Rural population in Kenya
Kenya: Rural population was 39.00 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
39.00 million
Change on year
up 1.5%
World rank
14th
of 218 countries
All-time high
39.00 million
in 2025
All-time low
7.06 million
in 1960
Years of data
66
1960–2025
Rural population in Kenya, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
In 2025, rural population in Kenya stood at 39.00 million. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.5% on the previous year and up 21.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Kenya peaked at 39.00 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 7.06 million, in 1960.
Kenya ranks 14th of 218 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Rural population in Kenya, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 7.06 million | — |
| 1961 | 7.31 million | +3.6% |
| 1962 | 7.58 million | +3.7% |
| 1963 | 7.87 million | +3.8% |
| 1964 | 8.17 million | +3.8% |
| 1965 | 8.49 million | +3.9% |
| 1966 | 8.82 million | +3.9% |
| 1967 | 9.16 million | +3.9% |
| 1968 | 9.51 million | +3.8% |
| 1969 | 9.86 million | +3.7% |
| 1970 | 10.22 million | +3.6% |
| 1971 | 10.54 million | +3.2% |
| 1972 | 10.84 million | +2.9% |
| 1973 | 11.14 million | +2.8% |
| 1974 | 11.44 million | +2.6% |
| 1975 | 11.73 million | +2.6% |
| 1976 | 12.02 million | +2.5% |
| 1977 | 12.34 million | +2.6% |
| 1978 | 12.69 million | +2.8% |
| 1979 | 13.07 million | +3.0% |
| 1980 | 13.48 million | +3.2% |
| 1981 | 13.92 million | +3.2% |
| 1982 | 14.37 million | +3.3% |
| 1983 | 14.85 million | +3.4% |
| 1984 | 15.36 million | +3.4% |
| 1985 | 15.88 million | +3.4% |
| 1986 | 16.41 million | +3.4% |
| 1987 | 16.96 million | +3.3% |
| 1988 | 17.53 million | +3.4% |
| 1989 | 18.12 million | +3.4% |
| 1990 | 18.73 million | +3.3% |
| 1991 | 19.32 million | +3.2% |
| 1992 | 19.90 million | +3.0% |
| 1993 | 20.48 million | +2.9% |
| 1994 | 21.07 million | +2.9% |
| 1995 | 21.66 million | +2.8% |
| 1996 | 22.24 million | +2.7% |
| 1997 | 22.83 million | +2.6% |
| 1998 | 23.43 million | +2.6% |
| 1999 | 24.08 million | +2.7% |
| 2000 | 24.68 million | +2.5% |
| 2001 | 25.16 million | +1.9% |
| 2002 | 25.50 million | +1.4% |
| 2003 | 25.72 million | +0.9% |
| 2004 | 25.89 million | +0.7% |
| 2005 | 26.04 million | +0.6% |
| 2006 | 26.21 million | +0.7% |
| 2007 | 26.47 million | +1.0% |
| 2008 | 26.89 million | +1.6% |
| 2009 | 27.53 million | +2.4% |
| 2010 | 28.34 million | +2.9% |
| 2011 | 29.13 million | +2.8% |
| 2012 | 29.91 million | +2.7% |
| 2013 | 30.67 million | +2.5% |
| 2014 | 31.41 million | +2.4% |
| 2015 | 32.15 million | +2.3% |
| 2016 | 32.90 million | +2.4% |
| 2017 | 33.68 million | +2.4% |
| 2018 | 34.45 million | +2.3% |
| 2019 | 35.23 million | +2.3% |
| 2020 | 35.92 million | +2.0% |
| 2021 | 36.57 million | +1.8% |
| 2022 | 37.20 million | +1.7% |
| 2023 | 37.83 million | +1.7% |
| 2024 | 38.43 million | +1.6% |
| 2025 | 39.00 million | +1.5% |
Kenya compared with similar countries
- Kenya's 39.00 million is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 5.28 million, 7.4× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Kenya's 39.00 million is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 9.41 million, 4.1× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 8.38 million | 7.06 million | 9.86 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 11.60 million | 10.22 million | 13.07 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 15.69 million | 13.48 million | 18.12 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 21.37 million | 18.73 million | 24.08 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 26.01 million | 24.68 million | 27.53 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 31.79 million | 28.34 million | 35.23 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 37.49 million | 35.92 million | 39.00 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Kenya
More agriculture & rural data for Kenya
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 16.52 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.2316 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 547.24 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 1.47 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0003 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.6779 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 23.2% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 23.2% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 12.9% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 2.0% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Kenya?
- Rural population in Kenya was 39.00 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Kenya?
- The highest recorded value was 39.00 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Kenya?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.06 million in 1960.
- How does Kenya rank for rural population?
- Kenya ranks 14th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Kenya?
- Over the last ten years it is up 21.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Kenya data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Rural population. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
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. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.