Kenya is a religious country, and most people profess one religion or another. Recent data suggests that Kenya is predominantly Christian, with 86% of the population practicing Christianity. Islam is the second largest religion, practiced by 10.9% of the population.[1]
How many Kenyans are Christians?
Christianity is the dominant religion in Kenya, and 86% of the population practices it. However, the country has several Christian denominations, including Catholics, Protestants, Evangelicals, African Instituted Churches (AIC), and Orthodox.[2] [3]
According to the 2019 census, Protestants (33.4%) were the largest Christian denomination, with 15,777,473 members.
Catholics (20.6%) were the second most common Christian denomination, with 9,726,169 people. Evangelical churches were affiliated with 20.4% of the population, with 9,648,690 adherents.
The total number of adherents in African Instituted Churches (AIC) was 3,292,573, or 7% of the population.
The Orthodox accounted for 0.4% of the population or 201,263 adherents.
Other Christians and those not formally affiliated with these major Christian denominations comprised 3.7% of the population, with 1,732,911 adherents.
How do Christians in Kenya compare with Muslims?
Kenya is part of the great meeting place, defined by Pew Research Center as a 4,000-mile stretch between Senegal and Somalia where the two leading African religions – Christianity and Islam converge.[4] Muslims occupy most of North Africa and the Horn, while Christians occupy larger sections of Sub-Saharan Africa.
In Kenya, a similar divide exists, and while Christians are the majority, we still have many Muslims in the country. According to census findings, Muslims comprised 10.9% of the Kenyan population and were 5,152,194 in 2019.
The map below shows Kenyan counties based on whether they had a Christian majority population or a Muslim.
The total land area occupied by a Muslim majority population was 268,534 square kilometers, slightly lower than that occupied by a Christian majority, at 312,075 square kilometers. Essentially, Muslims make up 10.9% of the Kenyan population but occupy land areas almost equal to those of Christians.
Protestants are the Christian majority in most counties
Christians are a majority of the population in Kenya, and at 15,777,473 people, protestants are the largest Christian denomination. However, not all Christian majority counties are dominated by Protestants.
Evangelical Churches are the most common Christian denomination in Nyandarua. In Turkana, Samburu, Busia, and Elgeyo Marakwet, Catholics comprise the largest share of the population. African Instituted Churches are the dominant Christian denomination in Siaya.
How many Christians are in each county in Kenya by denomination?
The chart below shows the number of Christians in each county by denomination. Nairobi had the highest number of Protestants at 1,358,985. The Orthodox denomination had the fewest members, with Nairobi having the highest at 23,160. Mandera County had the fewest Orthodox, with only ten members.
See Also
- Number of Muslims in Kenya by county
- Number of atheists and the non-religious by county
- Kenyans practicing traditional religions by county
- Hindus in Kenya by county
References
[1] 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census: Distribution of population by socioeconomic characteristics. Vol. IV.
[2] These categories are created and defined in the 2019 census. Some issues have been raised regarding these classifications in the past. For instance, the classification of atheists and the non-religious was initially challenged as unclear. See Kumar, P. P. (2017). Atheism in Kenya: why accurate numbers are hard to come by. The Conversation. Accessed https://theconversation.com/atheism-in-kenya-why-accurate-numbers-are-hard-to-come-by-180705
[3] Gez and colleagues also discuss the concept of African nones - non-religious in Africa and atheists. Our charts show that these are grouped together during the census, even though the concepts are much more nuanced. See: Gez, Y. N., Beider, N., & Dickow, H. (2022). African and Not Religious: The State of Research on Sub-Saharan Religious Nones and New Scholarly Horizons. Africa Spectrum, 57(1), 50-71. https://doi.org/10.1177/00020397211052567
[4] Pew Research Center (2015). Tolerance and Tension: Islam and Christianity in Sub-Saharan Africa. Accessed https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2010/04/15/executive-summary-islam-and-christianity-in-sub-saharan-africa/
