Tana River County

Introduction

Tana River County is located in the Coast Province and had a total population of 361,000 in 2024. According to the 2019 census, it had a population of 315,943 people, comprising 68,242 households and an average household size of 4.6 people per household.

Tana River County has a total land area of 37,950.5 square kilometers and a population density of 8 people per square kilometer.

Tana River County is bordered to the North by Garissa, to the South-East by Lamu, to the South by Kilifi, to the South-West by Taita Taveta, to the West by Kitui, and to the North-West by Isiolo. 

Sub-counties in Tana River County include Tana North, Tana Delta, and Tana River.

Tana River Economy

Between 2018 and 2022, Tana River's Gross County Product at current prices was Ksh 35.2 billion, representing an average County Contribution to Gross Value Added of 0.3%.

Tana River contributed, on average, 0.4% to agriculture, forestry, and fishing activities. It also contributed, on average, 0.1% to manufacturing activities and 0.3% to service activities.

Tana River County had a Gross County Product per capita of Ksh 102,310 in 2022.

Poverty Rates

Tana River County's overall headcount poverty rate was 67.8% in 2021, with 242,000 people estimated to be living in poverty. Kenya's overall headcount poverty rate was 38.6% in 2021.

The hardcore poverty rate in Tana River was 11.6%, with 42,000 people estimated to live in extreme poverty. In Kenya, the hardcore poverty rate in the same year was 5.8%.

Tana River County also had a food poverty rate of 49.5% in 2021, with 177,000 estimated to be living in food poverty. Kenya's overall food poverty rate in the same period was 30.5%.

The map below shows the poverty by constituency in Tana River County in 2019: Bura 62.1%, Galole 60.5%, and Garsen 64.8%. 

In 2021, the mean monthly food and non-food expenditures in Tana River County were Ksh 2,490 and Ksh 1,725, respectively. The county's percentage share of these expenditures was 64.6% and 35.4%, respectively.

The major food sources in Tana River were purchase or stock 85.6%, own production 9.4%, and gifts 5%.

In 2021, the mean and median per adult equivalent consumption expenditure in Tana River County were Ksh 4,215 and Ksh 3,721, respectively.

Tana River County Demographics

In 2019, Tana River had a total population of 315,943, comprising 158,550 males, 157,391 females, and 2 intersex people. Tana River had a median age of 14 years in 2019.

The table below shows the distribution of people in Tana River by sex and sub-county in 2019. 

Marital Status

In 2019, 31.5% of women aged 12 and above in Tana River were never married, while 52.9% were married monogamously. The county's share of women who married polygamous was 6.7%, while the widowed were 5.5%. The share of women divorced and separated in the county was 2.1% and 1.2%, respectively.

Among men aged 12 and above in Tana River, 46.5% were never married, 44.7% married monogamous, 6.4% married polygamous, 0.6% were widowed, 0.9% divorced, and 0.8% separated. 

According to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey, the median age at first marriage among women in Tana River County aged 20-49 was 18.7 years in 2022. In women aged 25-49, the median age at first marriage was 18.8 years in 2022.

The median age at first marriage among men was 23.9 years among those aged 25-54 in 2022 and 24.5 years among those aged 30-54.

Polygyny

In 2022, 15.3% of married women aged 15-49 in Tana River County had one or more wives, consisting of 13.9% who had one co-wife only and 1.4% who had more than two co-wives. The percentage of women in Tana River without co-wives was 83.1% in 2022.

Among married men aged 15-49 in Tana River, 93.2% had only one wife, while 6.8% had more than two wives in 2022.

Marriage Registration

In 2022, the percentage of currently married women aged 15-49 in Tana River County whose marriage was registered with the civil authority was 9.3%, while the percentage of those whose marriage was registered with the civil authority and had a marriage certificate was 7.4%.

Teenage Marriages

In 2019, the proportion of married males aged 12-15 and 12-18 in Tana River County was 4.7% and 4.8%, respectively. Among females aged 12-15 and 12-18 in Tana River, the married proportion was 5.9% and 12.4%, respectively.

The rate of teenage pregnancies in Tana River, consisting of women aged 15-19 who have ever been pregnant, was 17.2% in 2022.

Total Fertility Rate

Tana River County had a Total Fertility Rate of 5.2 births per woman in 2019, a decline of 18.4% from a total fertility rate of 6.4 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.

The total youth fertility rate in Tana River County was 1.5 births per woman in 2019, higher than the national youth fertility rate of 1 birth per woman in the same year.

Tana River had a Crude Birth Rate of 35 births per 1,000 population, a 17% decline from a Crude Birth Rate of 42.2 births per 1,000 population in 2009. In Kenya, the national Crude Birth Rate was 27.9 births per 1,000 population, a 27.2% decline from a Crude Birth Rate of 38.4 births per 1,000 population in 2009.

Place of Births and Notification Status

In 2019, the share of recent births occurring in a health facility in Tana River County was 57.3%, while births occurring in non-health facilities in the same year was 42.5%. In Kenya, the share of recent births occurring in a health facility was 85.8% in 2019, while those occurring in non-health facilities was 14%.

In 2019, 72.7% of recent births in Tana River County were notified, while 26.9% were not. In Kenya, 90.4% of recent births were notified in 2019, while 9.3% were not.

Place of Deaths and Notification Status

In 2019, 40.4% of deaths in Tana River County occurred in a health facility, while 58.9% 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 Tana River County that were notified in 2019 was 54.3%. Overall, the share of deaths that were notified in Kenya in 2019 was 85.6%.

Tana River County had a Crude Death Rate (CDR) of 12.9 deaths per 1,000 population in 2019. Overall, Kenya had a Crude Death Rate of 10.5%.

Religious Affiliation

Most residents of Tana River County are Muslims: 256,422, followed by Protestants: 22,866 and Catholics: 11,306.

Development

1. The Rural Access Index (RAI) in Tana River County was 11% in 2019, representing the percentage of the population living within two kilometers of an all-weather road.
2. Household access to electricity in Tana River County was 26.1% in 2019, up from 2.5% in 2009.
3. In 2019, 41.8% of households in Tana River County had access to improved sanitation, up from 23.1% in 2009.
4. In 2019, 55% of households in Tana River County had access to safe drinking water, up from 42.3% in 2009.
5. Tana River had 26.4% of its public primary schools connected to electricity, ranking 41^st nationally in 2019.

The share of the population in Tana River County that owned mobile phones in 2019 was 31.6%. Among women, 59.5% owned any type of mobile phone in Tana River County in 2022, while 14.5% owned a smartphone.

Among men, 76.3% in Tana River owned any kind of mobile phone in 2022, while 19.7% 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 48.3% and 52.2%, respectively^.

See Also

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

References

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