Kenya
Results in this brief are from an analysis of the 2019 Kenya Census. Information on methodology is in the main text of the report and in the method briefs. Additional results are available in Results Table on the DDI website (add link).
Share of Adults with Functional Difficulties
In Kenya, the share of adults aged 15 and older with any functional difficulty stands at 12.7%. As shown in Table 1, it varies from a low of 3.8% in Wajir to a high of 30.6% in Siaya. In all regions, seeing is the most common type of functional difficulty; self-care and communication are the least common.
Table 1: Kenya: Share of Adults with Functional difficulties at the regional level (%)
Region | Any | Seeing | Hearing | Mobility | Cognition | Self-Care | Communication |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Baringo | 10.2 | 5.5 | 2.8 | 4.4 | 2.3 | 1.3 | 0.9 |
Bomet | 7.9 | 4.0 | 1.7 | 3.3 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 0.6 |
Bungoma | 15.4 | 9.3 | 3.4 | 5.5 | 3.2 | 1.0 | 1.1 |
Busia | 17.3 | 9.9 | 4.1 | 7.0 | 4.3 | 1.3 | 1.3 |
Elgeyo-Marakwet | 8.8 | 4.8 | 2.2 | 3.6 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 0.7 |
Embu | 18.3 | 11.0 | 3.6 | 7.0 | 6.0 | 1.6 | 1.1 |
Garissa | 3.9 | 1.6 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.0 |
Homabay | 22.9 | 14.0 | 5.5 | 9.8 | 6.1 | 2.3 | 1.6 |
Isiolo | 6.8 | 3.9 | 1.6 | 2.3 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 0.7 |
Kajiado | 7.4 | 4.7 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
Kakamega | 18.3 | 10.7 | 4.0 | 7.7 | 4.8 | 1.5 | 1.4 |
Kericho | 8.3 | 4.5 | 1.6 | 3.3 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 0.6 |
Kiambu | 10.8 | 6.7 | 1.5 | 3.7 | 2.1 | 0.8 | 0.6 |
Kilifi | 11.0 | 6.3 | 2.1 | 4.0 | 2.1 | 0.8 | 0.8 |
Kirinyaga | 14.4 | 8.1 | 2.3 | 6.2 | 4.0 | 1.4 | 0.8 |
Kisii | 17.9 | 10.8 | 3.6 | 7.8 | 5.9 | 2.0 | 1.3 |
Kisumu | 19.5 | 12.6 | 4.2 | 7.8 | 4.1 | 1.7 | 1.3 |
Kitui | 14.2 | 8.0 | 3.1 | 6.3 | 3.0 | 1.4 | 1.3 |
Kwale | 11.5 | 6.5 | 2.2 | 4.2 | 2.1 | 0.8 | 0.8 |
Laikipia | 10.5 | 6.0 | 1.8 | 4.1 | 2.2 | 0.9 | 0.7 |
Lamu | 11.9 | 6.8 | 1.9 | 4.1 | 2.7 | 0.9 | 1.0 |
Machakos | 13.6 | 8.2 | 2.7 | 5.6 | 2.9 | 1.2 | 0.9 |
Makueni | 18.0 | 10.7 | 3.9 | 8.0 | 4.9 | 1.7 | 1.3 |
Mandera | 5.5 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 2.2 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 1.4 |
Marsabit | 5.1 | 2.8 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.6 |
Meru | 17.3 | 10.3 | 4.3 | 6.2 | 5.3 | 1.7 | 1.1 |
Migori | 16.7 | 9.6 | 3.7 | 6.4 | 3.8 | 1.6 | 1.3 |
Mombasa | 9.9 | 6.8 | 1.3 | 2.6 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 0.6 |
Murang’a | 17.0 | 9.2 | 2.9 | 8.4 | 4.4 | 1.7 | 1.0 |
Nairobi City | 8.2 | 5.7 | 0.9 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 0.4 |
Nakuru | 10.5 | 6.3 | 1.6 | 3.8 | 2.1 | 0.8 | 0.6 |
Nandi | 11.4 | 6.5 | 2.3 | 4.9 | 2.4 | 0.9 | 0.8 |
Narok | 6.7 | 3.4 | 1.4 | 2.5 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 0.6 |
Nyamira | 19.0 | 11.7 | 3.9 | 8.8 | 5.7 | 2.0 | 1.3 |
Nyandarua | 13.4 | 7.6 | 2.2 | 5.6 | 3.7 | 1.2 | 0.8 |
Nyeri | 14.5 | 8.1 | 2.3 | 6.6 | 3.8 | 1.4 | 0.9 |
Samburu | 7.6 | 4.2 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 0.7 |
Siaya | 23.8 | 14.9 | 5.7 | 9.9 | 5.9 | 2.1 | 1.6 |
Taita-Taveta | 16.0 | 10.0 | 2.8 | 6.3 | 4.0 | 1.5 | 1.1 |
Tana River | 9.9 | 5.4 | 2.3 | 3.5 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 0.8 |
Tharaka-Nithi | 18.9 | 11.7 | 4.4 | 6.9 | 6.0 | 1.9 | 1.2 |
Trans Nzoia | 13.3 | 8.1 | 2.4 | 4.7 | 2.9 | 0.9 | 1.0 |
Turkana | 6.5 | 3.6 | 2.1 | 2.5 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 1.0 |
Uasin Gishu | 9.6 | 5.9 | 1.6 | 3.2 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 0.6 |
Vihiga | 23.2 | 13.4 | 5.4 | 11.9 | 7.3 | 2.1 | 1.6 |
Wajir | 3.8 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 0.9 |
West Pokot | 6.3 | 3.0 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 0.6 |
National | 12.7 | 7.6 | 2.5 | 4.9 | 2.9 | 1.1 | 0.9 |
Notes: ‘Any’ is the share of adults with any level of difficulty (some difficulty, a lot of difficulty or unable to do in one or more functional domains. For instance, ‘Seeing’ is the share of adults with difficulty in seeing of any level. Shares for the six domains do not add up to the share of any difficulty as some individuals may have functional difficulties in more than one domain. Source: Own calculations based on the 2019 Kenya Census.
Multidimensional Poverty
Multidimensional poverty captures an individual’s experience of multiple deprivations (e.g. low educational attainment, having inadequate living conditions). In Kenya, the shares of persons with at least a lot of functional difficulty and some difficulty who are multidimensionally poor stands at 43.1% and 36.9%, respectively. This is higher than that of persons with no difficulty at 35.3%.
Thus, there is a disability gap in multidimensional poverty between persons with at least a lot of difficulty and no difficulty (7.8 percentage points) and between persons with some difficulty and no difficulty (1.6 percentage points). In other words, persons in Kenya with functional difficulties more frequently experience multiple deprivations than persons without difficulty. As illustrated in Figure 1/Table 2, multidimensional poverty is common across regions among adults with functional difficulties. Multidimensional poverty is least common among persons with functional difficulties in Kiambu and most common Turkana.
Figure 1: Kenya: Multidimensional poverty headcount among adults with no, some and at least a lot of difficulty (%)
Figure1a: Adults with no difficulty
Figure 1b: Adults with some difficulty
Figure 1c: Adults with at least a lot of difficulty
Source: Own calculations based on Kenya census data (2019). The notes of Table 1 apply.
Table 2(Supporting figure 1): Kenya: Multidimensional Poverty headcount among adults with no, some, and at least a lot of difficulty (%)
Region | No difficulty | Some difficulty | At least a lot of difficulty |
---|---|---|---|
Baringo | 48.5 | 52.0 | 58.3 |
Bomet | 43.1 | 46.5 | 53.1 |
Bungoma | 34.5 | 34.6 | 39.0 |
Busia | 36.9 | 39.0 | 43.2 |
Elgeyo-Marakwet | 44.0 | 49.3 | 54.1 |
Embu | 30.1 | 35.1 | 42.5 |
Garissa | 64.9 | 65.1 | 69.1 |
Homabay | 38.9 | 41.0 | 46.4 |
Isiolo | 48.7 | 45.8 | 50.2 |
Kajiado | 25.7 | 25.6 | 36.3 |
Kakamega | 37.0 | 38.2 | 42.9 |
Kericho | 39.5 | 42.5 | 47.2 |
Kiambu | 17.4 | 20.6 | 29.0 |
Kilifi | 39.2 | 41.2 | 47.3 |
Kirinyaga | 27.9 | 32.2 | 40.9 |
Kisii | 39.7 | 41.7 | 47.5 |
Kisumu | 30.2 | 33.3 | 39.6 |
Kitui | 43.6 | 48.0 | 52.3 |
Kwale | 45.9 | 45.0 | 50.2 |
Laikipia | 34.3 | 35.3 | 42.2 |
Lamu | 36.3 | 39.7 | 48.5 |
Machakos | 28.8 | 32.7 | 40.0 |
Makueni | 36.8 | 39.3 | 45.3 |
Mandera | 62.4 | 63.2 | 64.1 |
Marsabit | 55.8 | 56.3 | 60.5 |
Meru | 35.4 | 38.0 | 43.5 |
Migori | 43.4 | 45.7 | 52.3 |
Mombasa | 25.2 | 27.9 | 35.9 |
Murang’a | 28.8 | 33.4 | 40.2 |
Nairobi City | 22.2 | 24.0 | 31.1 |
Nakuru | 27.2 | 29.7 | 36.0 |
Nandi | 42.9 | 46.6 | 51.9 |
Narok | 50.6 | 50.4 | 55.0 |
Nyamira | 39.1 | 40.9 | 46.8 |
Nyandarua | 26.3 | 30.1 | 37.6 |
Nyeri | 22.7 | 27.0 | 34.1 |
Samburu | 57.8 | 58.4 | 63.8 |
Siaya | 37.6 | 40.1 | 44.9 |
Taita-Taveta | 28.5 | 33.4 | 42.0 |
Tana River | 51.6 | 51.5 | 54.1 |
Tharaka-Nithi | 37.5 | 39.5 | 47.7 |
Trans Nzoia | 35.6 | 37.8 | 42.1 |
Turkana | 67.6 | 65.2 | 72.8 |
Uasin Gishu | 29.7 | 32.2 | 38.2 |
Vihiga | 36.5 | 38.5 | 42.1 |
Wajir | 62.7 | 61.9 | 67.3 |
West Pokot | 59.5 | 60.6 | 65.1 |
National | 35.3 | 36.9 | 43.1 |