Demographics of Kenya

Kenya is a multi-ethnic state in the Great Lakes region of East Africa. It is primarily inhabited by Bantu and Nilotic populations, with some Cushitic ethnic minorities in the north. Its total population is estimated at 45 million inhabitants as of 2014.

A national census was conducted in 1999, but its final results were never released. A new census was undertaken in 2009, but it turned out to be controversial, as the questions about ethnic affiliation seemed inappropriate after the ethnic violence of the previous year.[1] Preliminary results of the census were published in 2010.[2]

Kenya's population was reported as 38.6 million in 2009, compared to in 28.7 million in 1999, 21.4 million in 1989 and 15.3 million 1979,[3] an increase by a factor of 2.5 over 30 years, or an average growth of more than 3% per year. The population growth rate has been reported as somewhat reduced during the 2000s and is now estimated at 2.7% (as of 2010), resulting in an estimate of a total population 41 million in 2011.

Ethnic groups

Further information: Languages of Kenya
A Maasai man.

Kenya has a very diverse population that includes most major ethnic, racial and linguistic groups found in Africa. The majority of the country's population belongs to various Bantu sub-groups, with a significant number of Nilotes.

Cushitic peoples form a small ethnic minority of about 2%, mostly represented by Oromo and Somali speakers.

Swahili and English are official languages. Swahili is compulsory in primary education, and, along with English, serves as the main lingua franca between the various ethnic groups.

SIL Ethnologue lists a total of 68 individual languages spoken in Kenya.[4]

Kenya's diversity is such that its largest ethnic group, the Kikuyu, make up for less than a fifth of total population. Ever since Kenyan independence in 1963, Kenyan politics have been characterized by ethnic tensions and rivalry between the larger groups, devolving into ethnic violence in the 2007–2008 Kenyan crisis.

CIA World Factbook gives the ethnic composition as follows (out of a total population of 38.6 million): Kikuyu 6,622,576 = 17%, Luhya 5,338,666 = 14%, Kalenjin 4,967,328 = 13%, Luo 4,044,440 = 11%, Kamba 3,893,157 = 10%, Kenyan Somali 2,385,572 = 6%, Kisii 2,205,669 = 6%, Mijikenda 1,960,574 = 5%, Meru 1,658,108 = 4%,

Other African 13%, non-African 1%.[5] 2009 POPULATION & HOUSING CENSUS RESULTS by Hon. Wycliffe Ambetsa Oparanya1 Minister of State for Planning, National Development and Vision 2030

Bantu peoples

Bantus are the single largest population division in Kenya. The term Bantu denotes widely-dispersed but related peoples that speak south-central Niger–Congo languages. Originally from West-Central Africa, Bantus began a millennium-long series of migrations referred to as the Bantu expansion that first brought them to Southeast Africa about 2000 years ago.

Most Bantu are farmers. Some of the prominent Bantu groups in Kenya include the Kikuyu, the Kamba, the Luhya, the Meru, the Mijikenda and the Kisii. The Swahili people are descended from Mijikenda Bantu peoples that intermarried with Arab and Persian immigrants.[6][7]

Nilotic peoples

Nilotes are the second-largest group of peoples in Kenya. They speak Nilo-Saharan languages and came to Southeast Africa by way of South Sudan.[6] Most Nilotes in Kenya are herdsmen, and they have a fearsome reputation as warriors and cattle-rustlers. The most prominent of these groups include the Luo, Maasai, the Samburu, the Turkana, and the Kalenjin.[6] As with the Bantu, the Nilotes have adopted many customs and practices from the Cushitic groups, including the age set system of social organization, circumcision, and vocabulary terms.[8][9]

Cushitic peoples

Cushitic peoples form a small minority of Kenya's population. They speak Afro-Asiatic languages, and originally came from Ethiopia and Somalia in Northeast Africa. Most are herdsmen and Muslim.[9] Cushites are concentrated in the northernmost North Eastern Province, which borders Somalia.[10]

The Cushitic-speaking peoples are divided into two groups: the Southern Cushites and Eastern Cushites.

Arabs

Indians

Europeans

Languages

Main article: Languages of Kenya
Lord's Prayer in Swahili, a Bantu language that alongside English serves as a lingua franca for many in Kenya.

Kenya's various ethnic groups typically speak their mother tongues within their own communities. The two official languages, English and Swahili, are used in varying degrees of fluency for communication with other populations. English is widely spoken in commerce, schooling and government.[17] Peri-urban and rural dwellers are less multilingual, with many in rural areas speaking only their native languages.[18]

According to Ethnologue, there are a total of 69 languages spoken in Kenya. Most belong to two broad language families: Niger-Congo (Bantu branch) and Nilo-Saharan (Nilotic branch), spoken by the country's Bantu and Nilotic populations, respectively. The Cushitic and Arab ethnic minorities speak languages belonging to the separate Afro-Asiatic family, with the Indian and European residents speaking languages from the Indo-European family.[19]

Population

According to the 2010 revison of the World Population Prospects, the total population was 40,513,000 in 2010 compared to only 6,077,000 in 1950. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2010 was 42.5%, 54.9% was between 15 and 65 years of age, and 2.7% was 65 years or older.[20]

Year Total population (x 1000) Population aged 0–14 (%) Population aged 15–64 (%) Population aged 65+ (%)
1950 6,07739.856.33.9
1955 6,98042.853.43.8
1960 8,10546.449.93.7
1965 9,50548.448.03.6
1970 11,25249.147.53.4
1975 13,48649.647.13.3
1980 16,26850.047.13.0
1985 19,65550.047.22.8
1990 23,44749.048.32.7
1995 27,42646.550.82.7
2000 31,25444.352.92.8
2005 35,61542.754.52.8
2010 40,51342.554.92.7

Structure of the population (24.08.2009) (Census) [21]

Age Group Male Female Total %
Total 19 192 458 19 417 639 38 610 097 100
0-4 3 000 439 2 938 867 5 939 306 15,38
5-9 2 832 669 2 765 047 5 597 716 14,50
10-14 2 565 313 2 469 542 5 034 855 13,04
15-19 2 123 653 2 045 890 4 169 543 10,80
20-24 1 754 105 2 020 998 3 775 103 9,78
25-29 1 529 116 1 672 110 3 201 226 8,29
30-34 1 257 035 1 262 471 2 519 506 6,53
35-39 1 004 271 1 004 361 2 008 632 5,20
40-44 743 594 732 575 1 476 169 3,82
45-49 635 276 637 469 1 272 745 3,30
50-54 478 346 477 860 956 206 2,48
55-59 359 466 352 487 711 953 1,84
60-64 295 197 298 581 593 778 1,54
65-69 183 151 207 612 390 763 1,01
70-74 160 301 179 000 339 301 0,88
75-79 99 833 118 675 218 508 0,57
80+ 159 125 224 576 383 701 0,99
unknown 11 478 9 608 21 086 0,05
Age group Male Female Total Percent
0-14 8 398 421 8 173 456 16 571 877 42,92
15-64 10 180 149 10 504 712 20 684 861 53,57
65+ 602 410 729 863 1 332 273 3,45

Population by province in 2009 census

A map of Kenya.

[22]

Province 2009
Kenya (country total) 38,610,097
Nairobi (capital city) 3,138,369
Central 4,383,743
Coast 3,325,307
Eastern 5,668,123
North Eastern 2,310,757
Nyanza 5,442,711
Rift Valley 10,006,805
Western 4,334,282

Population by census year

Year Population
1962 8,636,300
1969 10,942,705
1979 15,327,061
1989 21,448,774
1999 28,686,607
2009 38,610,097

Fertility and Births (Demographic and Health Surveys)

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):[23]

Year CBR (Total) TFR (Total) CBR (Urban) TFR (Urban) CBR (Rural) TFR (Rural)
1977 8,1
1984 7,7
1989 6,7 4,5 7,1
1993 35,8 5,40 (3,4) 35,1 3,44 (2,5) 35,9 5,80 (3,7)
1998 34,6 4,70 (3,5) 33,6 3,12 (2,6) 34,7 5,16 (3,8)
2003 37,5 4,9 (3,6) 35,3 3,3 (2,6) 38,1 5,4 (3,9)
2008-2009 (census) 34,8 4,6 (3,4) 32,5 2,9 (2,5) 35,3 5,2 (3,7)
2014 30,5 3,9 (3,0) 31,0 3,1 (2,6) 30,3 4,5 (3,4)

UN population projections

Numbers are in thousands. UN medium variant projections[20]

Vital statistics

Registration of vital events is in Kenya not complete. The Population Department of the United Nations prepared the following estimates. [20]

Period Live births per year Deaths per year Natural change per year CBR* CDR* NC* TFR* IMR*
1950-1955 334 000 154 000 181 00051.223.627.77.48147
1955-1960 388 000 163 000 225 00051.521.629.87.79134
1960-1965 449 000 165 000 284 00051.018.832.28.07117
1965-1970 525 000 172 000 353 00050.616.534.18.11104
1970-1975 628 000 178 000 450 00050.814.436.47.9991
1975-1980 743 000 186 000 557 00049.912.537.47.6480
1980-1985 869 000 192 000 677 00048.410.737.77.2270
1985-1990 972 000 214 000 757 00045.19.935.16.5467
1990-1995 1 003 000 252 000 751 00039.49.929.55.5766
1995-2000 1 115 000 345 000 770 00038.011.826.25.0769
2000-2005 1 294 000 427 000 867 00038.712.825.95.0070
2005-2010 1 447 000 429 0001 017 00038.011.326.74.8065
* CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births; TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman)

Births and deaths [21]

Year Population Live births Deaths Natural increase Crude birth rate Crude death rate Rate of natural increase TFR
2009 698 447 178 352 520 095
2010 798 016 185 100 612 916
2011 771 150 182 652 588 498
2012 801 815 187 811 614 004
2013 870 599 194 332 676 267
2014 954 254 198 611 755 643

Population statistics

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

Total population is reported as 41.07 million as of July 2011.

Health

Further information: Health in Kenya

Like the demographics of Africa in general, Kenya is plagued by high infant mortality, low life expectancy, malnourishment (32%of population) and HIV/AIDS. While these concerns remain grave, a trend towards improvement is reported in the period of 2006 to 2010: Infant mortality was at estimated at 59.26 deaths/1,000 live births as of 2006, decreasing to 54.7 deaths/1,000 live births as of 2010. Life expectancy was estimated at 48.9 years as of 2006, and has risen to 64 years in 2012.[24]

According to 2008-09 Kenyan government survey, total fertility was 4.6 with contraception usage rate among married women was 46 percent.[25] Total fertility rate has decreased slightly, from 4.91 children born per woman (2006 estimate), to a value of 4.38 (2010 estimate). Literacy (age 7 and over can read and write) was estimated at 85.1% in 2003 (male: 90.6%, female: 79.7%).

Religion

Main article: Religion in Kenya

Christian 82.5% (Protestant 47.7%, Roman Catholic 23.5% and other Christian 11.9%), Muslim 11.2%, no religion 2.4%, African Traditional Religion 1.7%,[26] Bahá'í Faith about 1%,[27][28] Buddhism 0.3%, other 2%

See also

References

  1. Kenya begins contentious census BBC News, 24 August 2009.
  2. Kenya defends tribal census figures BBC News, 31 August 2010.
  3. census data cited after citypopulation.de
  4. Languages of Kenya
  5. CIA – The World Factbook – Kenya
  6. 1 2 3 A. Okoth & A. Ndaloh, Peak Revision K.C.P.E. Social Studies, (East African Publishers), p.60-61.
  7. S. Wandibba et al, Social Studies STD 6, (East African Publishers), p.45-47.
  8. Robert O. Collins, The southern Sudan in historical perspective, (Transaction Publishers: 2006), p.9-10.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 S. Wandibba et al, p.19-20.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Godfrey Mwakikagile, Kenya: identity of a nation, (Godfrey Mwakikagile: 2007), p.99-102.
  11. H. Okello Ayot, Topics in East African history, 1000–1970 (East African Literature Bureau: 1976), p.13.
  12. 1 2 Randall L. Pouwels, Horn and Crescent: Cultural Change and Traditional Islam on the East African Coast, 800–1900, Volume 53 of African Studies, (Cambridge University Press: 2002), p.9.
  13. Mwakikagile, p.79.
  14. Kenya/Somalia: Somalia community doing booming business in country
  15. 1 2 3 "Population and Housing Census – Ethnic Affiliation". Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
  16. Evans, Ruth (24 May 2000). "Kenya's Asian heritage on display". BBC. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
  17. Proquest Info & Learning (COR) (2009). Culturegrams: World Edition. Proquest/Csa Journal Div. p. 98. ISBN 0977809161.
  18. Brown, E. K.; Asher, R. E. and Simpson, J. M. Y. (2006). Encyclopedia of language & linguistics, Volume 1, Edition 2. Elsevier. p. 181. ISBN 0080442994.
  19. Languages of Kenya. Ethnologue.com.
  20. 1 2 3 Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision
  21. 1 2 http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/dyb/dyb2.htm
  22. http://www.knbs.or.ke/Census%20Results/KNBS%20Brochure.pdf
  23. http://microdata.worldbank.org/index.php/catalog/dhs#_r=&collection=&country=&dtype=&from=1890&page=8&ps=&sk=&sort_by=nation&sort_order=&to=2014&topic=&view=s&vk=
  24. Kenya’s life expectancy jumps to 64 years - News - nation.co.ke
  25. Kenya - Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2008-09
  26. http://www.knbs.or.ke/docs/PresentationbyMinisterforPlanningrevised.pdf
  27. "Kenya". World Council of Churches. World Council of Churches. 2008. Retrieved 6 April 2008.
  28. U.S. State Department (2007). "Background Note: Kenya". The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affair. Retrieved 6 April 2008.

 This article incorporates public domain material from the CIA World Factbook document "2006 edition".

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