Kisumu County

Introduction

Kisumu County is located in Nyanza Province and is home to the third largest city in Kenya. It has a population of 1,269,000 in 2024, up from 1,155,574 in 2019. Kisumu County covers a land area of 2,085.4 and had a population density of 554 in 2019.

The total number of households in Kisumu was 300,745 in 2019, with an average household size of 3.8 individuals per household.

Kisumu is bordered to the East by Kericho County, to the South by Homa Bay County, to the South West by Lake Victoria, to the West by Siaya County, to the North West by Vihiga County, and to the north by Nandi County. 

Kisumu County has 7 sub-counties: Kisumu East, Kisumu Central, Kisumu West, Seme, Muhoroni, Nyando, and Nyakach.

Kisumu County Economy

Kisumu County had a Gross County Product (GCP) of 312.6 billion in 2022, representing a 2.5% five-year average contribution to the Gross County Product.

By sector, Kisumu County contributed 1.7% to agriculture, forestry, and fishing activities between 2018 and 2022. The county contributed 3.4% to manufacturing activities behind Nakuru, 3.9%, Kilifi 4.6%, Machakos 7.8%, Kiambu 8.4%, Mombasa 9.6%, and Nairobi 36.9%.

The county's average contribution to service activities between 2018 and 2022 was 2.7% behind Nakuru's 4.4%, Kiambu's 5%, Mombasa's 5.6%, and Nairobi's 37.3%.

Poverty Rates

According to the 2021 Kenya Continuous Household Survey, Kisumu County's overall headcount poverty rate was 36.3% compared to a national average of 38.6%. This represents 433,000 people who lived in poverty. 

Kisumu County had a hardcore poverty rate of 1.9% compared to a national average of 5.8%. The total number of people in hardcore poverty was 22,000.

In 2021, the mean per adult equivalent consumption expenditure in Kisumu County was Ksh. 6,579, while the median was Ksh. 5,304. 

The county's mean food expenditure was Ksh. 3,253, while the mean non-food expenditure was Ksh. 3,326. The share of income spent on food in Kisumu County was 55.7%, while the share spent on non-food items was 44.3%. 

The overall food poverty rate in Kisumu County in 2021 was 23.8% compared to a national average of 30.5%. 

The map below shows the poverty rates by constituency in Kisumu County. Kisumu East had a poverty rate of 31.7%, Kisumu Central 23.2%, Kisumu West 28.4%, Seme 28.9%, Muhoroni 11.2%, and Nyando 38%. 

Kisumu County Demographics

Kisumu County had a population of 1,155,574 people in 2019, of whom 560,942 were male, 594,609 were female, and 23 were intersex. Kisumu had a median age of 18 years in 2019.

Marital Status

The distribution of unmarried women aged 12 and above in Kisumu County was 39.3% in 2019. On the other hand, 44.1% of the women in the county were married monogamously, while 4.6% were married polygamously. The distribution of widowed women was 10.1%, the divorced was 0.5%, and the separated were 1.4%.

Among men aged 12 and above, 49.2% were never married in 2019, 44.1% were married monogamously, and 3.9% were married polygamously. Widowed men in Kisumu County were 1.1%, while 0.3% were separated.^[1]

The proportion of married males aged 12-15 in Kisumu County was 2.8% in 2019. Among females of the same age group, 2.9% were married. The percentage of ever-married individuals aged 15-19 in Kisumu County was 2.9% in males and 8.6% in females.^[2]

Fertility Rates

Kisumu County had a Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of 3.1 in 2019, a drop from 5.0 in 2009. This represents a 37.5% drop in TFR between the two years. By comparison, Kenya had a TFR of 3.4 in 2019, a decline of 28.6% from a TFR of 4.8 in 2009.

The Total Fertility Rate of youth aged 15-24 in Kisumu County was 1.1 in 2019.^[3]

Kisumu Couty had a Crude Birth Rate (CBR) of 27.5 births per 1,000 population in 2019, a drop from 45.1 births in 2009 and 43.5 births in 1999. By comparison, Kenya had a Crude Birth Rate of 27.9 births per 1,000 population in 2019, 38.4 births in 2009, and 41.3 births in 1999.^[4] 

Place of Death and Notification Status

 In 2019, 63.4% of deaths in Kisumu County occurred in a health facility, while 36.1% 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 Kisumu County that were notified in 2019 was 88.3%. Overall, the share of deaths that were notified in Kenya in 2019 was 85.6%.

Kisumu County had a Crude Death Rate (CDR) of 7 deaths per 1,000 population in 2019. Overall, Kenya had a Crude Death Rate of 10.5%.

Religion

A total of 224,352 individuals in Kisumu County identified as Catholic, 319,349 as Protestants, 291,233 as Evangelical, 208,708 as from African Instituted Churches (AIC), 10,630 as Orthodox, and 43,791 as other Christian denominations.

Muslims were 17,241, while Hindus were 2,375. Those who said they were traditionalists were 3,619, while 15,901 were from other religions. Atheists and those with no religion were 6,653.^[5]

People with Disabilities

Kisumu County had a total of 39,929 people with disabilities in 2019, of whom 16,349 were male while 23,580 were female. The share of the population with a disability was 4.0%.

Of those with disabilities, 17,606 had a visual disability, 7,291 had a hearing disability, 16,196 had mobility, 8,190 had cognition, 4,288 had self-care, and 3,409 had disabilities related to communication.^[6]

Development

1. The Rural Access Index (RAI) in Kisumu County was 90%, representing the percentage of the population living within two kilometers of an all-weather road in 2019.
2. Household access to electricity in Kisumu County was 52.8% in 2019, up from 18.3% in 2009.
3. Household access to improved sanitation in Kisumu County was 85.3% in 2019, up from 56.2% in 2009.
4. Household access to safe drinking water in Kisumu County was 72.9% in 2019, up from 54.8% in 2009.
5. Kisumu had 100% of its public primary schools connected to electricity, the highest in the country in 2019.

The share of the population in Kisumu County owing mobile phones in 2019 was 49.4%.^[7] Among women, 71.7% owned any type of mobile phone in Kisumu County in 2022, while 32.1% owned a smartphone.

Among men, 77.9% in Kisumu owned any mobile phone in 2022, while 33.3% 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 77.4% and 88.6%, respectively.^[8]

See Also

1. Homa Bay County
2. Migori County
3. Siaya County

References