Completeness of Birth Registration – Expected vs Registered Births in Kenya by County

The completeness of birth registration – often expressed as a percentage, tells us to what degree the government can account for all the children born in a given year. 

To do this, it calculates the expected number of children born in a year and compares it with the actual number of children registered by civil registration services.

Quick Facts

1. Kenya had a completeness of birth registration of 77% in 2023.
2. The expected number of births in 2023 was 1,547,260.
3. The total number of registered births was 1,192,884.
4. Kenya had a sex ratio at birth of 104
5. Nairobi had the highest completeness registration at 131.6%.

Fewer births are registered in Kenya than expected

In 2023, Kenya registered 1,192,884 births.^[1] These births were lower than what was expected in that year, implying a lack of completeness in birth registration.

The number of expected births in 2023 was 1,547,260 – higher than what was registered.

The chart above also shows that the difference between expected and registered births has increased, suggesting a decreasing ability of the government and the civil registration services to account for and register children born in the country.

The completeness of birth registration in Kenya has declined

The gap between the number of births expected in Kenya and those registered has increased. This suggests a decline in birth registration completeness, as shown in the chart below.

In 2019, birth registration completeness was at 89% and declined to 77% in 2023.

Declining completeness of birth registration in Kenya implies increased difficulties in accounting for the number of children born in a given year due to declining healthcare facility births and increasing community births.

A lower registration of births than expected extends to both male and female children

Every year, more male children are expected but fewer are registered. 

The same is true of female children – More are expected, but fewer are registered.

In the chart below, we see that in 2023, the number of male children expected was 785,063. However, only 608,471 male children were registered in that year.

In females, 762,197 children were expected, but only 584,242 were registered.

In 2023, the completeness of birth registration for male children was 77.5%, while that for females was 76.7%.

More male children are born in Kenya than females.

The sex ratio at birth highlights the number of newborn males for every 100 newborn girls.^[2] Sex ratios above 100 indicate that more boys are born in that country compared to girls.

A higher number of male children born in a given year could be a result of several factors. Most prominent is the fact that the probability of a male birth is usually higher than a girl's birth.

However, in some countries and cultures, it could be a result of sex-selective abortions, with parents preferring male children over female.^[3]  

In 2023, the civil registration services in Kenya recorded a sex ratio at birth of 104 male children for every 100 females.

The sex ratio in Kenya remains stable at 104 male births for every 100 females since 2019.^[4]

Kenyan counties have varying levels of completeness of birth registration

The completeness of birth registration in Kenya was 77% in 2023. However, birth registration is not the same in all counties. Some counties have a higher completeness registration than others.

For instance, Nairobi had the highest completeness registration, at 131.6%, followed by Kericho at 127.5% and Nyamira at 123.2%. Figures above 100% suggest that these counties registered more births than expected.

Other counties with completeness above 100% are Kisii (101.7%), Kiambu (100.4%), and Uasin Gishu (100.2%).

The remaining counties had a completeness of birth registration values below 100%, meaning the number of births registered was fewer than the number of births expected.

Counties with the lowest completeness levels were:

1. Wajir 12.1
2. Mandera 13.9
3. Samburu 34.3
4. Turkana 35.8
5. Tana River 44.3
6. Marsabit 46.8
7. Garissa 52.5
8. Narok 52.8
9. Isiolo 56.5
10. Nyandarua 56.7
11. West Pokot 57.2
12. Lamu 59.5

The UN target for registration completeness is 90%.^[5]

See Also

1. Number of deaths in Kenya by county
2. Life expectancy at birth by county
3. Adult mortality rate in Kenya by county
4. Crude birth rates in Kenya by county

References