Kenya continues to record more male births as fertility rates drop – Report

While women continue to outnumber men globally, Kenya’s 2025 Economic Survey has revealed that more boys are being born than girls.

Data released by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) on May 6, 2025, shows that male births accounted for 51.4 per cent of all registered births in 2024, a slight increase from 51.0 per cent in 2023.

This has pushed the sex ratio from 104 to 106, meaning that for every 100 girls born, there are now 106 boys.

Yet, despite this male baby boom, it’s still very much a woman’s world, at least in terms of longevity and societal roles.

And the new stats offer more than just gender shifts at birth; they paint a detailed picture of Kenya’s changing population patterns in both life and death.

Fewer births, but more hospital deliveries

The number of births registered dropped from 1.19 million in 2023 to 1.11 million in 2024. This marks a decline in overall births, even though an impressive 98.6 per cent took place in health facilities, signalling improved access to medical care during childbirth.

Young women aged 20-24 remain the most likely to give birth, contributing to nearly a third of all registered births over the past five years. Notably, teen births among girls aged 15-19 declined from 11.8 per cent in 2023 to 11.1 per cent in 2024.

That drop, while modest, suggests that public health campaigns targeting adolescent pregnancies might be making a dent.

Marriage and motherhood: A steady link

Married women accounted for the vast majority of births in 2024 at 86.3 per cent, reinforcing the traditional link between marriage and childbirth in Kenyan society.

In contrast, births among single mothers declined from 14.2 per cent in 2023 to 13.4 per cent in 2024.

Meanwhile, divorced and widowed women made up less than 1 per cent of the figures, indicating minimal change in this group.

Though subtle, these shifts could suggest that family planning messages, access to contraception, and changing societal attitudes are slowly influencing how and when women have children.

Deaths on the rise — and still mostly male

While fewer babies were born, the number of registered deaths crept up slightly from 205,731 in 2023 to 206,417 in 2024. More than half (54.9 per cent) of these deaths occurred in health facilities.

The gender gap persisted even in death: 55.8 per cent of all deaths were male, while 44.2 per cent were female. Interestingly, male deaths declined slightly compared to 2023, while female deaths increased.

And although men were more likely to die across most age groups, women aged 75 and above had higher death rates, which makes sense since women generally live longer.

The data also shows that most male deaths occurred between the ages of 55 and 74, while for women, death was more common after age 75, another nod to the resilience (or luck?) of women over time.

A wake-up call on registration

While the stats are detailed, they don’t cover the full story, because many births and deaths are still not being registered.

According to the 2025 Economic Survey, the completeness rate for birth registration fell to 70.3 per cent in 2024, down from 76.6 per cent the previous year.

That means nearly 470,000 expected births went unregistered. The situation is worse with deaths: only 44.8 per cent of expected deaths were registered, leaving a huge data gap.

This incomplete coverage is a concern for planners, health officials, and anyone trying to understand Kenya’s demographic realities.

Without accurate numbers, it’s difficult to create effective policies or track progress in areas like healthcare, gender equality, and youth services.