Rural population growth in Kenya
Kenya: Rural population growth was 1.5% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Rural population growth in Kenya, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
In 2025, rural population growth in Kenya stood at 1.5%.
That represents a change of down 7.3% on the previous year and down 36.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population growth in Kenya peaked at 3.8% in 1966 and was at its lowest, 0.6%, in 2005.
That places Kenya 36th out of 207 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 65 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 3.7% | 3.5% | 3.8% | 9 |
| 1970s | 2.8% | 2.5% | 3.5% | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.3% | 3.1% | 3.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.8% | 2.6% | 3.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.3% | 0.6% | 2.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.5% | 2.2% | 2.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.7% | 1.5% | 1.9% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Kenya
- 33 Mozambique 1.6% compare
- 34 Turkmenistan 1.6% compare
- 35 Guinea 1.6% compare
- 37 Liechtenstein 1.4% compare
- 38 Solomon Islands 1.4% compare
- 39 Armenia 1.4% compare
More agriculture & rural data for Kenya
- Agricultural raw materials exports 12.9% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 2.0% (2024)
- Rural population 67.8% (2025)
- Rural population 39.00 million (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 23.2% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 31.48 billion current US$ (2025)
- Land under cereal production 2.93 million hectares (2023)
- Cereal yield 1,758 kg per hectare (2023)
- Cereal production 5.15 million metric tons (2023)
- Fertilizer consumption 50.46 kilograms per hectare of arable land (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population growth in Kenya?
- Rural population growth in Kenya was 1.5% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population growth recorded in Kenya?
- The highest recorded value was 3.8% in 1966.
- What is the lowest rural population growth recorded in Kenya?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.6% in 2005.
- How does Kenya rank for rural population growth?
- Kenya ranks 36th out of 207 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population growth rising or falling in Kenya?
- Over the last ten years it is down 36.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Kenya data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Rural population growth (annual %). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Annual rural population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear rural population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. Rural population refers to people living in rural areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated as the difference between total population and urban population.