Majority of Kenyans still living in rural areas

By Ally Jamah

Majority of Kenyans (67 per cent) still live in the rural areas, although the numbers appears to be slipping fast as more people move to urban centres.

While the percentage of the rural population is still high, the current figure is a drop from the previous census where rural population was about 75 per cent.

This shows that more and more Kenyans are heading to towns to seek employment and educational opportunities.

Interestingly, there are more women living in the rural areas (13.2 million) than males (12.9 million), suggesting that women are being left behind to take care of children, farms, and livestock.

Men outnumber women

It is only in North Eastern and Rift Valley provinces where men outnumber women.

The census results indicated that Rift Valley has the highest number of people in the rural areas (7.5 million), followed by Eastern (4.4 million), and Nyanza (four million).

Coast Province has the least rural population (1.86 million) followed by North Eastern (1.88 million), since people in these areas tend to gather in towns to access basic commodities.

Rural Western Province has the highest number of people living within a square kilometre (410), while North Eastern Province has the lowest population density in rurals at 15.