Makueni County

Introduction

Makueni County is located in Eastern Province and had a total population of 1,054,000 people in 2024. According to the 2019 census, Makueni had a total of 987,653 people in that year, comprising 244,669 households and an average household size of 4 people per household.

Makueni County has a total land area of 8,169.8 square kilometers and has a population density of 121 people per square kilometer. 

Makueni is bordered to the North by Machakos County, the East by Kitui County, the South East by Taita Taveta, and the West by Kajiado County.

Makueni County has 9 sub-counties: Kathonzweni, Kibwezi, Kilungu, Makindu, Makueni, Mbooni East, Mbooni West, Mukaa, and Nzaui.

Makueni County Economy

Makueni County had an average Gross County Product at current prices of Ksh 120.5 billion between 2018 and 2019, representing an average county contribution to Gross Value Added of 1%.

The county's average contribution to agriculture, forestry, and fishing activities was 1.3%, while its contribution to manufacturing activities was 0.6%. Makueni County contributed, on average, 1.1% to service activities.

Makueni County had a Gross County Product per capita of Ksh 116,947 in 2022.

Poverty Rates

Makueni County had an overall poverty estimate of 39.7% in 2021, with roughly 397,000 people living in poverty. By comparison, Kenya had an overall poverty rate of 38.6% in the same year.

The hardcore poverty rate in Makueni County was 3.1%, with an estimated 31,000 people living in extreme poverty in 2021. Kenya had a hardcore poverty rate of 5.8% in that year.

Makueni also had a food poverty rate of 32%, with 320,000 people estimated to be living in food poverty. In the same year, Kenya had a food poverty rate of 30.5%.

The map below shows the distribution of poverty by constituency in Makueni County in 2019: Kaiti 40.4%, Kibwezi East 45%, Kibwezi West 51.6%, Kilome 34.6%, Makueni 45.3%, Makueni 45.3%, and Mbooni 32.6%.

In 2021, the mean monthly food and non-food expenditures in Makueni County were Ksh 2,825 and Ksh 2,178, respectively. The overall mean monthly share of food expenditures was 59.8%, while the mean monthly share of non-food expenditures was 40.2%. 

The major sources of household food consumption in Makueni were purchase or stock at 77%, own production at 19.2%, and gifts at 3.8%.

The mean and median per adult equivalent consumption expenditure in Makueni County was Ksh 5,003 and Ksh 4,411, respectively, in 2021.

Makueni County Demographics

Makueni County had a total population of 987,653 people in 2019, consisting of 489,691 males, 497,942 females, and 20 intersex. Makueni had a median age of 20 years in 2019.

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

Marital Status

The percentage of women aged 12 and above in Makueni County who were never married in 2019 was 38.6%, while those who were married monogamous were 50.9%. On the other hand, the percentage of those in polygamous unions was 1.4%, while the widowed were 7%. The distribution of the divorced and separated in Makueni was 0.9% and 1.2%, respectively, in 2019.

In men aged 12 and above, the percentage of those never married in Makueni County was 51.9%. In comparison, those married monogamously were 43.2%. The share of men in polygamous marriages in the county was 1.2%, while the widowed were 1.2%. The distribution of the divorced and separated was 0.8% and 1.5% respectively.

According to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey, the median age at first marriage among women aged 25-49 in Makueni County was 21.9 years in 2022. On the other hand, the median age at first marriage among men aged 30-54 was 25.7 years.

Polygyny

The percentage of women in Makueni County aged 15-49 who had one or more co-wives in 2022 was 4%. The percentage with one co-wife was 2.8%, while the percentage with more than two co-wives was 1.2%. The share of married women without co-wives in the county was 91.8%.

Among married men aged 15-49 in Makueni County, the percentage with more than two wives was 3.1%, while those with one wife was 96.9%.

Marriage Registration

The percentage of currently married women aged 15-49 in Makueni County whose marriage was registered with the civil authorities was 20.4% in 2022. Those whose marriage was registered with civil authorities and had a marriage certificate were 18.5%.

Teenage Marriages

The proportion of married males aged 12-15 in Makueni County was 3% in 2019, while the proportion of married females of the same age group was 3%. Among females aged 12-18, the number of married in Makueni was 3.6%.

The rate of teenage pregnancies in Makueni County, comprising of women aged 15-19 who have ever been pregnant, was 11.1% in 2022.

Total Fertility Rate

Makueni County had a Total Fertility Rate of 2.8 births per woman in 2019, a decline of 34.4% from 4.2 births per woman in 2009. By comparison, Kenya had a TFR of 3.4 births per woman in 2019, a drop of 28.6% from 4.8 births per woman in 2009.

The total Youth Fertility Rate of Makueni County, consisting of women aged 15-24 in 2019, was 1 birth per woman, similar to the national youth fertility rate of one birth per woman in the same year.

Makueni County had a Crude Birth Rate of 19.8 births per 1,000 population in 2019, a decline of 56.2% from 45.1 births per 1,000 population in 2009. Kenya’s Crude Birth Rate in the same period was 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

The share of recent births in Makueni County occurring in a health facility in 2019 was 91%, while those occurring in non-health facilities were 8.9%. In Kenya, the share of recent births occurring in a health facility in 2019 was 85.8%, while those not happening in a health facility were 14%.

The share of recent births in Makueni that were notified in 2019 was 93.6%, while those that were not notified were 6.1%. In Kenya, the % of notified births in 2019 were 90.4%, while those that were not notified were 9.3%.

Place of Death and Notification Status

In 2019, 62.2% of deaths in Makueni County occurred in a health facility, while 37.2% 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 Makueni County that were notified in 2019 was 95.8%. Overall, the share of deaths that were notified in Kenya in 2019 was 85.6%.

Makueni County had a Crude Death Rate (CDR) of 5.5 deaths per 1,000 population in 2019. Overall, Kenya had a Crude Death Rate of 10.5%.

Religious Affiliation

Most residents of Makueni County are Protestants 479,698, followed by Catholics 292,056, and members of Evangelical Churches 131,964.

Development

1. The Rural Access Index (RAI) in Makueni County was 73%, representing the percentage of people living within two kilometers of an all-weather road in 2019.
2. Household access to electricity in Makueni County was 20.4% in 2019, up from 5.9% in 2009.
3. Household access to improved sanitation in Makueni County was 85.3% in 2019, up from 56.4% in 2009.
4. Household access to safe drinking water in Makueni County was 44.4% in 2019, up from 36.9% in 2009.
5. Makueni had 85.6% of its public primary schools connected to electricity, ranking 29^th nationally in 2019.

The share of the population in Makueni County owning mobile phones in 2019 was 49%. Among women, 73.2% owned any type of mobile phone in Makueni County in 2022, while 38.9% owned a smartphone.

Among men, 78.9% of Makueni owned any kind of mobile phone in 2022, while 35.8% 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 81.5% and 74.8%, respectively^.

See Also

1. Machakos County
2. Kitui County
3. Mombasa County 

References

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19. Commission on Revenue Allocation. (2022). Kenya County Factsheet (3rd ed., p. 120).