Fewer and fewer girls are being born in Kenya

Kenya witnessed a notable decline in registered births in 2024, the lowest in five years, as the total number dropped to 1.11 million, according to the Kenya Economic Survey 2025. This represents a decrease from 1.19 million births recorded in 2023.

The data shows a persistent trend of slightly more male than female births, with a sex ratio of 106 males for every 100 females in 2024. Notably, the number of intersex births recorded was nine, while 41 births had unstated sex.

The report was released on Tuesday by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).

A deeper dive into the age distribution of mothers highlights that college-age women aged 20 to 24 continue to account for the largest share of births, holding steady at 30.4 per cent in 2024.

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Many of them could already be married because the survey shows eight on every ten babies born last year was born to a married woman.

Only about one in ten was born to a single woman.

“Divorced and widowed women accounted for less than 1.0 per cent each of the registered births,” the report indicates.

The report indicates teenage births (ages 15-19) have been slowing steadily. This suggests some success in interventions aimed at reducing adolescent pregnancies.

“The proportion of registered births for teen mothers aged 15-19 declined from 11.8 per cent in 2023 to 11.1 per cent in 2024,” the report indicates.

Meanwhile, hospital delivery trends are shifting. Although the overall number of deliveries in health facilities fell by 3.2 per cent to 1.21 million in 2024, deliveries by caesarean section rose by 0.6 per cent to 220,505, bucking the general downward trend.

Caesarean births now account for 18.2 per cent of all facility deliveries, pointing to changing medical practices or maternal health conditions requiring surgical intervention.

Normal deliveries, which once dominated, have declined to just over 975,000 cases. Breech births and assisted vaginal deliveries also fell, possibly reflecting improved prenatal diagnostics or increased reliance on surgical options.

The Ministry of Health attributes these shifts to a complex interplay of socio-economic factors, evolving maternal health strategies, and access to healthcare infrastructure. Experts stress the need for continuous monitoring to ensure that rising caesarean rates do not overshadow natural birth support and maternal health education.