fight against neonatal tetanus, a deadly disease that attacks young infants. Forty-two percent of births take place in health facilities; however, this figure varies from around three-quarters of births in Nairobi to around one-quarter of births in Western Province. It is important for the health of both the mother and child that trained medical personnel are available in cases of prolonged labour or obstructed delivery, which are major causes of maternal morbidity and mortality. The 1998 KDHS collected information that allows estimation of mortality related to pregnancy and childbearing. For the 10-year period before the survey, the maternal mortality ratio was estimated to be 590 deaths per 100,000 live births. Bearing on average 4.7 children, a Kenyan woman has a 1 in 36 chance of dying from maternal causes during her lifetime. Childhood Immunisation. The KDHS

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.

Kenya KE: Population Projection: Mid Year: Growth data was reported at 0.840 % in 2050. This records a decrease from the previous number of 0.860 % for 2049. Kenya KE: Population Projection: Mid Year: Growth data is updated yearly, averaging 2.020 % from Jun 1979 (Median) to 2050, with 72 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 4.040 % in 1979 and a record low of 0.840 % in 2050. Kenya KE: Population Projection: Mid Year: Growth data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by US Census Bureau. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Kenya – Table KE.US Census Bureau: Demographic Projection.

The 2014 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (2014 KDHS) samples over 40,000 households on their composition and health issues. It covers household characteristics, education and employment, marriage and sexual activity, fertility levels and preferences, awareness and use of family planning methods, maternal and child health and survival, nutritional status, ownership and use of mosquito nets, knowledge and behaviours regarding HIV, domestic violence, female circumcision, and fistula. Carried our every five years this edition carried out the survey at county levels and additionally added key insights into new health related conditions. The Objective of the study is to provide information to monitor and evaluate population and health status in Kenya.

As of 2024, the median age in Kenya reached **** years. The indicator has been increasing in the country, which indicates declining fertility rates and/or improvements in life expectancy. In 2015, the median age in Kenya stood by **** years.

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.

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.

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;

The Kenyan National Bureau of Statistics recently published their latest Kenya Health and Demographic Survey in January 2023. The report itself is often only published every ten years and provides a reference point for nation-wide data into health and demographics. It is a touchstone in policy making. The report itself is massive (> 100 pages), is published as a PDF and the visualisations produced by the agency are unwieldy, difficult to use and takes a very long time to load. This means that while the data is “available” in the report, its format continues to make it difficult for journalists to extract and analyse the findings on their own. Two Kenyan journalist groups (local newsroom - Talk.Africa - and Odipodev) both emphasised the value in extracting this data for broader use and analysis.

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

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 Projection: Mid Year data was reported at 70,755,460.000 Person in 2050. This records an increase from the previous number of 70,156,565.000 Person for 2049. Kenya KE: Population Projection: Mid Year data is updated yearly, averaging 30,605,901.000 Person from Jun 1950 (Median) to 2050, with 101 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 70,755,460.000 Person in 2050 and a record low of 6,121,184.000 Person in 1950. Kenya KE: Population Projection: Mid Year data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by US Census Bureau. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Kenya – Table KE.US Census Bureau: Demographic Projection.

Surveys conducted in Kenya by MEASURE DHS

Population ages 15-64, total in Kenya was reported at 33003939 Persons in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Kenya - Population ages 15-64, total - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

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.

The 2008-09 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) is a population and health survey that Kenya conducts every five years. It was designed to provide data to monitor the population and health situation in Kenya and also to be used as a follow-up to the previous KDHS surveys in 1989, 1993, 1998, and 2003. From the current survey, information was collected on fertility levels; marriage; sexual activity; fertility preferences; awareness and use of family planning methods; breastfeeding practices; nutritional status of women and young children; childhood and maternal mortality; maternal and child health; and awareness and behaviour regarding HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections. The 2008-09 KDHS is the second survey to collect data on malaria and the use of mosquito nets, domestic violence, and HIV testing of adults. The specific objectives of the 2008-09 KDHS were to: Provide data, at the national and provincial levels, that allow the derivation of demographic rates, particularly fertility and childhood mortality rates, to be used to evaluate the achievements of the current national population policy for sustainable development Measure changes in fertility and contraceptive prevalence use and study the factors that affect these changes, such as marriage patterns, desire for children, availability of contraception, breastfeeding habits, and other important social and economic factors Examine the basic indicators of maternal and child health in Kenya, including nutritional status, use of antenatal and maternity services, treatment of recent episodes of childhood illness, use of immunisation services, use of mosquito nets, and treatment of children and pregnant women for malaria Describe the patterns of knowledge and behaviour related to the transmission of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections Estimate adult and maternal mortality ratios at the national level Ascertain the extent and pattern of domestic violence and female genital cutting in the country Estimate the prevalence of HIV infection at the national and provincial levels and by urban-rural residence, and use the data to corroborate the rates from the sentinel surveillance system The 2008-09 KDHS information provides data to assist policymakers and programme implementers as they monitor and evaluate existing programmes and design new strategies for demographic, social, and health policies in Kenya. The data will be useful in many ways, including the monitoring of the country’s achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. As in 2003, the 2008-09 KDHS survey was designed to cover the entire country, including the arid and semi-arid districts, and especially those areas in the northern part of the country that were not covered in the earlier KDHS surveys. The survey collected information on demographic and health issues from a sample of women at the reproductive age of 15-49 and from a sample of men age 15-54 years in a one-in-two subsample of households.

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.

UNICEF's country profile for Kenya, including under-five mortality rates, child health, education and sanitation data.