The KNBS data shows a persistent trend of slightly more male than female births.Kenya witnessed a notable decline in
registered births in 2024, the lowest in five years, as the total number
dropped to 1.11 million, according to the Kenya Economic Survey 2025. This
represents a decrease from 1.19 million births recorded in 2023.
The data shows a persistent trend of
slightly more male than female births, with a sex ratio of 106 males for every
100 females in 2024. Notably, the number of intersex births recorded was nine,
while 41 births had unstated sex.
The report was released on Tuesday by the
Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).
A deeper dive into the age
distribution of mothers highlights that college-age women aged 20 to 24
continue to account for the largest share of births, holding steady at 30.4 per
cent in 2024.
Many of them could already be
married because the survey shows eight on every ten babies born last year was
born to a married woman.
Only about one in ten was born to a single
woman.
“Divorced and widowed women
accounted for less than 1.0 per cent each of the registered births,” the report
indicates.
The report indicates teenage births
(ages 15-19) have been slowing steadily. This suggests some success in
interventions aimed at reducing adolescent pregnancies.
“The proportion of registered births
for teen mothers aged 15-19 declined from 11.8 per cent in 2023 to 11.1 per
cent in 2024,” the report indicates.
Meanwhile, hospital delivery trends
are shifting. Although the overall number of deliveries in health facilities
fell by 3.2 per cent to 1.21 million in 2024, deliveries by caesarean section
rose by 0.6 per cent to 220,505, bucking the general downward trend.
Caesarean births now account for
18.2 per cent of all facility deliveries, pointing to changing medical
practices or maternal health conditions requiring surgical intervention.
Normal deliveries, which once
dominated, have declined to just over 975,000 cases. Breech births and assisted
vaginal deliveries also fell, possibly reflecting improved prenatal diagnostics
or increased reliance on surgical options.
The Ministry of Health attributes
these shifts to a complex interplay of socio-economic factors, evolving
maternal health strategies, and access to healthcare infrastructure. Experts
stress the need for continuous monitoring to ensure that rising caesarean rates
do not overshadow natural birth support and maternal health education.