Kenya recorded a drop in
the number of teenage pregnancies in 2024, the Economic Survey 2025 shows.
The report was released on Tuesday by the Kenya
National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).
According to the report, adolescents aged 10 to 19 presenting with pregnancy at their first
antenatal care (ANC) visit declined by 4.8 per cent to 241, 228 in 2024.
In 2023, a total of 110,821 pregnancies were recorded among adolescents aged between the ages of 10 to 19 in the first five months of 2023.
Data from the Kenya Health Information Systems showed a total of 6,110 were among adolescents aged between 10 to 14 years, while another 104,711 were between the ages of 15 and 19.
This is almost half of what was recorded in 2022, which stood at 260,734.
The pregnancies were 316,187 in 2021 and 331,549 in 2020.
The KNBS report shows that younger teenagers aged 10 to 14
recorded a decline in 2024, with the number falling by 14.4 per cent to 10,126.
Among older teens aged 15 to 19,
cases dropped by 4.3 per cent to 231,102 during the same period.
However, despite the decline,
certain counties continued to register high proportions of teen pregnancies.
Nairobi county topped with 6.1
per cent of all teenage pregnancies reported in 2024.
It was followed by Kakamega (4.8 per
cent), Narok (4.4 per cent) and Bungoma (4.4 per cent).
In November 2024, a report titled “Situational Analysis on Teen Pregnancies in Kenya,” analysed the state of teenage pregnancies in 20 counties.
The study found that teenage pregnancies among girls 15 to 18 years old stood at 27.4 per cent in the 20 counties.
According to the report, the Covid-19 pandemic, along with other crises like the prolonged drought in 2022, floods in late 2023 and 2024, spiked teenage pregnancies.
The report associates teenage pregnancies with early sexual debut, social media influence and lack of parental supervision.
It warns that teenage pregnancy is a major challenge that deprives schoolgirls of the opportunity to further their education and attain their career goals.