Kwale County

Introduction

Kwale County is located in the Coast Province and had a total population of 966,000 in 2024.^[1] According to the 2019 Census, Kwale County had a total population of 866,820 people, comprising 173,176 households and an average household size of 5 people per household.^[2][3][4]

Kwale County has a total land area of 8,267.1 square kilometres and a population density of 105 people per square kilometre. ^[5]

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

Sub-counties in Kwale County include Kinango, Lungalunga, Matuga, and Msambweni. 

Kwale County Economy

Kwale County had an average Gross County Product at current prices of Ksh 151.4 billion between 2018 and 2022, representing an average county contribution to Gross Value Added of 1.2%. ^[6]

Kwale County's average county contribution to agriculture, forestry, and fishing activities was 1.7%, while its contribution to manufacturing activities was 0.8%. Kwale contributes, on average, 1% to service activities. ^[7]

Kwale County had a GCP per capita of Ksh 164,048 in 2022.

Poverty Rates

Kwale County's overall headcount poverty rate was 50.5% in 2021, with 459,000 people estimated to live in poverty. Kenya's overall headcount poverty rate was 38.6% in the same year. ^[8]

The hardcore poverty rate in Kwale was 6.6% in 2021, with 60,000 people estimated to live in extreme poverty. In Kenya, the hardcore poverty rate in the same year was 5.8%. ^[9]

Kwale's food poverty rate was 35.8% in 2021, and 325,000 people are estimated to live in food poverty. Kenya's was 30.5% in the same year. ^[10]

The map below shows the distribution of poverty by constituency in Kwale County in 2019. Kinango 54.8%, Lungalunga 44.2%, Matuga 35%, and Msambweni at 27.8%. ^[9]

In 2021, the mean monthly food and non-food expenditures in Kwale County were Ksh 3,175 and Ksh 2,293, respectively. The percentage share of these expenditures was 63.7% and 36.3%, respectively.

In 2021, the major sources of food in Kwale County were purchase or stock, 79.3%, own production, 14%, and gifts, 6.7%.

In 2021, the mean and median per adult equivalent consumption expenditure were Ksh 5,467 and Ksh 4,414, respectively. ^[10]

Kwale County Demographics

Kwale County had a total population of 866,820 people in 2019, consisting of 425,121 males, 441,681 females, and 18 intersex people. Kwale had a median age of 15 years in 2019.

The table below shows the population distribution in Kwale County by sub-county and sex in 2019. 

Marital Status

The percentage distribution of women aged 12 and above in Kwale County who were never married in 2019 was 36.9%, while those who were married monogamous and polygamous were 46.9% and 4.6%, respectively. The distribution of widowed women was 6.6%, while the divorced and separated were 2.3% and 2.5%, respectively.

Among men aged 12 and above in Kwale, 50.3% were never married, 42.1% married monogamously, 3.9% married polygamously, 0.9% were widowed, 1.2% divorced, and 1.5% separated. ^[13]

According to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey, the median age at first marriage among women in Kwale County aged 20-49 was 19.7 years in 2022, while the median age at first marriage among women aged 25-49 was 19.2 years.

In Kwale, the median age at first marriage among men aged 25-54 was 24.4 years in 2022, while the median age at first marriage among those aged 30-54 was 24.2 years in 2022. ^[11]

Polygyny

In 2022, 14.6% of married women aged 15-49 in Kwale County had one or more co-wives, 11.4% had one co-wife, and 3.2% had more than two co-wives. The share of married women in Kwale who did not have co-wives in 2022 was 85.4%.

Among men aged 15-49 in Kwale, 68.4% had one wife in 2022, while 31.6% reported having more than two wives. ^[12]

Mariage Registration

The percentage of currently married women aged 15-49 in Kwale County whose marriage was registered with civil authorities was 26.1% in 2022, while those whose marriage was registered with the authorities and had a marriage certificate were 25.1%. ^[13]

Teenage Marriages 

In 2019, the proportion of married males aged 12-15 and 12-18 in Kwale County was 2.6% and 2.7%, respectively. Among females aged 12-15 and 12-18 in Kwale, the married proportion in 2019 was 2.8% and 6.6%, respectively. ^[14]

The rate of teenage pregnancies in Kwale County, consisting of women aged 15-19 who had ever had ever been pregnant, was 14.8% in 2022. ^[15]

Total Fertility Rate

Kwale County's Total Fertility Rate was 4.3 births per woman in 2019, a 16.7% decline from 5.2 births per woman in 2009. By comparison, Kenya's total fertility rate was 3.4 births per woman in 2009, a 28.6% decline from 4.8 births per woman in 2009.

The total Youth Fertility Rate in Kwale County was 1.4 births per woman in 2019, compared to a national youth fertility rate of 1 birth per woman.

Kwale County had a Crude Birth Rate of 32.3 births per 1,000 population in 2019, a decline of 32% from a Crude Birth Rate of 47.5 births per 1,000 population in 2009. Overall, Kenya had a Crude Birth Rate of 27.9 births per 1,000 population in 2019, a decline of 27.2% from a Crude Birth Rate of 38.4 births per 1,000 population in 2009. ^[16]

Place of Birth and Notification Status

The share of recent births in Kwale County occurring in a health facility was 82.6% in 2019, while those occurring in a non-health facility were 17.3%. In Kenya, the share of recent births occurring in a health facility in 2019 was 85.8%, while the share of births not occurring in a health facility was 14%.

In 2019, 90.5% of recent births in Kwale County were notified, while 9.3% were not. In Kenya, the share of notified births was 90.4%, while the share of non-notified births was 9.3%. ^[17]

Place of death and Notification Status

In 2019, 49.8% of deaths in Kwale County occurred in a health facility, while 49.8% 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 Kwale County that were notified in 2019 was 76.9%. Overall, the share of deaths that were notified in Kenya in 2019 was 85.6%.

Kwale County had a Crude Death Rate (CDR) of 8.2 deaths per 1,000 population in 2019. Overall, Kenya had a Crude Death Rate of 10.5%.

Religious Affiliation

Most Kwale County residents are Muslims, 520,160, followed by Protestants, 116,453, and Evangelical Christians, 82,176. ^[18]

Development

1. The Rural Access Index (RAI) in Kwale County was 63% in 2019, representing the percentage of the Population living within two kilometres of an all-weather road.
2. Household access to electricity in Kwale County was 31.1% in 2019, up from 10.6% in 2009.
3. Household access to improved sanitation in Kwale County was 57.2% in 2019, up from 34% in 2009.
4. Households access to safe drinking water in Kwale County was 56.2% in 2019, up from 51.5% in 2009.
5. Kwale had 82.9% of its public primary schools connected to electricity, ranking 30^th nationally in 2019. ^[19]

The share of the Kwale County population owning mobile phones in 2019 was 36.7%. Among women, 63.8% owned any type of mobile phone in Kwale County in 2022, while 29.4% owned a smartphone.

Among men, 76.2% in Kwale owned any kind of mobile phone in 2022, while 38.4% 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 73.2% and 66.9%, respectively^.

See Also

1. Mombasa County
2. Kilifi County
3. Tana River County
4. Lamu 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, Rockville, Maryland, USA: KNBS and ICF. (p. 143). 
12. KNBS and ICF. 2023. Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022: Volume 1. Nairobi, Kenya, Rockville, Maryland, USA: KNBS and ICF. (pp. 137-140). 
13. KNBS and ICF. 2023. Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022: Volume 1. Nairobi, Kenya, 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, 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).