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%.

Kisumu County Poverty Rates

According to the 2022 Kenya Continuous Household Survey, Kisumu County's overall headcount poverty rate was 39% compared to a national average of 39.8%. This represents 478,000 people who lived in poverty. 

Kisumu County had a hardcore poverty rate of 3.1% compared to a national hardcore average of 7.1%. The total number of people in hardcore poverty was 39,000. 

In 2022, 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. 3,952, while the mean non-food expenditure was Ksh. 4,299. The share of income spent on food in Kisumu County was 55.6%, while the share spent on non-food items was 44.4%. 

The overall food poverty rate in Kisumu County in 2022 was 31.5% compared to a national food poverty average of 31.7%. 

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 in Kisumu County

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] 

Kisumu County Finance

In the financial year (FY) 2023/24, Kisumu County approved a supplementary budget of Ksh 13.70 billion, comprising Ksh 4.19 billion (30.6%) and Ksh 9.51 billion (69.4%) allocation for development and recurrent expenditures, respectively.

The budget estimates represented an increase of 8.9% compared to the previous year when it was Ksh 12.48 billion and comprised Ksh 4.29 billion for development and Ksh 8.19 billion for recurrent expenditures.

Kisumu County Revenue Performance

The main sources of revenue for Kisumu County in FY 2023/2024 included:

• Equitable share – Ksh 7.7 billion
• Conditional grants and additional allocations – Ksh 725.6 million
• Own Source Revenue – Ksh 1.5 billion
• Cash balances – Ksh 1.4 million

Kisumu County Own Source Revenue

Kisumu County generated a total of Ksh 1.4 billion from local sources of revenue, inclusive FIF. The major sources of revenue included:

• Health/Hospital fees/FIF – Ksh 603.4 (42%) 
• Trade License Fees – Ksh 191.7 million (13%)
• Single Board Promotion – Ksh 171.0 million (12%)
• Land rates – Ksh 121.1 million (8%)  
• Market Fees – Ksh 58.7 million (4%)
• Other sources – Ksh 297.7 million (21%)

Kisumu County Expenditure

For recurrent expenditures, Kisumu County spent Ksh 5,044,039,255 on personnel emoluments and Ksh 2,270,877,578 on operations and maintenance. For development expenditures, Kisumu County spent Ksh 1,550,461,667.

The total expenditure in Kisumu County in FY 2023/24 was Ksh 8,865,378,500.

Kisumu County Travel Expenditure

In the FY 2023/24 Kisumu County spent Ksh 389,090,000 on Domestic travel and Ksh 83,450,000 on foreign travel. The total expenditure on travel in Kisumu was Ksh 472,540,000.

Pending Bills in Kisumu County

At the end of FY 2023/24, Kisumu County settled pending bills amounting to Ksh 1.31 billion, which consisted of Ksh 532.37 million and Ksh 781.10 million for recurrent expenditures and development programs, respectively.

Therefore, as of the end of FY 2023/24, Kisumu had an outstanding pending bill of Ksh 3.15 billion.

MCA Sitting Allowance in Kisumu County

The average sitting allowance for Members of the County Assembly in Kisumu was Ksh 66,029 compared to the national average of Ksh 59,508.

Kisumu County 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