Kericho County

Introduction

Kericho County is located in Rift Valley Province and had a total population of 967,000 in 2024. According to the 2019 Census, Kericho had a total population of 901,777 that year. The total number of households in Kericho was 206,036, and the average household size in the county was 4.4 people per household.

Kericho County has a total land area of 2,436.1 square kilometres. Its population density in 2019 was 370 people per square kilometre. 

Kericho County is bordered to the South by Bomet, to the South West by Nyamira, to the West by Kisumu, to the North by Nandi, to the North East by Uasin Gishu and Baringo, and to the East by Nakuru County.

Kericho County has six sub-counties: Belgut, Bureti, Kericho East, Kipkelion, Londiani, and Soin Sigowet.

Kericho County Economy

Kericho County had an average Gross County Product at current prices of Ksh 204.4 billion between 2018 and 2022, representing an average country contribution to Gross Value Added of 1.7%.

The county’s average contribution to Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing activities was 3.2%, while the average contribution to manufacturing activities was 1.6%. Kericho County contributed, on average, 1.2% to service activities in the same period.

Kericho County had a Gross County Product per Capita of Ksh 216,953.

Poverty Rates

The overall headcount poverty rate of Kericho County in 2021 was 39.8%, with an estimated 375,000 people living in poverty. The overall poverty rate in Kenya during the same period was 38.6%.

The total number of people living in hardcore poverty in Kericho County in 2021 was 47,000, or 5% of the population. This was lower than the 5.8% share of people living in hardcore poverty in Kenya. 

Kericho County had an estimated food poverty rate of 28%, with 264,000 people estimated to live in food poverty. In Kenya, the food poverty rate in 2021 was 30.5%.

The map below shows the poverty rates by constituency in Kericho County in 2019. Ainamoi had a poverty rate of 37.5%, Belgut 24.1%, Bureti 38.2%, Kipkelion East 30.6%, Kipkelion West 39.7%, and Soin Sigowet 25.7%.

In 2021, the mean monthly food and non-food expenditures in Kericho County were Ksh 3,043 and Ksh 2,613, respectively. The share of expenditure on food was 61.1%, while the share on non-food items was 38.9%. 

The distribution of food consumption in Kericho County by source in 2021 indicated that 71% came from purchase or stock, 23.9% from own production, and 5.1% from gifts.

The mean and median per adult equivalent expenditure in Kericho County in 2021 was Ksh 5,656 and Ksh 4,580, respectively.

Kericho County Demographics

The total number of people in Kericho County in 2019 was 901,777, consisting of 450,741 males, 451,008 females, and 28 intersex. Kericho's median age was 18 years in 2019.

The table below shows the total number of people in Kericho County by sub-county. 

Marital Status

The percentage of women aged 12 and above in Kericho County who were never married in 2019 was 42.5%, while those who were married monogamously was 49.3%. The share that was married polygamously in Kericho was 2.2%. Those widowed were 4.2%, the divorced were 0.4%, and the separated were 1.4%.

Among men aged 12 and above in Kericho, the percentage of those who were never married in 2019 was 49.5%, while those who married monogamously were 46.8%. The distribution of those married polygamously in Kericho was 1.8%. Conversely, the widowed were 0.7%, the divorced 0.2%, and the separated were 0.9%. 

According to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022, the median age at first marriage among women aged 25-49 in Kericho County was 21.1 years. On the other hand, the median age at first marriage among men aged 30-54 in Kericho was 26.1 years in 2022.

Polygyny

The percentage of currently married women aged 15-49 in 2022 from Kericho who had one or more co-wives was 2.9%, while those who did not have a co-wife was 97.1%. 

Among men aged 15-49 in Kericho, those with more than two wives were 1.6%, while those with only one wife were 98.4%.

Marriage Registration

According to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey, the % of currently married women aged 15-49 whose marriage was registered with the civil authorities in Kericho County was 37.6% in 2022. The percentage whose marriage was registered and had a marriage certificate was 28.8%.

Teenage Marriages

The proportion of married males aged 12-15 in Kericho County was 4.6% in 2019, while the proportion of married females of the same age group was 4.9%. Among females aged 12-18 in Kericho, those who were married were 6.5%.

The teenage pregnancy rate in Kericho County in 2022, consisting of women aged 15-19 who have ever been pregnant, was 14.5%.

Total Fertility Rate

Kericho County had a Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of 3.1 births in 2019, a decrease of 39.8% from a TFR of 5.1 births in 2009. By comparison, Kenya’s Total Fertility Rate in 2019 was 3.4 births, a decline of 28.6% from 4.8 births in 2009.

The Total Fertility Rate among youth aged 15-24 in Kericho was 1.1 births, compared to a national youth total fertility rate of 1 birth in 2019.

Kericho County had a Crude Birth Rate of 25.1 births per 1,000 population in 2019, a decrease of 53.8% from 54.3 births per 1,000 population in 2009. Overall, the Crude Birth Rate in Kenya was 27.9 births per 1,000 population in 2019, a 27.2% decrease from 38.4 births per 1,000 population in 2009.

Place of Birth and Notification Status

The share of recent births in Kericho County that occurred in a health facility in 2019 was 85.7%, with 14.2% occurring in non-health facilities. In Kenya, the share of recent births in 2019 that happened in a health facility was 85.8%, while those that occurred in a non-health facility were 14%.

The share of recent births in Kericho County that were notified in 2019 was 91.7%, while those that were not notified were 8.1%. Overall, the share of notified births in Kenya in 2019 was 90.4%, while those that were not notified were 9.3%.

Place of Death and Notification Status

In 2019, 67.4% of deaths in Kericho County occurred in a health facility, while 32.2% 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 Kericho County that were notified in 2019 was 91.7%. Overall, the share of deaths that were notified in Kenya in 2019 was 85.6%.

Kericho County had a Crude Death Rate (CDR) of 13 deaths per 1,000 population in 2019. Overall, Kenya had a Crude Death Rate of 10.5%.

Religious Affiliation

The majority of residents of Kericho County are Protestants 396,003, followed by members of Evangelical Churches 262,307, and Catholics 99,191.

Development

1. The Rural Access Index (RAI) in Kericho County was 86%, representing the percentage of the Population living within two kilometers of an all-weather road in 2019.
2. Household access to electricity in Kericho County was 45.1% in 2019, up from 10.8% in 2009.
3. Household access to improved sanitation in Kericho County was 84.3% in 2019, up from 64.4% in 2009.
4. Household access to safe drinking water in Kericho County was 46.7% in 2019, up from 43.9% in 2009.
5. Kericho had 99.8% of its public primary schools connected to electricity, ranking 5^th nationally in 2019.

The share of the population in Kericho County that owned mobile phones in 2019 was 43.4%. Among women, 76.4% owned any type of mobile phone in Kericho County in 2022, while 33.3% owned a smartphone.

Among men, 81.3% in Kericho owned any kind of mobile phone in 2022, while 37.8% 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 82.5% and 74.7%, respectively.

See Also

1. Nandi County
2. Uasin Gishu County
3. Elgeyo Marakwet County
4. Bomet County

References

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