Kenya: People & Society#
| Population | 46,790,758 note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2016 est.) |
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| Nationality | noun: Kenyan(s) adjective: Kenyan |
| Ethnic groups | Kikuyu 22%, Luhya 14%, Luo 13%, Kalenjin 12%, Kamba 11%, Kisii 6%, Meru 6%, other African 15%, non-African (Asian, European, and Arab) 1% |
| Languages | English (official), Kiswahili (official), numerous indigenous languages |
| Religions | Christian 83% (Protestant 47.7%, Catholic 23.4%, other Christian 11.9%), Muslim 11.2%, Traditionalists 1.7%, other 1.6%, none 2.4%, unspecified 0.2% (2009 est.) |
| Demographic profile | Kenya has experienced dramatic population growth since the mid-20th century as a result of its high birth rate and its declining mortality rate. More than 40% of Kenyans are under the age of 15 because of sustained high fertility, early marriage and childbearing, and an unmet need for family planning. Kenya’s persistent rapid population growth strains the labor market, social services, arable land, and natural resources. Although Kenya in 1967 was the first sub-Saharan country to launch a nationwide family planning program, progress in reducing the birth rate has largely stalled since the late 1990s, when the government decreased its support for family planning to focus on the HIV epidemic. Government commitment and international technical support spurred Kenyan contraceptive use, decreasing the fertility rate (children per woman) from about 8 in the late 1970s to less than 5 children twenty years later, but it has plateaued at just over 3 children today. Kenya is a source of emigrants and a host country for refugees. In the 1960s and 1970s, Kenyans pursued higher education in the UK because of colonial ties, but as British immigration rules tightened, the US, the then Soviet Union, and Canada became attractive study destinations. Kenya’s stagnant economy and political problems during the 1980s and 1990s led to an outpouring of Kenyan students and professionals seeking permanent opportunities in the West and southern Africa. Nevertheless, Kenya’s relative stability since its independence in 1963 has attracted hundreds of thousands of refugees escaping violent conflicts in neighboring countries; Kenya presently shelters nearly 400,000 Somali refugees. |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 40.87% (male 9,592,017/female 9,532,032) 15-24 years: 18.83% (male 4,398,554/female 4,411,586) 25-54 years: 33.54% (male 7,938,111/female 7,755,128) 55-64 years: 3.84% (male 819,665/female 976,862) 65 years and over: 2.92% (male 590,961/female 775,842) (2016 est.) |
| Dependency ratios | total dependency ratio: 80.9% youth dependency ratio: 75.8% elderly dependency ratio: 5.1% potential support ratio: 19.7% (2015 est.) |
| Median age | total: 19.5 years male: 19.4 years female: 19.6 years (2016 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 1.81% (2016 est.) |
| Birth rate | 25.1 births/1,000 population (2016 est.) |
| Death rate | 6.8 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.) |
| Net migration rate | -0.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.) |
| Urbanization | urban population: 25.6% of total population (2015) rate of urbanization: 4.34% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.) |
| Major urban areas - population | NAIROBI (capital) 3.915 million; Mombassa 1.104 million (2015) |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female 0-14 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-24 years: 1 male(s)/female 25-54 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 55-64 years: 0.84 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2016 est.) |
| Mother's mean age at first birth | 20.3 note: median age at first birth among women 25-29 (2014 est.) |
| Maternal mortality rate | 510 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 38.3 deaths/1,000 live births male: 42.7 deaths/1,000 live births female: 33.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.) |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 64 years male: 62.6 years female: 65.5 years (2016 est.) |
| Total fertility rate | 3.14 children born/woman (2016 est.) |
| Contraceptive prevalence rate | 45.5% (2008/09) |
| Health expenditures | 5.7% of GDP (2014) |
| Physicians density | 0.2 physicians/1,000 population (2013) |
| Hospital bed density | 1.4 beds/1,000 population (2010) |
| Drinking water source | improved: urban: 81.6% of population rural: 56.8% of population total: 63.2% of population unimproved: urban: 18.4% of population rural: 43.2% of population total: 36.8% of population (2015 est.) |
| Sanitation facility access | improved: urban: 31.2% of population rural: 29.7% of population total: 30.1% of population unimproved: urban: 68.8% of population rural: 70.3% of population total: 69.9% of population (2015 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate | 5.91% (2015 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | 1,517,700 (2015 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths | 35,800 (2015 est.) |
| Major infectious diseases | degree of risk: very high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: malaria, dengue fever, and Rift Valley fever water contact disease: schistosomiasis animal contact disease: rabies (2016) |
| Obesity - adult prevalence rate | 5.9% (2014) |
| Children under the age of 5 years underweight | 11% (2014) |
| Education expenditures | 5.3% of GDP (2015) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 78% male: 81.1% female: 74.9% (2015 est.) |
| School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) | total: 11 years male: 11 years female: 11 years (2009) |