Population: Nationality: Ethnic groups: Languages: Religions: Demographic profile: 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 shelters more than 300,000 Somali refugees as of April 2017.
Age structure: Dependency ratios: Median age: Population growth rate: Birth rate: Death rate: Net migration rate: Population distribution: Urbanization: Major urban areas - population: Sex ratio: Mother's mean age at first birth: Maternal mortality rate: Infant mortality rate: Life expectancy at birth: Total fertility rate: Contraceptive prevalence rate: Health expenditures: Physicians density: Hospital bed density: Drinking water source: Sanitation facility access: HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: HIV/AIDS - deaths: Major infectious diseases: Obesity - adult prevalence rate: Children under the age of 5 years underweight: Education expenditures: Literacy: School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
NOTE: 1) The information regarding Kenya on this page is re-published from the 2019 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Kenya People 2019 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Kenya People 2019 should be addressed to the CIA.
48,397,527
(July 2018 est.)
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
country comparison to the world:
29
[see also: Population country ranks ]
noun:
Kenyan(s)
adjective:
Kenyan
Kikuyu 17.2%, Luhya 13.8%, Kalejin 12.9%, Luo 10.5%, Kamba 10.1%, Somali 6.2%, Kisii 5.7%, Mijikenda 5.1%, Meru 4.3%, Turkana 2.6%, Masai 2.2%, other 9.4%
(2014 est.)
English (official), Kiswahili (official), Kiswahili numerous indigenous languages
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.)
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.
0-14 years: 39.03%
(male 9,474,968 /female 9,416,609)
[see also: Age structure - 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 19.61%
(male 4,737,647 /female 4,752,896)
[see also: Age structure - 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 34.27%
(male 8,393,673 /female 8,193,800)
[see also: Age structure - 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 4%
(male 894,371 /female 1,040,883)
[see also: Age structure - 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 3.08%
(male 640,005 /female 852,675)
(2018 est.)
[see also: Age structure - 65 years and over country ranks ]
population pyramid:
This is the population pyramid for Kenya. A population pyramid illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as well as economic development. The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and international migration trends.
For additional information, please see the entry for Population pyramid on the Definitions and Notes page under the References tab.
total dependency ratio: 78.3
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - total dependency ratio country ranks ]
youth dependency ratio: 73.7
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - youth dependency ratio country ranks ]
elderly dependency ratio: 4.6
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - elderly dependency ratio country ranks ]
potential support ratio: 21.7
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - potential support ratio country ranks ]
total: 20 years
[see also: Median age - total country ranks ]
male: 19.9 years
[see also: Median age - male country ranks ]
female: 20.2 years
(2018 est.)
[see also: Median age - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world:
191
1.57%
(2018 est.)
country comparison to the world:
67
[see also: Population growth rate country ranks ]
22.6 births/1,000 population
(2018 est.)
country comparison to the world:
66
[see also: Birth rate country ranks ]
6.7 deaths/1,000 population
(2018 est.)
country comparison to the world:
137
[see also: Death rate country ranks ]
-0.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population
(2017 est.)
country comparison to the world:
109
[see also: Net migration rate country ranks ]
population heavily concentrated in the west along the shore of Lake Victoria; other areas of high density include the capital of Nairobi, and in the southeast along the Indian Ocean coast
urban population: 27% of total population
(2018)
[see also: Urbanization - urban population country ranks ]
rate of urbanization: 4.23% annual rate of change
(2015-20 est.)
[see also: Urbanization - rate of urbanization country ranks ]
4.386 million NAIROBI (capital), 1.214 million Mombassa
(2018)
at birth: 1.01 male(s)/female
(2017 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - at birth country ranks ]
0-14 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
(2017 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 1 male(s)/female
(2017 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
(2017 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 0.84 male(s)/female
(2017 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female
(2017 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 65 years and over country ranks ]
total population: 1 male(s)/female
(2017 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - total population country ranks ]
20.3 years
(2014 est.)
note: median age at first birth among women 25-29
[see also: Mother's mean age at first birth country ranks ]
510 deaths/100,000 live births
(2015 est.)
country comparison to the world:
19
[see also: Maternal mortality rate country ranks ]
total: 36.1 deaths/1,000 live births
(2018 est.)
[see also: Infant mortality rate - total country ranks ]
male: 40.3 deaths/1,000 live births
(2018 est.)
[see also: Infant mortality rate - male country ranks ]
female: 31.7 deaths/1,000 live births
(2018 est.)
[see also: Infant mortality rate - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world:
48
total population: 64.6 years
(2018 est.)
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - total population country ranks ]
male: 63.1 years
(2018 est.)
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - male country ranks ]
female: 66.1 years
(2018 est.)
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world:
187
[See also: Healthy Life Expectancy ]
[See also: Health Performance ]
2.81 children born/woman
(2018 est.)
country comparison to the world:
59
[see also: Total fertility rate country ranks ]
61.6%
(2016)
[see also: Contraceptive prevalence rate country ranks ]
5.7% of GDP
(2014)
country comparison to the world:
116
[see also: Health expenditures country ranks ]
0.2 physicians/1,000 population
(2014)
[see also: Physicians density country ranks ]
1.4 beds/1,000 population
(2010)
[see also: Hospital bed density country ranks ]
improved:
urban: 81.6% of population
[see also: Drinking water source - improved - urban country ranks ]
rural: 56.8% of population
[see also: Drinking water source - improved - rural country ranks ]
total: 63.2% of population
[see also: Drinking water source - improved - total country ranks ]
unimproved:
urban: 18.4% of population
[see also: Drinking water source - unimproved - urban country ranks ]
rural: 43.2% of population
[see also: Drinking water source - unimproved - rural country ranks ]
total: 36.8% of population
(2015 est.)
[see also: Drinking water source - unimproved - total country ranks ]
improved:
urban: 31.2% of population
(2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - improved - urban country ranks ]
rural: 29.7% of population
(2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - improved - rural country ranks ]
total: 30.1% of population
(2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - improved - total country ranks ]
unimproved:
urban: 68.8% of population
(2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - unimproved - urban country ranks ]
rural: 70.3% of population
(2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - unimproved - rural country ranks ]
total: 69.9% of population
(2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - unimproved - total country ranks ]
4.8%
(2017 est.)
country comparison to the world:
12
[see also: HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]
1.5 million
(2017 est.)
country comparison to the world:
5
[see also: HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS country ranks ]
28,000
(2017 est.)
country comparison to the world:
7
[see also: HIV/AIDS - deaths country ranks ]
degree of risk:
very high
(2016)
food or waterborne diseases:
bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
(2016)
vectorborne diseases:
malaria, dengue fever, and Rift Valley fever
(2016)
water contact diseases:
schistosomiasis
(2016)
animal contact diseases:
rabies
(2016)
7.1%
(2016)
country comparison to the world:
161
[see also: Obesity - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]
11%
(2014)
country comparison to the world:
59
[see also: Children under the age of 5 years underweight country ranks ]
5.3% of GDP
(2015)
country comparison to the world:
58
[see also: Education expenditures country ranks ]
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
(2015 est.)
total population: 78%
(2015 est.)
[see also: Literacy - total population country ranks ]
male: 81.1%
(2015 est.)
[see also: Literacy - male country ranks ]
female: 74.9%
(2015 est.)
[see also: Literacy - female country ranks ]
total: 11 years
(2009)
[see also: School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) - total country ranks ]
male: 11 years
(2009)
[see also: School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) - male country ranks ]
female: 11 years
(2009)
[see also: School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) - female country ranks ]
2) The rank that you see is the CIA reported rank, which may habe the following issues:
a) They assign increasing rank number, alphabetically for countries with the same value of the ranked item, whereas we assign them the same rank.
b) The CIA sometimes assignes counterintuitive ranks. For example, it assigns unemployment rates in increasing order, whereas we rank them in decreasing order
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This page was last modified 08-Feb-19