NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 17 — Kenya’s fertility rate declined to 3.4 per cent in 2022 down from 3.9 per cent recorded in 2014, a new report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) has indicated.
KNBS Director General MacDonald Obudho noted that Kenya’s fertility rate has been on a steady decline over time from an average of 6.7 children per family in 1989 to the current 3.4.
The DG, speaking during the launch of the Kenya Demographic Health Survey (KDHS) on Tuesday attributed the downward trend to interventions by both government and Non-governmental interventions, especially on the use of family planning.
“We have noted from the results that our total fertility rate is 3.4 per cent. We had fertility levels going down and we still expect it to keep going down if our interventions and policies are pointing in the right direction,” Obudho stated.
Definitions:
Fertility Rate: The total number of births in a year per 1,000 women of reproductive age in a population.
Birth Rate: The total number of births in a year per 1,000 individuals.weforum.org
The report however noted the unmet need for contraceptives had declined from 35 per cent to 14 per cent, with at least 66 per cent of married women on a contraceptive.
Still on fertility, the report noted that 98 per cent of women received ANC from a skilled provider, while 66 per cent of women attended at least four ANC visits.
Nationally, skilled birth attendance significantly increased from 66 per cent in 2014 to 89 per cent in 2022.
“Skilled birth attendance was lowest in Turkana at 53 per cent, Mandera(55), Wajir (57), Samburu (57) and Tana River (59).”
