Kilifi County

Introduction

Kilifi County is located in the Coast Province and has a population of 1,607,000 in 2024. According to the 2019 census, it had a population of 1,453,747, comprising 298,472 households and an average household size of 4.8 people per household.

Kilifi has a total land area of 12,539.7 square kilometres and had a population density of 116 people per square kilometre in 2019.

Kilifi County is bordered to the North by Tana River County, to the East by the Indian Ocean, to the South by Mombasa and Kwale, and to the West by Taita Taveta.

Sub-counties in Kilifi County include Chonyi, Ganze, Kaloleni, Kauma, Kilifi North, Kilifi South, Magarini, Malindi, and Rabai.

Kilifi County Economy

Kilifi County had an average Gross County Product at current prices of Ksh 254.8 billion between 2018 and 2022, representing an average county contribution to Gross Value Added of 2.1%.

Kilifi contributed, on average, 1.7% to agriculture, forestry, and fishing activities. It also contributed 4.6% to manufacturing and 2% to service activities.

Kilifi County had a Gross County Product per capita of Ksh 164,626 in 2022.

Poverty Rates

Kilifi County's overall headcount poverty rate was 49.2% in 2021, with 746,000 people estimated to live in poverty. The overall headcount poverty rate in Kenya was 38.6% in the same year.

In 2021, Kilifi County's hardcore poverty rate was 3.8%, and 58,000 people were estimated to live in extreme poverty. In Kenya, the hardcore poverty rate in 2021 was 5.8%.

In 2021, Kilifi had a food poverty rate of 41.4%, with 628,000 people estimated to live in food poverty. Nationally, Kenya had a food poverty rate of 30.5% in the same year. 

The map below shows the distribution of poverty by constituency in Kilifi County in 2019: Ganze 54.6%, Kaloleni 44.2%, Kilifi North 39.3%, Kilifi South 37.1%, Magarini 47.4%, Malindi 32.9%, and Rabai 18.6%.

In 2021, the mean monthly food and non-food expenditures in Kilifi County were Ksh 2,938 and Ksh 2,921, respectively. In the same year, the percentage share of these expenditures was 55.8% and 44.2%. 

The major sources of food in Kilifi County were purchase or stock 80.1%, own production 12.2%, and gifts 7.8%.

In 2021, the mean and median per adult equivalent consumption expenditure in Kilifi County were Ksh 5,859 and Ksh 4,538, respectively.

Kilifi County Demographics

Kilifi County had a total population of 1,453,787 in 2019, consisting of 704,089 males, 749,673 females, and 25 intersex people. Kilifi had a median age of 17 years in 2019.

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

Marital Status

The percentage distribution of women aged 12 and above who were never married in 2019 was 38.6%, while those who were married monogamous and polygamous were 46% and 3.6%, respectively. The distribution of the widowed in Kilifi was 7%, while the divorced and separated were 1.8% and 2.8%, respectively.

Among men aged 12 and above in Kilifi County, 51.5% were never married, 42.2% married monogamously, 3% married polygamously, 0.8% were widowed, 1% divorced, and 1.3% separated.

According to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey, the median age at first marriage among women aged 25-49 in Kilifi County was 19.5 years in 2022, and among men aged 30-54 in Kilifi, it was 25.7 years in 2022.

Polygyny

In 2022, the percentage of married women aged 15-49 in Kilifi County who had one or more co-wives was 11.2%, consisting of 10% who had one co-wife and 1.2% with more than two co-wives. The percentage of married women in Kilifi without co-wives was 86.7% in 2022.

In 2022, 93.8% of married men aged 15-49 in Kilifi had one wife, and 6.2% had more than two wives.

Marriage Registration

In 2022, the percentage of currently married women aged 15-49 in Kilifi County whose marriage was registered with civil authorities was 13.2%, while the percentage of those whose marriage was registered with authorities and had a marriage certificate was 11.9%.

Teenage Marriages

The proportion of married males aged 12-15 and 12-18 in Kilifi County was 2.4% and 2.5%, respectively, in 2019. The proportion of married females aged 12-15 and 12-18 in the county was 2.4% and 4.9%, respectively, in the same year.

The rate of teenage pregnancies in Kilifi, consisting of women aged 15-19 who have ever had a pregnancy, was 12.5% in 2022.

Total Fertility Rate

Kilifi County's Total Fertility Rate was 3.7 births per woman in 2019, a 22.5% decline from the 2009 total fertility rate of 4.8 births per woman. By comparison, Kenya's total fertility rate was 3.4 births per woman in 2019, a 28.6% decline from the 2009 total fertility rate of 4.8 births.

In 2019, Kilifi County's total youth fertility rate was 1.1 births per woman, compared to the national rate of 1 birth per woman.

Kilifi County had a Crude Birth Rate of 29 births per 1,000 population in 2019, a decline of 38.3% from a Crude Birth Rate of 47 births per 1,000 population in 2009. Overall, Kenya had a Crude Birth Rate of 27.9 births per 1,000 population, 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, 84.8% of recent births in Kilifi County occurred in a health facility, while 15.1% occurred in a non-health facility. In Kenya, 84.8% of recent births in 2019 occurred in a health facility, while 14% did not occur in a health facility.

The share of recent births in Kilifi County that were notified in 2019 was 94.3%, while those that were not notified were 5.6%. Overall, the share of recent births that were notified in Kenya in 2019 was 90.4%, while those that were not notified were 9.3%.

Place of Death and Notification Status

In 2019, 54.2% of deaths in Kilifi County occurred in a health facility, while 45.4% 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 Kilifi County that were notified in 2019 was 86.9%. Overall, the share of deaths that were notified in Kenya in 2019 was 85.6%.

Kilifi County had a Crude Death Rate (CDR) of 10.2 deaths per 1,000 population in 2019. Overall, Kenya had a Crude Death Rate of 10.5%.

Religious Affiliation

The majority of residents of Kilifi County are Protestant: 388,893, followed by members of Evangelical Churches: 307,345, and Muslims: 253,966.

Development

1. The Rural Access Index (RAI) in Kilifi County was 35% in 2019, representing the percentage of the Population living within two kilometres of an all-weather road.
2. Household access to electricity in Kilifi County was 38.6% in 2019, up from 16.7% in 2009.
3. In 2019, 72% of households had access to improved sanitation in Kilifi County, up from 48% in 2009.
4. Household access to safe drinking water in Kilifi County was 71% in 2019, up from 67.9% in 2009.
5. Kilifi had 79.8% of its public primary schools connected to electricity, ranking 33^rd nationally in 2019.

The share of the Population in Kilifi County that owned mobile phones in 2019 was 39.4%. Among women, 64.5% owned any type of mobile phone in Kilifi County in 2022, while 24.1% owned a smartphone.

Among men, 76.8% in Kilifi owned any kind of mobile phone in 2022, while 42.4% 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 86.7% and 72.8%, respectively^.

See Also

1. Mombasa County
2. Kwale County
3. Tana River County
4. Lamu County
5. Taita Taveta County

References

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