Kenya has recorded a drop in number of child birth certificates issued over past two years, this indicates a national decline in fertility, according to the latest report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).
According to the report by KNBS the number of birth certificates dropped from 1,987,910 in 2022 to 1,349,949 in 2024. KNBS attributed the decline to both reduced birth registrations and a shortage of official birth certificate booklets
A year ago Nairobi county had highest number of birth certificate issued at 152,433 followed by Kiambu County with 67,632 and Kilifi County with 62,352.
Samburu county had the lowest birth certificates issued at 6,230, followed by Lamu with 6,845 and Isiolo with 9,378.
In the coast, Mombasa recorded the highest number of registered birth certificates over a period of three-year. They issued 58,226 certificates in 2022, 57,988 in 2023, and 40,821 in 2024.
Kwale came second in the region with 37,080 certificates in 2022, 36,495 in 2023, and 33,915 in 2024. Kilifi reported a peak in 2023 with 90,602 certificates before falling to 62,352 in 2024.
Kisumu County was among those who experienced a drop in the number of birth certificates issued, falling from 54,363 in 2022 to 35,511 in 2024.
Other urban centres such as Nakuru and Eldoret (Uasin Gishu) registered similar trends. Nakuru’s numbers declined from 88,489 to 62,118 over the same period, while Uasin Gishu dropped from 52,876 to 35,931.
The drop in birth registration follows national decline in fertility rates. The Total Fertility Rate which measures the average number of children per woman dropped from 2.8 in 2022 to 2.6 in 2023 and further to 2.3 in 2024.
The General Fertility Rate (GFR), which indicates the number of births per 1,000 women of reproductive age, also fell from 98 in 2022 to 88.3 in 2023 and 75.9 in 2024.
Similarly, the Crude Birth Rate (CBR) which tracks the number of births per 1,000 people dropped from 24.1 in 2022 to 21.2 in 2024.
Fertility rates were highest among women aged 20–24 and 25–29, but even in these groups, there was a decline.
For women aged 20–24, the rate fell from 147 to 128, while for those aged 25–29, it dropped from 141 to 117 over the same period.
