Busia County

Introduction

Busia County is located in Western Kenya and had a total population of 987,000 in 2024. In 2019, Busia had 893,681 people, consisting of 198,152 households. The average household size in Busia was 4.5 people per household.

Busia County had a total land area of 1,696.3 square kilometers in 2019 and a population density of 527 people per square kilometer.

Busia County is bordered to the North East by Bungoma, the East by Kakamega, the South by Siaya, the West by Uganda, and the South West by Lake Victoria.

Busia County has seven sub-counties: Bunyula, Busia, Butula, Nambale, Samia, Teso North, and Teso South.

Busia County Economy

Busia County's average Gross County Product (GCP) at current prices between 2018 and 2022 was Ksh 115.5 billion, representing an average Gross Value Added of 0.9% in the same period.

The county's average contribution to Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing between 2018 and 2022 was 1.3%, while its average contribution to manufacturing activities was 0.4%. Busia County's contribution to service activities was 0.8%.

Busia County had a Gross County Product per capita of Ksh 121,582.

Poverty Rates

Busia County had an overall headcount poverty rate of 58.3% in 2021, representing an estimated 581,000 people living in poverty. The county’s poverty rate was higher than the national poverty rate of 38.6% in the same year.

Busia also had an estimated hardcore poverty rate of 5.1%, representing an estimated 51,000 people who lived in extreme poverty. This was lower than the national hardcore poverty rate of 5.8%.

Busia had a food poverty rate of 49% in 2021, representing an estimated 488,000 people living in food poverty. This was higher than the national food poverty rate of 30.5% in the same year.

The table below shows the poverty rates by constituency in Busia County in 2019. Budalangi had a poverty rate of 61.6%, Bunyula 64.9%, Butula 64.7%, Matayos 62.3%, Nambale 31.4%, Teso North 62.7%, and Teso South 66.3%.

Consumption patterns in Busia County in 2021 showed that the share of monthly expenditure on food and non-food items was 59.3% and 40.7%, respectively. The mean monthly expenditure on food items was Ksh 2,454, while the mean monthly expenditure on non-food items was Ksh 2,002. 

The percentage distribution of the food source in Busia County included 75% from purchase or stock, 20.6% from own-source production, and 4.4% from gifts.

In 2021, the mean and median per adult equivalent consumption expenditure in Busia County were Ksh 4,456 and Ksh 3,798, respectively. 

Busia County Demographics

The total population in Busia County in 2019 was 893,681, consisting of 426,252 males, 467,401 females, and 28 intersex. Busia had a median age of 16 years in 2019.

The table below shows the population distribution in Busia by sub-county and gender.

Marital Status

The percentage of women in Busia County who never married in 2019 was 39.5%. Those married monogamous was 44.5%, while those married polygamous was 5.2%. The share of women who were widowed in the county was 8.1%, while those who were divorced and separated were 0.8% and 1.9%.

Among men aged 12 and above in Busia, the share of those who were never married was 51%, while 40.6% were married monogamously. Those married polygamous were 4.8%. The share of men widowed in Busia was 1.1%, while those widowed and separated were 0.6% and 1.9%, respectively.

According to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022, the median age at first marriage among women aged 25-49 in Busia County was 20 years. Among men aged 20-54 in Busia, the median age at first marriage in 2022 was 24.1 years. Among men aged 30-54, the county's median age at first marriage was 23.6 years.

Polygyny

According to KDHS 2022, the percentage distribution of currently married women aged 15-49 in Busia County who had one co-wife was 11.9%, while those with more than 2 co-wives was 3.0%. Those without a co-wife in Busia were 82.9%.

Among men, the percentage of currently married men aged 15-49 who had more than two wives in Busia County was 10.7%, while those with only one wife was 89.3%.

Marriage Registration

The percentage of currently married women in Busia County whose marriage was registered with civil authorities in 2022 was 12.1%. Those whose marriage was registered with civil authorities and had a marriage certificate in the county were 10.6%.

Teenage Marriages

The proportion of married males in Busia County aged 12-15 years in 2019 was 3.4%. Among females aged 12-15 in Busia, the married proportion was 3.5%. The proportion of married females aged 12-18 in Busia was 5.3% in 2019.

According to the KDHS 2022, the teenage pregnancy rate in Busia County, consisting of females aged 15-19 who have ever had a live birth, was 13.1%. The national teenage pregnancy rate was 18.3% in 2022.

Total Fertility Rate

The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of Busia County in 2019 was 3.5 births per woman, a decline of 38.9% from 5.8 births in 2009. In the same year, Kenya had a Total Fertility Rate of 3.4 births, representing a 28.6% decline from 4.8 births in 2009.

Among the youth aged 15-24 years in Busia were 1.2 births in 2019, compared to a national youth TFR of 1.0 births in the same year.

Busia County had a Crude Birth Rate of 26.8 births per 1,000 population, a 43.3% decline from 47.2 births per 1,000 population in 2009. By comparison, Kenya had a Crude Birth Rate of 27.9 births per 1,000 population in 2019, a 27.2% decline from 38.4 births per 1,000 population in 2009.

Place of Birth and Notification Status

The proportion of recent births that had occurred in a health facility in Busia County in 2019 was 89.9%, while those that had not occurred in a health facility were 10%. Overall, 85.8% of recent births in Kenya in 2019 occurred in a health facility, while 14% did not occur in a health facility.

The notification status of recent births in Busia County in 2019 showed that 91.4% of births were notified, while 8.5% were not. Overall, 90.4% of births in Kenya in 2019 were notified, while 9.3% were not notified.

Place of Death and Notification Status

In 2019, 58.4% of deaths in Busia County occurred in a health facility, while 40.9% occurred in the community. In Kenya, 59% of deaths in 2019 occurred in a health facility, while 40% did not occur in a health facility.

The share of deaths in Busia County that were notified in 2019 was 90.8%. Overall, the share of deaths that were notified in Kenya in 2019 was 85.6%.

Busia County had a Crude Death Rate (CDR) of 9.2 deaths per 1,000 population in 2019. Overall, Kenya had a Crude Death Rate of 10.5%.

Religious Affiliation

The majority of residents of Busia County are Catholic 266,299, followed by Protestant 257,869, and Evangelical Churches 246,936.

Development

1. The Rural Access Index (RAI) in Busia County was 89%, representing the percentage of the population living within two kilometers of an all-weather road in 2019.
2. Household access to electricity in Busia County was 26.2% in 2019, up from 6% in 2009.
3. Household access to improved sanitation in Busia County was 82.2% in 2019, up from 60.7% in 2009.
4. Household access to safe drinking water in Busia County was 73.8% in 2019, up from 62.3% in 2009.
5. Busia had 98.9% of its public primary schools connected to electricity, ranking 11^th nationally in 2019.

The share of the population in Busia County owning mobile phones in 2019 was 38.4%. Among women, 65% owned any type of mobile phone in Busia County in 2022, while 24.7% owned a smartphone.

Among men, 66.2% in Busia owned any kind of mobile phone in 2022, while 33.9% owned a smartphone. The percentage of men and women who had used a mobile phone for financial transactions in the year preceding the 2022 KDHS survey was 78.1% and 74.3%, respectively.

See Also

1. Kakamega County
2. Trans Nzoia County
3. Vihiga County
4. Bungoma County

References

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5. KNBS. (2023). 2023 Gross County Product: Measuring the economic evolution of counties (pp. 8-10).
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7. KNBS. (2023). The Kenya Poverty Report: Based on the 2021 Kenya Continuous Household Survey (pp. 35-47).
8. Commission on Revenue Allocation. (2022). Kenya County Factsheet (3rd ed., p. 120).
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18. KNBS. (2019). 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census: Distribution of population by socioeconomic status (Vol. IV, p. 422).
19. Commission on Revenue Allocation. (2022). Kenya County Factsheet (3rd ed., p. 120).