Urban population growth in Kenya
Kenya: Urban population growth was 2.9% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Urban population growth in Kenya, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
Kenya recorded 2.9% for urban population growth in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 5.2% on the previous year and up 43.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population growth in Kenya peaked at 10.7% in 2004 and was at its lowest, 1.3%, in 2019.
Kenya ranks 47th of 218 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 65 years of available data.
Urban population growth in Kenya, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 6.2% | — |
| 1962 | 6.1% | -0.2% |
| 1963 | 6.0% | -3.0% |
| 1964 | 5.7% | -4.5% |
| 1965 | 5.6% | -1.9% |
| 1966 | 5.6% | -0.3% |
| 1967 | 5.7% | +1.8% |
| 1968 | 5.9% | +4.1% |
| 1969 | 6.2% | +5.4% |
| 1970 | 7.0% | +12.5% |
| 1971 | 8.0% | +14.2% |
| 1972 | 8.6% | +8.1% |
| 1973 | 9.0% | +4.4% |
| 1974 | 9.0% | +0.1% |
| 1975 | 8.8% | -2.8% |
| 1976 | 8.3% | -5.5% |
| 1977 | 7.8% | -6.1% |
| 1978 | 7.2% | -7.7% |
| 1979 | 6.3% | -11.9% |
| 1980 | 5.8% | -8.5% |
| 1981 | 5.6% | -2.7% |
| 1982 | 5.5% | -2.6% |
| 1983 | 5.4% | -1.3% |
| 1984 | 5.3% | -2.3% |
| 1985 | 5.1% | -3.4% |
| 1986 | 4.9% | -4.1% |
| 1987 | 4.7% | -4.1% |
| 1988 | 4.6% | -3.1% |
| 1989 | 4.4% | -3.7% |
| 1990 | 4.2% | -5.2% |
| 1991 | 3.8% | -8.5% |
| 1992 | 3.5% | -7.6% |
| 1993 | 3.3% | -4.7% |
| 1994 | 3.3% | -2.8% |
| 1995 | 3.2% | -1.5% |
| 1996 | 3.2% | -1.0% |
| 1997 | 3.2% | +2.4% |
| 1998 | 3.4% | +5.0% |
| 1999 | 3.7% | +7.7% |
| 2000 | 5.2% | +42.5% |
| 2001 | 8.1% | +54.5% |
| 2002 | 9.8% | +21.9% |
| 2003 | 10.6% | +7.6% |
| 2004 | 10.7% | +0.7% |
| 2005 | 10.1% | -5.2% |
| 2006 | 9.1% | -9.6% |
| 2007 | 7.8% | -14.2% |
| 2008 | 6.3% | -19.8% |
| 2009 | 4.4% | -30.0% |
| 2010 | 2.9% | -33.3% |
| 2011 | 2.7% | -6.8% |
| 2012 | 2.6% | -6.1% |
| 2013 | 2.4% | -6.7% |
| 2014 | 2.2% | -7.6% |
| 2015 | 2.0% | -7.9% |
| 2016 | 1.9% | -4.7% |
| 2017 | 1.8% | -6.4% |
| 2018 | 1.6% | -13.6% |
| 2019 | 1.3% | -16.6% |
| 2020 | 2.0% | +53.8% |
| 2021 | 2.2% | +7.2% |
| 2022 | 2.4% | +10.0% |
| 2023 | 2.6% | +10.3% |
| 2024 | 2.8% | +5.9% |
| 2025 | 2.9% | +5.2% |
Kenya compared with similar countries
- Kenya's 2.9% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 2.7%, 1.1× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Kenya's 2.9% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3.4%, 87% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Urban population growth in Kenya changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | +54.5% | 5.2% | 8.1% |
| 2020 | +53.8% | 1.3% | 2.0% |
| 2000 | +42.5% | 3.7% | 5.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 5.9% | 5.6% | 6.2% | 9 |
| 1970s | 8.0% | 6.3% | 9.0% | 10 |
| 1980s | 5.1% | 4.4% | 5.8% | 10 |
| 1990s | 3.5% | 3.2% | 4.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 8.2% | 4.4% | 10.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.2% | 1.3% | 2.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.5% | 2.0% | 2.9% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Kenya
More climate change data for Kenya
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 276.34 million kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 50,641 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 16,186 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 34,454 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 61.08 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 1,231 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 2,372 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 2,116 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 255.67 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 7.99 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population growth in Kenya?
- Urban population growth in Kenya was 2.9% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population growth recorded in Kenya?
- The highest recorded value was 10.7% in 2004.
- What is the lowest urban population growth recorded in Kenya?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.3% in 2019.
- How does Kenya rank for urban population growth?
- Kenya ranks 47th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban population growth rising or falling in Kenya?
- Over the last ten years it is up 43.3%. 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 Urban 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 urban population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear urban population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank total population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects.