The Human Development Index (HDI) is a summary measure of wellbeing across countries. It incorporates three key dimensions of human life: knowledge, standards of living, and a long, healthy life.[1]
The Human Development Index measures a long, healthy life by looking at a population's life expectancy at birth.
The standard of living is measured using the Gross National Income per capita. In contrast, education is measured using mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling for a young child entering school.
Quick Facts
- Kenya had a Human Development Index of 0.601 in 2022.
- Kenya’s HDI was ranked 146th in the world.
- Kenya’s life expectancy at birth in 2022 was 62.1 years.
- The mean years of schooling in Kenya was 7.7 years.
- The expected years of schooling was 11.4 years in 2022.
- Kenya’s Gross National Income per Capita (PPP $) in 2022 was $4,808.
What is the Human Development Index (HDI)?
The Human Development Index measures wellbeing across populations. It is based on three dimensions: health, as measured by life expectancy at birth, living standards derived from the Gross National Income per capita, and education.
Measures of education include the mean years of schooling and the expected years of school for children of school-entering age.
HDI moves away from other national measures of wellbeing and seeks to promote more people-centred policies.Poa
HDI ranges from 0 to 1, with zero being the lowest level of wellbeing and one being the highest level of wellbeing that could be attained if there were no inequality.
Kenya’s HDI over the years
Kenya's human development index was 0.601 in 2022 based on the three dimensions of health, education, and standard of living. Kenya's HDI in 2022 was higher than in 2020, when it was 0.599.[2]
Kenya’s Gross National Income in 2022 was $4,808. On the other hand, the life expectancy at birth was 62.1 years in 2022.
Kenya's mean years of schooling in 2022 were 7.7, while the expected years of schooling for a child of school-entering age were 11.4.
In Kenya, the Human Development Index has a strong positive relationship with other measures of wellbeing, such as the Basic Access Index.
Human Development Index in Kenya by County
We projected 2022 county HDIs based on 2014 data from the Humanitarian Data Exchange.[3] [4] From our estimates, Nairobi County had the highest HDI in Kenya at 0.771, followed by Mombasa at 0.698.
Below is the HDI of all counties in Kenya
- Nairobi 0.771
- Mombasa 0.698
- Nyeri 0.678
- Kiambu 0.663
- Uasin Gishu 0.654
- Embu 0.650
- Kirinyaga 0.646
- Nakuru 0.641
- Nyandarua 0.637
- Laikipia 0.635
- Machakos 0.633
- Meru 0.632
- Taita Taveta 0.630
- Nandi 0.627
- Tharaka Nithi 0.626
- Murang’a 0.625
- Kisumu 0.621
- Elgeyo Marakwet 0.620
- Trans Nzoia 0.620
- Lamu 0.620
- Kericho 0.619
- Bungoma 0.618
- Nyamira 0.616
- Bomet 0.613
- Kisii 0.613
- Kajiado 0.609
- Baringo 0.609
- Kakamega 0.606
- Vihiga 0.602
- Kitui 0.602
- Makueni 0.595
- Busia 0.594
- Siaya 0.583
- Narok 0.578
- Kilifi 0.574
- Kwale 0.573
- Homa Bay 0.573
- Migori 0.567
- Isiolo 0.554
- West Pokot 0.534
- Marsabit 0.522
- Samburu 0.509
- Tana River 0.497
- Garissa 0.494
- Turkana 0.492
- Wajir 0.491
- Mandera 0.484
See Also
- The best counties to live in – Basic Access Index by County
- Most corrupt counties in Kenya ranked – Kenya CPI
- Life Expectancies in Kenya by County
- Gross National Income - Kenya
- County GDPs per Capita
References
[1] Human Development Reports (2024). Human Development Index (HDI). Accessed from https://hdr.undp.org/data-center/human-development-index#/indicies/HDI
[2] Global Data Lab. Subnational Human Development Index. Accessed https://globaldatalab.org/shdi/metadata/shdi/
[3] We projected HDIs for 2022 based on the 2014 figures from HDX. We used a linear regression model to predict HDIs, with life expectancy at birth, median years of schooling, and GCP per capita as our independent variables. There is currently no GNI data by county in Kenya, and we used GCP per capita instead. Similarly, we used median years of schooling in place of mean years of schooling and expected years of school, both of which were unavailable at the time of this analysis. We then applied a growth factor based on Kenya's 2022 HDI of 0.601. The 2022 HDI is divided from the 2014 mean HDI to find the growth factor. Applying the growth factor to the HDI values predicted by the model gave us 2022 projected HDIs for each county.
[4] Humanitarian Data Exchange. Kenya Human Development Index by County. Accessed from https://data.humdata.org/dataset/kenya-human-development-index-per-county
