Rural Access Index in Kenya by County

The Rural Access Index (RAI) is the share of people living within two kilometres of an all-season road. It measures the accessibility of road networks to the populations living in rural areas.

The most recent estimates suggest that 70 per cent of Kenyans in rural areas live within two kilometres of an all-season road.^[1]

Quick Facts

1. Kenya had a Rural Access Index of 70% in 2018.
2. Kenya had 161,451 kilometres of roads.^[2]
3. Kirinyaga County had the highest RAI score of 98%. 
4. 11.5% of Kenyan roads are paved.

Why the RAI

The Rural Access Index is an important addition to subnational indicators of well-being, which was first introduced in 2006. The RAI got renewed interest after inclusion as target 9.1 of Goal number 9 of the Sustainable Development Goals.^[3]

The RAI supersedes previous measures of road coverage and access, such as road density, network, and paving. However, these indicators were significantly limited since they were only measured on a national level.

The Rural Access Index has a dual advantage of measuring access to roads on a national and subnational level, as well as relying on spatial technologies to highlight differences in road networks within rural areas.

For instance, the Rural Access Index in Kenya measures RAI at a county level, which is an important addition to the overall understanding of road and infrastructural development in Kenya.

Why RAI is important

The Rural Access Index is essential in helping understand how rural areas can benefit from existing and new road network coverage. Currently, many farmers in rural areas do not have access to the markets, forcing them to grow crops for subsistence only.

By improving roads and increasing accessibility, travel time and transport costs are reduced significantly. Moreover, networks will enhance productivity and raise the profitability of farming and other rural ventures.^[4]

In Kenya, knowing to what extent people in rural areas have access to roads reinforces the spirit of devolution and allows policymakers and leaders to provide accessibility to regions that need it the most. 

The Rural Access Index in Kenya

Out of 161,451 km of roads in Kenya, 18,603 km were paved, and 157,596 km were unpaved in 2023.

The Kenya Roads Board reported a Rural Access Index of 0.7, suggesting that 70% of people living in rural areas had access to an all-season road within two kilometres of their residence. The RAI increased to 70% in 2018 from 56% in 2009. 

The map below shows the Rural Access Index in Kenya by county:

How to increase RAI

A study by the World Bank showed that rural access, especially in Africa, can be achieved in two ways:

1. Expanding the road network by reclassifying roads and making them part of an official road network or constructing new ones.
2. Increasing the quality of existing roads by upgrading or rehabilitating.^[5]

Essentially, both road density and the share of good roads are important metrics for increasing the subnational Rural Access Index.

The World Bank also notes that in Kenya and Africa, access to roads has less to do with the population density of rural areas and more to do with patterns of population distribution.

This means that the difference between the distribution of the population in near-road areas and far-road areas is much more important and determines the Rural Access Index.^[6]

The World Bank also found a strong relationship between the Rural Access index and poverty rates. Regions with higher RAI scores tended to have lower rates of poverty. The relationship suggests that raising the subnational RAI will also likely improve the overall well-being of people living in rural areas.

Rural Access Index by County

Kirinyaga County had the highest Rural Access Index, with 98% of the population living within two kilometres of an all-season road. Murang'a followed it at 97%, Mombasa, Bomet, and Nairobi at 95%, and Nyeri at 94%.

Counties with the lowest Rural Access Index are Wajir, where only 2% of the population lives within two kilometres of an all-weather road, followed by Mandera at 4%, Marsabit at 5%, Samburu and Tana River at 11%.

See Also

1. The Population Density of Kenya
2. Kenya Total Land Area

References