Mandera has highest fertility rate, Nairobi is the least

 

Mandera County leads with the highest fertility rate of 8.0 per cent in Kenya while Nairobi has the lowest rate of fertility which stands at 2.5 per cent.

This is according to the Economic Survey for 2022 done by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, released on Thursday.

This means a woman in Mandera is likely to give birth to eight children while in Nairobi a woman will only give birth to two or three children.

Marsabit is the second with 7.0 per cent, followed by Wajir with 6.7 per cent, Turkana with 6.4 per cent, West Pokot with 5.6 per cent and Samburu 4.9 per cent.

Counties with the least fertility rates include Nyamira at 2.7 per cent, Kirinyaga at 2.7 per cent, Kiambu at 2.7 per cent and Makueni at 2.8 per cent.

According to the survey, the total fertility rate at the national level declined from 4.8 births in 2009 to 3.4 births in 2019.

However, the total fertility rate has remained high in Mandera, Wajir, and Marsabit counties.

The Information on fertility was solicited from all the females aged 12 years and above, who were interviewed about their birth history.

The questions were on; children ever born alive, children living in the household or elsewhere, children born alive who died, the date of the last child born by sex and whether single or multiple births.

Fertility rates have remained relatively higher among women living in rural areas and among those with low levels of education.

Women from poor backgrounds tend to record higher birth rates compared to their counterparts from wealthier families.

The Health Ministry attributes the decline in fertility rates to the considerable use of family planning among married women, which is at 58 per cent and 65 per cent among sexually active unmarried women, as of 2020.

Further, the survey indicated that the proportion of ever-married males aged 15-19 increased from 2.9 per cent in 2009 to 4.3 per cent in 2019, while that of females declined to 11.2 per cent in 2019 from 18.8 per cent in 2009.

Mandera recorded the highest proportions of ever married teen males between ages 15- 19 while Tana River had the highest proportions of ever-married females.

In 2019, the Singulate Mean Age at Marriage (SMAM) indicated the timing of the first marriage was 27.3 years for males and 23.1 years for females an indication that young people have lately been delaying entry into marriage.   BY THE STAR