Kakamega County

Introduction

Kakamega County is located in Western Kenya and had a total population of 2,038,000 in 2024. In 2019, the county had a population of 1,867,579 living within a land area of 3,020 square kilometers. Kakamega had a population density of 618 people per square kilometer.

The total number of households in the region was 433,207, and the average household was 4.3 people.

Kakamega County is bordered to the North by Bungoma, to the North East by Trans Nzoia, to the East by Uasin Gishu and Nandi, to the South by Vihiga and Siaya, and to the South West by Busia.

Kakamega County has 13 sub-counties, including Butere, Kakamega Central, Kakamega East, Kakamega North, Kakamega South, Khwisero, Likuyani, Lugari, Matete, Matungu, Mumias East, Mumias West, and Navakholo.

Kakamega County Economy

Kakamega County had an average Gross County Product at current prices of Ksh 276.48 billion between 2018 and 2022, representing an average contribution to Gross Value Added of 2.3%.

The average Kakamega county contribution to agriculture, forestry, and fishing activities between 2018 and 2022 was 3.7%, while the average contribution to manufacturing activities in the same period was 1.8%. Kakamega County’s average contribution to services was 1.9%.

The Gross County Product per Capita for Kakamega County in 2022 was Ksh 140,535.

Poverty Rates

In 2021, Kakamega County's overall headcount poverty rate was 39.6% in 2021, higher than the national poverty rate of 38.6%. The estimated number of people living in poverty in the county was 893,000.

The hardcore poverty rate in Kakamega was 12.8% in 2021, higher than the national hardcore poverty rate of 5.8%. The estimated number of people in the county living in extreme poverty was 244,000.

Kakamega County had an estimated food poverty rate of 28.5%, with roughly 543,000 people living in food poverty. The national food poverty rate in the same period was 30.5%.

The map below shows the poverty rates by constituency in Kakamega County in 2019. Butere had a poverty rate of 34.5%, Ikolomani 28.4%, Shinyalu 64.4%, Lurambi 35.7%, Khwisero 30.3%, Likuyani 26.1%, Lugari 28.9%, Malava 34.3%, Matungu 36.3%, Mumias East 41.6%, Mumias West 15.4%, and Navakholo 29.5%.

Analyses of consumption patterns in Kakamega County in 2021 revealed that 63.7% of monthly income was directed toward food consumption, while 36.3% was directed toward non-food items. The county's mean monthly food expenditure was Ksh 3,368, while the mean expenditure on non-food items was Ksh 2,257. 

The distribution of household food consumption by source in Kakamega included 71.8% from purchase or stock, 22.8% from own production, and 5.4% from gifts.

The mean and median per adult equivalent consumption expenditure in Kakamega County in 2021 was Ksh 5,625 and Ksh 5,005, respectively.

Kakamega County Demographics

The total population of Kakamega County in 2019 was 1,867,579, consisting of 897,133 males, 970,406 females, and 40 intersex people. Kakamega had a median age of 16 years in 2019.

The table below shows the population of Kakamega by Subcounty and sex.

Marital Status

The percent distribution of never-married women aged 12 and above in Kakamega County was 38.7% in 2019. The share of those married monogamously was 47.2%, while 3.9% of the women were married polygamously. The percentage of widowed women in Kakamega was 7.8%. The county's divorced and separated were o.6% and 1.8%, respectively.

In men aged 12 and above, the % of those never married in Kakamega was 49.7% in 2019. Those who were married monogamously were 42.6%, while 3.5% were married polygamously. The share of widowed men in Kakamega was 1.2%, while those divorced and separated were 0.6% and 2.1%, respectively.

Results from the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey in 2022 showed that the median age at first marriage among women aged 25-49 in Kakamega was 20.8 years. In men aged 30-54, the median age of first marriage was 26.3 years.

Polygyny

The percent distribution of married women aged 15-49 in 2022 who had a co-wife in Kakamega County was 8.3%, while those with more than two co-wives were 3.4%. The share that did not have a co-wife in the county was 82.2%.

Among married men aged 15-49 in Kakamega, 100% stated they had one wife, and none had more than two wives.

Marriage Registration

The percent of currently married women in Kakamega County aged 15-49 in 2022 whose marriage was registered with the civil authorities was 14.5%, while those whose marriage was registered and had a marriage certificate was 11%.

Teenage Marriages

The proportion of married males aged 12-15 in Kakamega County was 3.8% in 2019. The proportion of married females of the same age group in the county was 3.9%. However, the percentage of married females aged 12-18 in Kakamega was 5.4%.

According to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey, the rate of teenage pregnancies in Kakamega, consisting of females aged 15-19 who have ever been pregnant, was 15.1%.

Total Fertility Rate

Kakamega County had a Total Fertility Rate of 3.4 births in 2019, a decrease of 36.5% from 5.4 births in 2009. Nationally, the total fertility rate was 3.4 births, a 28.6% decrease from 4.8 births in 2019.

Among the youth in Kakamega aged 15-24, the total fertility rate in 2019 was 1.2 births. The total fertility rate among the youth in Kenya was 1.0 birth.

Kakamega County had a Crude Birth Rate of 25 births per 1,000 population in 2019, a decrease of 44.3% from 44.8 births per 1,000 population in 2009. Overall, the Crude Birth Rate in Kenya in 2019 was 27.9 births, a decline of 27.2% from 38.4 births in 2009.

Place of Births and Notification Status

The share of recent births in Kakamega County that had occurred in a health facility in 2019 was 90.8%, while those that occurred in a non-health facility were 9.2%. Overall, the share of births that occurred in a health facility in Kenya was 85.8%, with 14% occurring in non-health facilities.

The share of recent births in Kakamega that were notified in 2019 was 92.4%, while 7.5% were not. In Kenya, the share of notified births was 90.4%, while those that were not were 9.3%.

Place of Deaths and Notification Status

In 2019, 52.2% of deaths in Kakamega County occurred in a health facility, while 47.3% 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 Kakamega County that were notified in 2019 was 94.1%. Overall, the share of deaths that were notified in Kenya in 2019 was 85.6%.

Kakamega County had a Crude Death Rate (CDR) of 13.9 deaths per 1,000 population in 2019. Overall, Kenya had a Crude Death Rate of 10.5%.

Religious Affiliation

Most residents of Kakamega County are Protestants 598,611, followed by those affiliated with Evangelical Churches 566,271 and Catholics 306,477.

Development

1. The Rural Access Index (RAI) in Kakamega County was 81%, representing the percentage of the population living within two kilometers of an all-weather road in 2019.
2. Household access to electricity in Kakamega County was 25.2% in 2019, up from 5.6% in 2009.
3. Household access to improved sanitation in Kakamega County was 89% in 2019, up from 83.5% in 2009.
4. Household access to safe drinking water in Kakamega County was 72.3% in 2019, up from 61.2% in 2009.
5. Kakamega had 97.6% of its public primary schools connected to electricity, ranking 17^th nationally in 2019.

The share of the population in Kakamega County owning mobile phones in 2019 was 40.9%. Among women, 69% owned any type of mobile phone in Kakamega County in 2022, while 32.4% owned a smartphone.

Among men, 64.9% in Kakamega owned any kind of mobile phone in 2022, while 34% 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 58.1% and 74.2%, respectively^.

See Also

1. Bungoma County
2. Trans Nzoia County
3. Vihiga County
4. Busia 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).
3. KNBS. (2019). 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census: Population by county and subcounty (Vol. I, p. 9).
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).
10. KNBS. (2022). 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census: Analytical report on fertility and nuptiality (Vol. VI, pp. 14-19).
11. KNBS and ICF. 2023. Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022: Volume 1. Nairobi, Kenya, and Rockville, Maryland, USA: KNBS and ICF. (p. 143).
12. KNBS and ICF. 2023. Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022: Volume 1. Nairobi, Kenya, and Rockville, Maryland, USA: KNBS and ICF. (pp. 137-140).
13. KNBS and ICF. 2023. Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022: Volume 1. Nairobi, Kenya, and Rockville, Maryland, USA: KNBS and ICF. (pp. 135-136).
14. KNBS. (2022). 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census: Analytical report on fertility and nuptiality (Vol. VI, pp. 19-21).
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).
17. KNBS. (2022). 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census: Analytical report on fertility and nuptiality (Vol. VI, pp. 43-46).
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).