Women Aged 20-24 Record The Highest Fertility Rate
KEY POINTS
The percentage of women aged 15–19 who have ever been pregnant is highest in Samburu (50 percent), West Pokot (36 percent), Marsabit (29 percent), Narok (28 percent), Meru (24 percent), Homa Bay (23 percent), and Migori (23 percent).
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Teenagers who have no education are more likely to become pregnant than their educated counterparts. KNBS estimates that about 4 in 10 women aged 15-19 who have no education have ever been pregnant, as compared with only 5 percent of women who have more than secondary education.
Women aged between 20-24 years are the most fertile in Kenya, the latest survey by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows.
KNBS noted that birth rates peaked at 179 in every 1000 women between the ages of 20 and 24 years. They were closely followed by those between 25-29 years old at 172 births per 100 women while the 30-34 age bracket recorded 137 births.
Women between 45-49 years recorded the least fertility rate at 5 births per 1000 women, with 7 of them being from rural areas and 2 from urban areas.
‘’Fertility is low among adolescents (73 births per 1,000 women age 15–19), peaks at 179 births per 1,000 among women age 20–24, and then decreases thereafter,’’ KNBS stated.
The statistics body noted that the total fertility rate has declined markedly in Kenya over time. Between 1989 and 2022, the total fertility rate declined by 3.3 children (from 6.7 to 3.4). The total fertility rate for women in rural areas declined from 7.1 children to 3.9 children, while among urban women, it declined from 4.5 children to 2.8 children.
‘’The total fertility rate is higher among women in rural areas at 3.9 children compared to 2.8 children in urban areas,’’
Fifteen percent of women aged 15–19 have ever been pregnant, 12 percent have had a live birth, 1 percent have had a pregnancy loss, and 3 percent are currently pregnant.
Teenagers who have no education are more likely to become pregnant than their educated counterparts. KNBS estimates that about 4 in 10 women aged 15-19 who have no education have ever been pregnant, as compared with only 5 percent of women who have more than secondary education.
Similarly, teenage women in the lowest wealth quintile are more likely to have ever been pregnant than women in the highest wealth quintile.
The percentage of women aged 15–19 who have ever been pregnant is highest in Samburu (50 percent), West Pokot (36 percent), Marsabit (29 percent), Narok (28 percent), Meru (24 percent), Homa Bay (23 percent), and Migori (23 percent).
Other counties with the highest number of teen pregnancies are Kajiado (22 percent), Siaya (21 percent), and Baringo (20 percent). Teen pregnancy cases were least reported in Nyeri and Nyandarua at 5 percent each.
