Number of Students Enrolled in Primary and Secondary Schools in Kenya by County

Kenya is a young nation with a median age of 19.5. This means half of the population is below the age of 20 and is likely to be enrolled in school. 

A significant portion of the student population is enrolled in primary schools across the country. In 2023, the total number of schools in Kenya was 93,988.^[1]

Quick Facts

1. Number of students enrolled in pre-primary school in Kenya was 2.9 million in 2023.
2. Number of students enrolled in primary school was 10.2 million in 2023.
3. The number of students in secondary schools in 2023 was 4.1 million.

View: Number of schools in Kenya by county - primary and secondary 

More girls than boys were enrolled in pre-primary schools

In 2023, the number of girls enrolled in pre-primary schools was 1,452,636, higher than the number of boys.

The number of boys enrolled in pre-primary schools was 1,433,000 in 2023. As the chart below shows, the number of boys enrolled in pre-primary schools used to be higher than that of girls until recently.

In 2022, the number of boys in pre-primary schools was 1,415,837, while that of girls was 1,414,135,

In 2021, the number of boys enrolled was 1,422,247, while girls were 1,423,018.

More boys than girls are enrolled in Kenyan primary schools

The total number of students enrolled in primary schools was 10.2 million in 2023. The number of boys was higher than girls.

The number of boys enrolled in primary schools was 5.2 million, while the number of enrolled girls was 5 million.

The number of students enrolled in primary schools includes all students from grades 1 to 7, according to CBC, and standards 7 and 8, according to the 8-4-4 model.

In the CBC model, more boys are enrolled in each grade of primary education than girls. For instance, the number of boys enrolled in grade 7 in 2023 was 622,800, while the number of girls was 601,600.

The number of enrolled boys in grade 1 was 703,400 in 2023, while the number of girls was 664,700.

The number of boys enrolled in grade 2 was 645,200, while girls were 611,500.

The number of boys enrolled in grade 3 was 642,500, while the number of girls was 617,300.

The number of boys enrolled in grade 4 was 661,900, while girls were 643,400.

The number of boys enrolled in grade 5 was 653,200, while girls were 642,600.

In grade 6, the number of boys was 634,900, while the number of girls was 629,000.

Nairobi and Kakamega counties had the highest number of enrolled students in primary school.

The number of students enrolled in primary schools in Nairobi was 424,891. Those enrolled in Kakamega were 386,372.

Others include^[2]:

1. Nakuru 374,039
2. Bungoma 362,764
3. Kiambu 312,992
4. Kisii 307,286
5. Migori 305,450
6. Narok 285,535
7. Homa Bay 282,425
8. Machakos 264,724
9. Kilifi 260,460
10. Kisumu 254,331

Lamu County had the lowest student enrollment, with 37,500 students. It was followed by Isiolo, with 43,023 students enrolled in primary schools in the county.

Others include:

1. Taita Taveta 62,547
2. Marsabit 79,178
3. Samburu 82,880
4. Garissa 88,240
5. Kirinyaga 92,843
6. Embu 95,784
7. Laikipia 100,624
8. Tana River 105,720
9. Tharaka Nithi 107,259
10. Nyeri 110,403

More girls than boys are enrolled in secondary schools in Kenya

The total number of secondary schools in Kenya was 10,752 in 2023, including both private and public institutions. These institutions cumulatively enrolled 4.1 million students.

Unlike primary schools, where more boys than girls are enrolled, the reverse is true in secondary schools. More girls than boys are enrolled in Kenyan high schools, suggesting that the transition to high school may be lower for boys than girls.

In 2023, 2,202,500 boys and 2,084,900 girls were enrolled in secondary schools.

The number of students enrolled in secondary schools differed by form. The chart below shows the number of boys and girls enrolled in secondary school from form 1 to form 4.

The number of students enrolled in secondary schools declines with every grade, suggesting that a significant number of students drop out of school before they reach form 4.

In 2023, for instance, we find that 1.1 million students are recorded in Form 1. However, by the time they got to Form 4, the number of students had declined to only 936,500. For girls, teenage pregnancies and early marriages may contribute to the drop in our rate.

Bungoma and Kakamega Counties had the highest number of students enrolled in secondary schools.

In 2023, Bungoma County had the highest number of students enrolled in secondary schools, with 203,195 students.

Kakamega County had the second-highest number of students enrolled in secondary schools, with 199,124 students.

Others include:

1. Nakuru 195,393
2. Kiambu 174,100
3. Migori 153,103
4. Machakos 147,033
5. Homa Bay 143,550
6. Murang’a 135,093
7. Meru 134,402
8. Siaya 130,784
9. Makueni 130,305
10. Nairobi 123,566

Lamu County had the lowest number of enrolled students, with 1,033 pupils. It was followed by Isiolo, with 10,444 enrolled students.

Others include:

1. Tana River 12,009
2. Samburu 12,823
3. Marsabit 13,531
4. Garissa 23,970
5. Turkana 27,430
6. Mandera 27,788
7. Wajir 28,734
8. Taita Taveta 33,032
9. Mombasa 43,902
10. Laikipia 43,902

See Also

1. Number of schools in Kenya by county – primary and secondary
2. National government expenditure on education in Kenya
3. KCSE student performance over the years – KCSE results
4. Do A students work for C students – A Kenyan perspective

References