Garissa County

Introduction

Garissa County is located in North Eastern Province and had a population of 949,000 in 2024. According to the 2019 census, it had a total population of 841,353 people, 141,394 households, and an average household size of 5.9 people per household.

Garissa County had a total land area of 44,736 square kilometres and a population density of 33 people per square kilometre in 2019.

Garissa County is bordered to the North by Wajir, to the East by Somalia, to the South by Lamu, to the West by the Tana River, and to the North-West by Isiolo County.

Sub-counties in Garissa County include Balambala, Dadaab, Fafi, Garissa, Hulugho, Ijara, and Lagdera.

Garissa County Economy

Between 2018 and 2022, Garissa County had an average Gross County Product at current prices of Ksh 68.5 billion, representing an average county contribution to Gross Value Added of 0.6%.

Garissa County's average contribution to agriculture, forestry, and fishing was 0.7%, while its contribution to manufacturing activities was 0.2%. The county's contribution to service activities was 0.6%.

Garissa County had a Gross County Product per capita of Ksh 75,662 in 2022.

Poverty Rates

Garissa County's overall headcount poverty rate was 68.3% in 2021, with 601,000 people estimated to be living in poverty. Kenya's overall headcount poverty rate was 38.6% in the same year.

The hardcore poverty rate in Garissa was 6.6%, with 58,000 people estimated to live in extreme poverty. The national hardcore poverty rate in the same year was 5.8%.

Garissa County had a food poverty rate of 47.2% in 2021, with 415,000 people estimated to be living in food poverty. The food poverty rate in Kenya was 30.5% in the same year. 

The table below shows the distribution of poverty by constituency in Garissa County in 2019: Balambala 81.2%, Dadaab 65.1%, Fafi 65.1%, Garissa Township 60.5%, Ijara 83.2%, and Lagdera 80.5%.

In 2021, the mean monthly food and non-food expenditures in Garissa County were Ksh 2,832 and Ksh 2,325, respectively. The county's percentage share of these expenditures was 59.3% and 40.7%, respectively. 

The major sources of food in Garissa County include purchase or stock 89%, own production 2.1%, and gifts 8.8%.

In 2021, the mean and median per adult equivalent consumption expenditure in Garissa County were Ksh 5,157 and Ksh 4,290, respectively.

Garissa County Demographics

In 2019, Garissa County had a total population of 841,353 people, consisting of 458,975 males, 382,344 females, and 34 intersex people. Garissa had a median age of 13 years in 2019.

The table below shows the population distribution in Garissa County by sex and sub-county in 2019. 

Marital Status

The percentage distribution of women aged 12 and above in Garissa County who were never married in 2019 was 42.3%, while those married monogamous was 49.3%. On the other hand, the distribution of women who married polygamous in Garissa was 1.9%, the widowed were 2.9%, the divorced were 2.6%, and the separated were 0.6%.

Among men aged 12 and above in Garissa County, 57.6% were never married, 36.2% married monogamously, 3.8% married polygamously, 0.6% were widowed, 0.7% divorced, and 0.7% separated.

According to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey, the median age at first marriage among women aged 20-49 in Garissa County was 19.1 years in 2022, while among women aged 25-49, the median age was 18.7. Among men aged 30-54, the median age at first marriage was 25.1 years.

Polygyny

The percentage of women aged 15-49 in Garissa County who had one or more co-wives was 22.3% in 2022, consisting of 20.2% of married women with one co-wife and 2.1% of women with more than two co-wives. The percentage of married women in Garissa without co-wives was 77.2%.

Among married men aged 15-49 in Garissa, 91.9% had only one wife, while 8.1% had more than two wives.

Marriage Registration

The % of currently married women aged 15-49 in Garissa County whose marriage is registered with the civil authority was 52.2%. In comparison, the % of those whose marriage is registered and has a marriage certificate was 34.3%.

Teenage Marriages

The proportion of married males aged 12-15 and 12-18 in Garissa County was 6.2% and 6.8%, respectively. The proportion of married females aged 12-15 and 12-18 in Garissa County was 6.7% and 10.4%, respectively.

The rate of teenage pregnancies in Garissa County, consisting of women aged 15-19 who have ever even been pregnant, was 14.8% in 2022.

Total Fertility Rate

Garissa County had a Total Fertility Rate of 4.4 births per woman, a decline of 31.9% from 6.4 births per woman in 2009. By comparison, Kenya had a Total Fertility Rate of 3.4 births per woman, a drop of 28.6% from a total fertility rate of 4.8 births per woman in 2009.

In 2019, the total youth fertility rate in Garissa County was 0.6 births per woman, compared to a national youth fertility rate of 1 birth per woman in Kenya.

Garissa County had a Crude Birth Rate of 31.5 births per 1,000 population in 2019, a decline of 39% from a Crude Birth Rate of 51.7 births per 1,000 population in 2009. Overall, Kenya had a Crude Birth Rate of 27.9 births per 1,000 population in 2019, a decline of 27.2% from a Crude Birth Rate of 38.4 births per 1,000 population in 2009.

Place of Birth and Notification Status

In 2019, the share of recent births occurring in a health facility in Garissa County was 64.6%, while the share of births in a non-health facility was 33%. In Kenya, the share of recent births occurring in a health facility was 85.8%. In comparison, those not happening in a health facility were 14%.

In 2019, 74.5% of recent births in Garissa County were notified, while 24.1% were not. Overall, 90.4% of recent births in Kenya were notified in 2019, while 9.3% were not.

Place of Death and Notification Status

In 2019, 33.3 % of deaths in Garissa County occurred in a health facility, while 56.6% 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 Garissa County that were notified in 2019 was 35.8%. Overall, the share of deaths that were notified in Kenya in 2019 was 85.6%.

Garissa County Crude Death Rate (CDR) was 6.5 deaths per 1,000 population in 2019. Overall, Kenya had a Crude Death Rate of 10.5%.

Religious Affiliation

The majority of residents of Garissa County are Muslims 401,975, followed by Catholics 7,919, and Other Christians 4,819.

Development

1. The Rural Access Index (RAI) in Garissa County was 24% in 2019, representing the percentage of the population living within two kilometres of an all-weather road.
2. Household access to electricity in Garissa County was 24% in 2019, up from 11.6% in 2009.
3. In 2019, 44.3% of households had access to improved sanitation in Garissa County, up from 31% in 2009.
4. In 2019, 53.7% of households had access to safe drinking water in Garissa County, up from 64.1% in 2009.
5. Garissa had 27.8% of its public primary schools connected to electricity, ranking 40^th nationally in 2019.

The share of the population in Garissa County owning mobile phones in 2019 was 30.3%. Among women, 75.4% owned any type of mobile phone in Garissa County in 2022, while 34.7% owned a smartphone.

Among men, 88.4% in Garissa owned any kind of mobile phone in 2022, while 52% 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 83.5% and 69.4%, respectively^.

See Also

1. Mandera County
2. Wajir County
3. Marsabit County 

References

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5. KNBS. (2023). 2023 Gross County Product: Measuring the economic evolution of counties (pp. 8-10).
6. KNBS. (2023). 2023 Gross County Product: Measuring the economic evolution of counties (pp. 15-21).
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19. Commission on Revenue Allocation. (2022). Kenya County Factsheet (3rd ed., p. 120).