Welfare of Kenyans Significantly Improved Over the Last Ten Years

Over the last ten years, the welfare of Kenyans has shown significant improvements with overall headcount poverty recording a 10.5 percentage point drop.

The overall national poverty headcount rate dropped from 46.6 percent in 2005/06 to 36.1 percent in 2015/16.

Poverty declined across the country since 2005/06 though there remains few geographic areas with high pockets of the population living below the poverty line.

Findings according to the Kenya Integrated Household Budget Survey (KIHBS) on Basic Report on Well-Being in Kenya show that the total population of poor individuals declined from 16.6 million in 2005/06 to 16.4 Million in 2015/16 even though the country’s entire population increased by approximately 10 million over the two periods.

Analysis of poverty based on households at the national level showed a decline from 38.3 percent in 2005/06 to 27.4 percent of all households covered in 2015/16.

Regarding rural and urban dichotomy, the survey stated that the overall rural poverty rate for individuals declined faster than that of core-urban from 49.7 percent in 2005/06 to 40.1 percent in 2015/16. Spatially, across the 47 counties, overall headcount poverty widely ranges from a low of 16.7 percent in Nairobi City County to a high of 79.4 per cent in Turkana County.

In 2015/16, the poorest four counties were Turkana (79.4 %), Mandera (77.6%), Samburu (75.8%) and Busia (69.3%). Conversely, the four counties with least poverty include Nairobi (16.7%), Nyeri (19.3%), Meru (19.4%) and Kirinyaga (20.0%).

The national food poverty headcount rate declined significantly from 45.8 percent in 2005/06 to 32.0 percent in 2015/16, implying that in the last ten years, the incidence of food poverty dropped by over 13 percentage points.

The survey also indicated that the total population of food poor individuals declined substantially from 16.3 Million in 2005/06 to 14.5 Million in 2015/16. The analysis of food poverty by place of residence showed that 35.8 percent of individuals in rural areas were food poor in 2015/16 compared to their counterparts in core-urban (24.4%) and per-urban (28.9%) areas.

In 2005/06, 47.2 percent of individuals were deemed to be food poor in rural areas compared to 40.4 percent in core-urban. Over the review period, food poverty rates declined by 11.4 percentage points in rural areas and 16.6 percentage points in core urban areas implying a more rapid drop for core-urban dwellers.

Further, there were considerable variations in the prevalence of food poverty across the counties ranging from 16.1 percent in Nairobi City County to 66.1 per cent in Turkana County.

In 2015/16, six counties registered food poverty rates of more than half their population. These were: Turkana (66.1%), Mandera (61.9%), Samburu (60.1%), Busia (59.5%) and West Pokot (57.3%). Conversely, another six counties recorded food poverty rates of less than 20 percent, namely; Meru and Nyeri (15.5%) each, Nairobi City (16.1 %), Kirinyaga (18.8 %) Nakuru (19.5%) and Lamu (19.9%). The contribution to national food poverty by counties shows that five counties account for almost a quarter of the national food poor.

Over the last ten years, the country has seen development gains of unprecedented magnitude compared to the early post-independence years. Tremendous gains have been experienced ranging from improved maternal and child survival to increased primary school enrolments, poverty reduction and general improvements in human well-being.

However, despite all these major improvements in the well-being of Kenyans, the report also presents evidence of pockets of extreme poor counties and unequal socioeconomic groups that if left unaddressed could hamper future progress and development

Good progress has been made in protecting many citizens from falling into poverty. However, the burden of the poor is still significant and could be exacerbated by the threat of existing relatively high and persistent inequalities, calling for concerted efforts and commitment from all stakeholders to ensure that no one is left behind.