Nyamira County

Introduction

Nyamira County had 661,000 people in 2024. In 2019, the county had 605,576 people and a total land area of 897.3 square kilometers. Nyamira had the sixth highest population density of 675 people per square kilometer behind Nairobi 6,247, Mombasa 5,495, Vihiga 1,047, Kisii 958, and Kiambu 952.

Nyamira is bordered to the East by Kericho and Bomet, to the North by Kisumu, to the North West by Homa Bay, and to the West by Kisii. 

Nyamira has 5 sub counties, including Borabu, Manga, Masaba North, Nyamira North, and Nyamira South.

Nyamira Economy

Nyamira had a Gross County Product (GCP) of 144.7 billion in 2022, representing a five-year average Gross Value Added (GVA) of 1.2%. Compared to Nyamira, Kisii had a GCP of 257.8 billion and a five-year average GVA of 2.0%.

Nyamira County's average contribution to agriculture, forestry, and fishing activities between 2018 and 2022 was 2.5%. It contributed, on average, 0.7% to manufacturing activities between 2018 and 2022 and 0.8% to service activities.

Nyamira County had a GCP per Capita of Ksh 221,382.

Poverty Rates

According to the 2021 Kenya Continuous Household Survey, Nyamira's overall headcount poverty rate was 34.7%, lower than the national poverty rate of 38.6%. This represents 212,000 people in Nyamira County who were living in poverty.

Moreover, Nyamira County had a hardcore poverty rate of 7% in 2021, whereby 43,000 people were living in extreme poverty. This was higher than the national hardcore poverty rate of 5.8%.

The map below shows the poverty rate by constituency in Nyamira County. North Mugirango had a poverty rate of 29.7%, West Mugirango 41.4%, Kitutu Masaba 33.6%, and Borabu 31.8%. 

Nyamira County's food poverty rate was 33.4%, higher than the national rate of 30.5%. Approximately 204,000 people lived in food poverty in Nyamira County in 2021.

The mean monthly food and non-food expenditure in Nyamira County was Ksh 2,818 and Ksh 2,613, respectively. The county's share of income spent on food and non-food expenditures was 58.2% and 41.8%, respectively.

In 2021, the mean and median per adult equivalent consumption expenditure in Nyamira County were Ksh 5,431 and Ksh 4,575, respectively. 

Nyamira County Demographics

According to the 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census, Nyamira County had a total of 605,576 people, of whom 290,907 were male, 314,656 were female, and 13 were intersex. Nyamira had a median age of 18 years in 2019.

Marital Status

According to the 2019 Census, the % of women aged 12 and above in Nyamira County were unmarried was 36%. Those married monogamous was 53.6%, while those married polygamous was 2%. The distribution of widowed women in Nyamira County was 2.7%, while the divorced and separated were 1.6% and 4.1%, respectively.

Among men, the number of never-married men aged 12 and above in Nyamira County was 45.2%. The distribution of men who married monogamous in Nyamira was 50.5%, and those who married polygamous were 1.9%. The distribution of widowed men in Nyamira was 0.5%, while the divorced and separated were 0.6% and 1.5%, respectively. 

Among women aged 20-49 in Nyamira County in 2022, the median age at first marriage was 19.6 years, while among women aged 25-49 was 19.2 years. Among men aged 30-54, the median age at first marriage in Nyamira County was 25.2 years.

Polygyny

According to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey, 6% of currently married women aged 15-49 in Nyamira County had one or more co-wives. Overall, 83.2% of currently married women in Nyamira did not have a co-wife, while 4.9% only had one co-wife. 1% of the married women in Nyamira had more than two co-wives.

Among married men in Nyamira County aged 15-49 in 2022, 95.5% had one wife, while 4.5% had more than two wives.

Marriage Registration

According to KDHS 2022, the percentage of marriages in Nyamira County registered with civil authorities was 8.6%, while 6.6% were registered and a marriage certificate was issued. 

Teenage Marriages

In 2019, the proportion of married males and females aged 12-15 in Nyamira County was 4.6% and 4.8%, respectively.

The rate of teenage pregnancies, representing women aged 15-19 who have ever been pregnant in Nyamira County, was 15.5% in 2022.

In 2022, the median age at first sexual intercourse among women aged 20-49 in Nyamira was 16.1 years. Among women aged 25-49, the median age at first sexual intercourse in the county was 15.9 years. In men, the median age at first sexual intercourse among those aged 20-54 and 25-54 was 16.4% and 16.3%, respectively.

Total Fertility Rate

Nyamira County had one of the country's lowest Total Fertility Rates (TFR), with a TFR of 2.7 children per woman in 2019, representing a 41.8% change from 4.6 children per woman in 2009. Kenya's TFR was 3.4 children per woman in the same year. At the same time, Kisii has a TFR of 2.8, and Nairobi has a TFR of 2.5.

The Total Fertility Rate of the youth aged 15-24 in Nyamira County was 1.1 compared to a national average of 1.0.

Nyamira County had a crude birth rate of 21.7 births per 1,000 population, a change of 51.2% from 44.4 births in 2009.

Place of Birth and Notification Status

According to the 2019 Census, 95.7% of recent births in Nyamira County occurred in a health facility, while 4.2% did not occur in a health facility. Overall, 85.8% of recent births in Kenya happen in a health facility compared to 14% that do not occur in a health facility.

Moreover, 95.2% of births in Nyamira County are notified, while 4.7% are not.

Place of Death and Notification Status

In 2019, 72.7% of deaths in Nyamira County occurred in a health facility, while 27.1% 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 Nyamira County that were notified in 2019 was 93%. Overall, the share of deaths that were notified in Kenya in 2019 was 85.6%.

Nyamira County had a Crude Death Rate (CDR) of 7.6 deaths per 1,000 population in 2019. Overall, Kenya had a Crude Death Rate of 10.5%.

Religious Affiliation

The majority of residents of Nyamira County are Protestants 326,691, followed by Catholics 152,888, and Evangelical Churches 90,004.

Development

1. The Rural Access Index (RAI) in Nyamira County was 92%, representing the percentage of the population living within two kilometers of an all-weather road in 2019.
2. Household access to electricity in Nyamira County was 43.2% in 2019, up from 5.8% in 2009.
3. Household access to improved sanitation in Nyamira County was 76% in 2019, up from 66.8% in 2009.
4. Household access to safe drinking water in Nyamira County was 51.5% in 2019, up from 48.9% in 2009.
5. Nyamira had 100% of its public primary schools connected to electricity, the highest in the country in 2019.

The share of the population in Nyamira County owning mobile phones in 2019 was 45.4%. Among women, 73.5% owned any type of mobile phone in Nyamira County in 2022, while 25.1% owned a smartphone.

Among men, 69.2% in Nyamira owned any kind of mobile phone in 2022, while 31% 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 65% and 79.8%, respectively.

See Also

1. Kisii County
2. Migori County
3. Homa Bay County
4. Kisumu County

References

1. KNBS. (2022). 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census: Analytical report on population projections (Vol. XVI, pp. 23-25).
2. KNBS. (2022). 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census: Population by county and subcounty (Vol. I, p. 7).
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4. KNBS. (2019). 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census: Population by county and subcounty (Vol. I, p. 10).
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).
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).
9. KNBS. (2023). The Kenya Poverty Report: Based on the 2021 Kenya Continuous Household Survey (pp. 27-31).
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15. KNBS and ICF. 2023. Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022: Volume 1. Nairobi, Kenya, and Rockville, Maryland, USA: KNBS and ICF. (pp. 169-170).
16. KNBS. (2022). 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census: Analytical report on fertility and nuptiality (Vol. VI, pp. 34-42).
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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).