Introduction
Experts develop tools and indices to measure wealth and economic wellbeing across regions, ensuring more adequate and accurate interventions for the poor. However, unlike in the developed world, where wealth is measured using income-based metrics, asset-based measures are preferred in low- and middle-income countries such as Kenya.
The Internationational Wealth Index (IWI) is an example of an asset-based measure of wealth used for low- and middle-income countries.
Quick facts
- Kenya had an IWI score of 47 out of 100 in 2022.[1]
- Nairobi Province had the highest IWI score of 64.2, followed by Central Province, which scored 56.
- 58% of households in Kenya have access to electricity.[2]
- 59% of households in urban areas have cement as the dominant flooring material, compared to 39% in rural areas.[2]
- 61% of urban households in Kenya have one room for sleeping compared to 32% of rural households. However, 30% of rural households have more than three rooms for sleeping compared to 14% in urban areas.[2]
What is IWI
The International Wealth Index (IWI) is an asset-based measure of a household's economic and material wellbeing. It looks at a household's assets and then generates a wealth score on a scale of 0 to 100.[3]
A score of 100 means a household possesses all the assets in the questionnaire. It has access to clean drinking water, electricity, and more sleeping rooms.
A score of 0, on the other hand, suggests that a household does not possess any of the assets included in the index and has poor access to basic services.
Assets included in the wealth index
Assets included in the International Wealth Index include household possessions such as a phone, car, refrigerator, TV, bicycle, and utensils.
The IWI includes access to basic services such as electricity and water as a measure of wellbeing in developing countries.
The index also looks at household characteristics, including toilet facilities used in the household, the floor material used, and the number of rooms used for sleeping.
What is wellbeing?
The International Wealth Index measures wellbeing based on a household's possession of certain items. The inclusion of items in the index is based on the idea that what a household owns indicates their level of economic status.
For instance, impoverished households aim to achieve basic sustenance. They cannot afford assets that improve a household's relative comfort and wellbeing. They may have cheap utensils, live in houses with low-quality floor materials made of earth or dung, and lack access to high-quality drinking water and electricity.
On the contrary, households of higher economic wellbeing will likely afford assets that make life easier and more comfortable. A car, for example, improves transport and dramatically increases the convenience of carrying goods and moving around.
A refrigerator reduces the time spent shopping, while electricity gives access to lighting and faster cooking, especially when used alongside expensive utensils.
How quality is measured
The quality of various household characteristics is measured as follows.
First, the water supply is high quality if bottled or piped into the house. Medium quality water is sourced from a public tap, tanker truck, or a protected well. Low-quality water supply includes unprotected springs, wells, and surface water.[3]
Second, high-quality toilet facilities include private flush toilets inside the house. Medium quality is any pit latrine or public toilet. Low quality includes traditional unimproved pit latrines, lack of toilet facilities allowing for open defecation, and hunging toilets.[3]
Third, high-quality floor materials include those furnished with carpets, tiles, parquets, and ceramic. Medium quality are raw wood, concrete, and cement. Low-quality flooring consists of a lack of proper flooring and earth.[3]
Household Wealth in Kenya
According to the Global Data Lab, Kenya had an International Wealth Index of 47 out of 100 in 2022. The region with the highest IWI score was Nairobi Province at 64.2, followed by Central Province with a score of 56.
The table below shows the IWI score of Kenya's provinces according to the Global Data Lab.[1]
|
Province |
IWI Score |
|
Nairobi Province |
64.2 |
|
Central Province |
56 |
|
Coast |
44.9 |
|
Rift Valley |
43.7 |
|
Eastern |
43.3 |
|
Western |
39.1 |
|
Nyanza |
38.5 |
|
North Eastern |
34.9 |
The IWI score is based on data compiled from Demographic and Health Surveys. In Kenya, the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022 accessed the wealth profile of Kenya households and found that 58% had access to electricity compared to 36% in 2014.[2]
Cooking conditions
Most Kenyan households cook indoors; however, 30% do not have a kitchen separate from the living room. Households in rural areas (63%) are more likely to have separate kitchen facilities than urban areas (8%).[2]
In Kenya, 24% of households use clean fuel for cooking, with 59% of these households in urban areas compared to 6% in rural areas.[2]
Heating and lighting
Most (77%) Kenyan households do not heat their homes. Among those who do, 16% use cooking stoves, and 1% use clean fuels.
In Kenya, there is a low reliance on clean technologies and fuels for lighting and heating. Only 21% of the population uses clean fuels and technologies.
Household possessions
Household possessions and assets measure the relative economic wellbeing of individuals. In Kenya, 65.8% of households possess a radio compared to 50.1% with a television.
Many Kenyan households in both rural and urban areas possess a mobile phone. In urban areas, 97.4% of households have a mobile phone, while 90.9% of those in rural areas possess it.
The table below shows the percentage of households owning durable goods and assets by residence.[2]
|
Household Possessions |
Urban |
Rural |
Total |
|
Radio |
71.2 |
62.1 |
65.8 |
|
Television |
67.6 |
38.2 |
50.1 |
|
Mobile phone |
97.4 |
90.9 |
93.5 |
|
Computer |
20.6 |
4.1 |
10.7 |
|
Non-mobile telephone |
2.4 |
1.8 |
2.0 |
|
Refrigerator |
22.0 |
3.5 |
10.9 |
|
Watch |
43.0 |
21.3 |
30.0 |
|
Solar panel |
10.4 |
46.5 |
32.0 |
|
Table |
85.8 |
86.3 |
86.1 |
|
Chair |
83.0 |
88.6 |
86.4 |
|
Sofa |
71.7 |
56.2 |
62.4 |
|
Bed |
93.4 |
93.0 |
93.1 |
|
Cupboard |
50.1 |
45.0 |
47.0 |
|
Clock |
23.6 |
10.0 |
15.5 |
|
Microwave oven |
14.5 |
2.1 |
7.1 |
|
DVD player |
25.5 |
8.8 |
15.6 |
|
Cassette or CD player |
13.1 |
4.5 |
8.0 |
Wealth quintiles by county
Like the global data lab, the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey uses asset-based measures to determine a household's wealth. However, instead of a scale from 0 to 100, wealth is divided into five quarters, representing the lowest wealth level, the second lowest, the middle, the fourth lowest, and the highest.
The map below shows the distribution of households in the lowest wealth quintile in Kenya by county. Turkana County has the highest percentage of people in the lowest wealth level, with 75.2% in the lowest wealth quintile.
Nairobi County and counties in Central Kenya have the fewest people in the lowest wealth quintile. In Nairobi, the KDHS observed that 0% were in the lowest wealth quintile; in Kiambu County, it was 0.9%, Mombasa 2.5%, and Nyeri 2.7%.[2]
On the other hand, the distribution of wealth in the highest wealth quintile shows that Nairobi County, Kiambu, and Kajiado County had the highest percentage of households with the highest wealth level. In Nairobi, 70.5% of households were in the highest wealth quintile, Kiambu 48.2%, and Kajiado 42.9%.
The share of households in the highest wealth quintile was lowest in Mandera County, 1.5%; Marsabit, 1.9%; Tana River, 2.5%; Wajir, 2.8%; and West Pokot, 3.3%.
The map below shows the distribution of households in the highest wealth quintile by county in 2022.[2]
See Also
References
- Data retrieved from the Area Database of the Global Data Lab, https://globaldatalab.org/iwi/, version v4.2.
- KNBS and ICF. 2023. Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022: Volume 1. Nairobi, Kenya, and Rockville, Maryland, USA: KNBS and ICF.
- Smits, J., and Steendijk, R. The International Wealth Index (IWI). Soc Indic Res 122: 65–85 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-014-0683-x.
