Taita-Taveta County

Introduction

Taita Taveta is located in Coast Province and had a total population of 368,000 in 2024. According to the 2019 census, Taita Taveta had a total population of 340,671 people, comprising 96,429 households and an average household size of 3.5 people per household.

Taita Taveta County has a total land area of 17,152 square kilometres and a population density of 20 people per square kilometre. 

Taita Taveta County is bordered to the North by Makueni and Kitui, North East by Tana River, East by Kilifi and Kwale, South by Tanzania, and the West by Kajiado.

Sub-counties in Taita Taveta County include Mwatate, Taita, Taveta, and Voi.

Taita Taveta County Economy

Taita Taveta had an average Gross County Product at current prices of Ksh 70.4 billion between 2018 and 2022, representing an average county contribution to Gross Value Added of 0.6% in the same period.

Taita Taveta County’s average contribution to agriculture, forestry, and fishing activities was 0.6%, while its contribution to manufacturing activities was 0.3%. The county’s average contribution to service activities was 0.7%. 

Taita Taveta had a Gross County Product per capita of Ksh 195,787 in 2022.

Poverty Rates

Taita Taveta's overall headcount poverty rate was 33.9% in 2021, with 138,000 people estimated to live in poverty. By comparison, Kenya's poverty rate was 38.6% in 2021.

The hardcore poverty rate in Taita Taveta was 4.2% in 2021, with 17,000 people estimated to live in extreme poverty. In Kenya, the hardcore poverty rate in the same year was 5.8%.

Taita Taveta also had a food poverty rate of 37.2%, with 151,000 people estimated to live in food poverty. In Kenya, the food poverty rate in 2021 was 30.5%.

The map below shows the distribution of poverty by constituency in Taita Taveta County in 2019: Mwatate 21%, Taveta 38.5%, Voi 44.1%, and Wundanyi 31.4%.

In 2021, the mean monthly food and non-food expenditures in Taita Taveta were Ksh 3,083 and Ksh 4,042, respectively. The county's share of food expenditures was 50.4%, while the share of non-food expenditures was 49.6%. 

The major food sources in Taita Taveta are purchase or stock, 80.9%, own production, 14.8%, and gifts, 4.3%.

In 2021, the mean and median per adult equivalent consumption expenditure in Taita Taveta County were Ksh 7,125 and Ksh 5,635, respectively.

Taita Taveta County Demographics

In 2019, Taita Taveta had a total population of 340,671 people, consisting of 173,337 males, 167,327 females, and 7 intersex people. Taita Taveta had a median age of 22 years in 2019.

The table below shows the distribution of the Population in Taita Taveta County by sex and sub-county in 2019. 

Marital Status

The percentage distribution of women aged 12 and above in Taita Taveta County who were never married was 36.8% in 2019, while those who were married monogamously was 48.7%. The percentage distribution of those married polygamous was 0.8%, while the widowed was 8.3%. The percentage distribution of women in Taita Taveta County who were divorced or separated was 1.7% and 3.6% in 2019.

Among men aged 12 and above in Taita Taveta County, 48.7% were never married, 43.9% were married monogamous, 1.5% married polygamous, 1.7% widowed, 1.4% divorced, and 2.8% separated.

According to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey, the median age at first marriage among women aged 25-49 in Taita Taveta County was 21.6 years. On the other hand, the median age at first marriage among men aged 30-54 in Taita Taveta was 28 years in 2022.

Polygyny

The percentage of women aged 15-49 in Taita Taveta County who had one or more co-wives was 5.8% in 2022. The percentage of women in the county without co-wives was 93%.

In 2022, 94.8% of men aged 15-49 in the county had one wife, while 5.2% had more than two wives.

Marriage Registration

In 2022, the percentage of currently married women aged 15-49 in Taita Taveta County whose marriage was registered with a civil authority was 16.1%, while the percentage of those whose marriage was registered and had a marriage certificate was 13.4%.

Teenage Marriages

In 2019, the proportion of married males aged 12-15 in Taita Taveta was 2.4%, while the proportion of married females aged 12-15 was 2.5%. Among females aged 12-18, the married proportion was 4.6%.

The rate of teenage pregnancies in Taita Taveta County, consisting of women aged 15-19 who have ever been pregnant, was 18.4% in 2022.

Total Fertility Rate

Taita Taveta County had a Total Fertility Rate of 3.4 births per woman in 2019, a decline of 15.2% from a Total Fertility Rate of 4 births per woman in 2009. Similarly, the national TFR in 2019 was 3.4 births per woman, a decline of 28.6% from a total fertility rate of 4.8 births per woman in 2009.

In 2019, Taita Taveta County's youth fertility rate was 1.1 births per woman, while Kenya's fertility rate was 1 birth per woman.

Taita Taveta County had a Crude Birth Rate of 25.2 births per 1,000 population in 2019, a decline of 23.7% from a Crude Birth Rate of 33 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 in Taita Taveta County occurring in a health facility was 91.6%, while those occurring in a non-health facility were 8.4%. In Kenya, the share of recent births occurring in a health facility was 85.8%. In comparison, those occurring in a non-health facility were 14%.

In 2019, 95.3% of recent births in Taita Taveta County were notified, while 4.7% were not. Overall, 90.4% of recent births in Kenya were notified, while 9.3% were not.

Place of Death and Notification Status

In 2019, 52.9% of deaths in Taita Taveta County occurred in a health facility, while 46.9% 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 Taita Taveta County that were notified in 2019 was 96%. Overall, the share of deaths that were notified in Kenya in 2019 was 85.6%.

Taita Taveta County had a Crude Death Rate (CDR) of 13.6 deaths per 1,000 population in 2019. Overall, Kenya had a Crude Death Rate of 10.5%.

Religious Affiliation

Most residents of Taita Taveta County are Protestant: 128,302, followed by members of Evangelical Churches: 86,464, and Catholics: 66,878.

Development

1. The Rural Access Index (RAI) in Taita Taveta County was 48% in 2019, representing the percentage of the population living within two kilometres of an all-weather road.
2. Household access to electricity in Taita Taveta County was 48% in 2019, up from 15% in 2009.
3. Household access to improved sanitation in Taita Taveta County was 85.1% in 2019, up from 67.8% in 2009.
4. Household access to safe drinking water in Taita Taveta County was 68.7% in 2019, up from 66.1% in 2009.
5. Taita Taveta had 95.2% of its public primary schools connected to electricity, ranking 25^th nationally in 2019.

The share of the population in Taita Taveta County that owned mobile phones in 2019 was 54.9%. Among women, 87% owned any type of mobile phone in Taita Taveta County in 2022, while 46.3% owned a smartphone.

Among men, 81.7% in Taita Taveta owned any kind of mobile phone in 2022, while 48.6% 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 87% and 69.4%, respectively^.

See Also

1. Mombasa County
2. Kwale County
3. Kilifi County
4. Tana River County
5. Lamu 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).
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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).