Mandera County

Introduction

Mandera County is located in the North Eastern Province and had a total population of 983,000 in 2024. According to the 2019 census, it had a population of 867,457 people, consisting of 125,763 households and an average household size of 6.9 people per household.

Mandera County has a total land area of 25,939.8 square kilometres and a population density of 33 people per square kilometre. 

Mandera County is bordered to the North by Ethiopia, to the East by Somalia, and to the South by Wajir County. 

Sub-counties in Mandera County include Mandera West, Banisa, Kutulo, Lafey, Mandera Central, Mandera East, and Mandera North.

Mandera County Economy

Between 2018 and 2022, Mandera County's average Gross County Product at current prices was Ksh 63.15 billion, representing an average county contribution to Gross Value Added of 0.5% within the same period.

Mandera County contributed 0.8% on average to agriculture, forestry, and fishing activities. It also contributed 0.1% on average to manufacturing and 0.5% to service activities.

Mandera had a Gross County Product per capita of Ksh 67,518 in 2022.

Poverty Rates

In 2021, Mandera County's overall headcount poverty rate was 71.9%, with 653,000 people estimated to live in poverty. Kenya's overall headcount poverty rate was 38.6% in the same year.

The county also had a hardcore poverty rate of 20.2%, with 183,000 people in Mandera estimated to live in extreme poverty. In Kenya, the hardcore poverty rate in 2021 was 5.8%.

Mandera had a food poverty rate of 65.5%, with roughly 595,000 people estimated to live in food poverty. In Kenya, the food poverty rate was 30.5% in 2021.

The table below shows the distribution of poverty by Constituency in Mandera County in 2019: Banisa 80.5%, Lafey 91.1%, Mandera East 77.1%, Mandera North 88.2%, Mandera South 89.3, and Mandera West 79.7%.

The mean monthly food and non-food expenditure in Mandera County was Ksh 2,304 in 2021 and Ksh 2,210 in 2021. The percentage share of mean monthly food expenditure in the county was 61.9%, while the share of non-food expenditure was 38.1%. 

The major sources of food expenditure in Mandera County were purchase or stock 82.1%, own production 10.1%, and gifts 7.7%.

In 2021, the mean and median per adult equivalent consumption expenditure in Mandera County were Ksh 4,514 and Ksh 3,498, respectively.

Mandera County Demographics

In 2019, Mandera County had a total population of 867,457, consisting of 434,976 males, 432,444 females, and 37 intersex. Mandera had a median age of 12 years in 2019.

The table below shows the distribution of poverty in Mandera County by sub-county and sex. 

Marital Status 

The percentage of women aged 12 and above in Mandera County who were never married was 42.2%. In comparison, those who were in monogamous marriages were 47.1% in 2019. On the other hand, the percentage of women who were married polygamously in the county was 5%, while the widowed were 2.3%. The percentage of the divorced and separated in Mandera was 2.4% and 0.6% in 2019.

Among men aged 12 and above in Mandera County, 54.7% were never married, 32.6% married monogamous, 10.6% married polygamous, 0.5% widowed, 0.6% divorced, and 0.6% separated in 2019.

According to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey, the median age at first marriage among women aged 20-49 in Mandera County was 19 in 2022. Among women in the county aged 25-49, the median age at first marriage was 18.8 years.

In 2022, the median age at first marriage among men aged 30-54 in Mandera was 25.7 years.

Polygyny

The percentage of women aged 15-49 in Mandera County with one or more co-wives was 26.2%, consisting of 21.9% with one co-wife and 4.4% with more than two co-wives. The percentage of women in the county without co-wives was 73.8% in 2022.

In 2022, 80.3% of men aged 15-49 in Mandera County had one wife, while 19.7% had more than two wives.

Marriage Registration

The percentage distribution of currently married women aged 15-49 in Mandera County whose marriage was registered with the civil authorities was 32.1%, while those whose current marriage was registered with authorities and had a marriage certificate was 5% in 2022.

Teenage Marriages

In 2019, the proportion of married males aged 12-15 and 12-18 in Mandera County was 5.8% and 7%, respectively. Among females of the same age groups, the proportion that was married in Mandera County was 7.2% and 13.6%, respectively.

The rate of teenage pregnancies in Mandera County, consisting of women aged 15-19 who have ever been pregnant, was 13.9% in 2022.

Total Fertility Rate

The Total Fertility Rate of Mandera County was 8 births per woman in 2019, an increase of 10% from a total fertility rate of 7.3 births per woman in 2009. By comparison, Kenya had a total fertility rate of 3.4 births per woman in 2019, a decline of 28.6% from a total fertility rate of 4.8 births per woman in 2009.

In 2019, Mandera County's youth fertility rate was 1.1 births per woman, compared to Kenya's rate of 1 birth per woman.

The Crude Birth Rate of Mandera County was 49.4 births per 1,000 population in 2019, a 10% decline from a Crude Birth Rate of 54.9 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 27.2% decline from a crude birth rate of 38.4 births per 1,000 population in 2009.

Place of Birth and Notification Status

The share of recent births in Mandera County occurring in a health facility was 51.8% in 2019, while the share of births occurring in a non-health facility was 46.7%. Overall, the share of recent births in Kenya occurring in a health facility was 85.8%, while the share of recent births not occurring in a health facility in the country was 14% in 2019.

In 2019, 65.3% of recent births in Mandera County were notified, while 33.8% were not. 90.4% of recent births in Kenya were notified, while 9.3% were not..

Place of Death and Notification Status

In 2019, 23.8% of deaths in Mandera County occurred in a health facility, while 69.6% 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 Mandera County that were notified in 2019 was 35.5%. Overall, the share of deaths that were notified in Kenya in 2019 was 85.6%.

Mandera County had a Crude Death Rate (CDR) of 9.1 deaths per 1,000 population in 2019. Overall, Kenya had a Crude Death Rate of 10.5%.

Religious Affiliation

Most residents of Mandera County are Muslims 856,450, Catholic 1,775, and Other Christians 1,615.

Development

1. The Rural Access Index (RAI) in Mandera County was 4% in 2019, representing the percentage of the population living within two kilometres of an all-weather road.
2. Household access to electricity in Mandera County was 15.8% in 2019, up from 2.5% in 2009.
3. In 2019, 34.7% of households in Mandera County had access to improved sanitation, up from 16.4% in 2009.
4. In 2019, 36% of households in Mandera County had access to safe drinking water, up from 37.6% in 2009.
5. Mandera had 4.9% of its public primary schools connected to electricity, ranking 47^th nationally in 2019.

The share of the population in Mandera County owning mobile phones in 2019 was 25.3%. Among women, 76.9% owned any type of mobile phone in Mandera County in 2022, while 15.2% owned a smartphone.

Among men, 78.8% in Mandera owned any kind of mobile phone in 2022, while 38.3% 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 57.7% and 43.8%, respectively.

See Now

1. Garissa County
2. Wajir County
3. Marsabit County

References

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