Number of children under 5 in Kenya
Kenya: Number of children under 5 was 7.04 million people in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
7.04 million people
Change on year
up 0.8%
World rank
19th
of 236 countries
All-time high
7.10 million people
in 2013
All-time low
1.14 million people
in 1950
Years of data
74
1950–2023
Number of children under 5 in Kenya, 1950–2023
Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
Kenya recorded 7.04 million people for number of children under 5 in 2023.
The figure is up 0.8% on the previous year and down 0.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of children under 5 in Kenya peaked at 7.10 million people in 2013 and was at its lowest, 1.14 million people, in 1950.
Kenya ranks 19th of 236 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.
Number of children under 5 in Kenya, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 1.14 million people | — |
| 1951 | 1.15 million people | +1.0% |
| 1952 | 1.17 million people | +1.7% |
| 1953 | 1.20 million people | +2.1% |
| 1954 | 1.23 million people | +2.2% |
| 1955 | 1.27 million people | +3.8% |
| 1956 | 1.34 million people | +5.3% |
| 1957 | 1.41 million people | +5.3% |
| 1958 | 1.48 million people | +5.2% |
| 1959 | 1.56 million people | +5.0% |
| 1960 | 1.63 million people | +4.8% |
| 1961 | 1.71 million people | +4.7% |
| 1962 | 1.79 million people | +4.5% |
| 1963 | 1.87 million people | +4.4% |
| 1964 | 1.95 million people | +4.3% |
| 1965 | 2.03 million people | +4.3% |
| 1966 | 2.12 million people | +4.2% |
| 1967 | 2.20 million people | +4.0% |
| 1968 | 2.28 million people | +3.7% |
| 1969 | 2.36 million people | +3.6% |
| 1970 | 2.45 million people | +3.4% |
| 1971 | 2.52 million people | +3.2% |
| 1972 | 2.60 million people | +3.1% |
| 1973 | 2.68 million people | +2.9% |
| 1974 | 2.75 million people | +2.8% |
| 1975 | 2.83 million people | +2.7% |
| 1976 | 2.90 million people | +2.7% |
| 1977 | 2.98 million people | +2.7% |
| 1978 | 3.07 million people | +2.9% |
| 1979 | 3.16 million people | +3.1% |
| 1980 | 3.26 million people | +3.2% |
| 1981 | 3.37 million people | +3.2% |
| 1982 | 3.48 million people | +3.3% |
| 1983 | 3.60 million people | +3.3% |
| 1984 | 3.71 million people | +3.3% |
| 1985 | 3.84 million people | +3.3% |
| 1986 | 3.96 million people | +3.2% |
| 1987 | 4.08 million people | +3.1% |
| 1988 | 4.21 million people | +3.0% |
| 1989 | 4.32 million people | +2.7% |
| 1990 | 4.42 million people | +2.4% |
| 1991 | 4.51 million people | +1.9% |
| 1992 | 4.57 million people | +1.5% |
| 1993 | 4.63 million people | +1.2% |
| 1994 | 4.68 million people | +1.1% |
| 1995 | 4.74 million people | +1.3% |
| 1996 | 4.82 million people | +1.6% |
| 1997 | 4.91 million people | +2.0% |
| 1998 | 5.03 million people | +2.4% |
| 1999 | 5.16 million people | +2.7% |
| 2000 | 5.31 million people | +2.9% |
| 2001 | 5.47 million people | +3.0% |
| 2002 | 5.64 million people | +3.1% |
| 2003 | 5.81 million people | +3.0% |
| 2004 | 5.98 million people | +2.9% |
| 2005 | 6.15 million people | +2.8% |
| 2006 | 6.31 million people | +2.7% |
| 2007 | 6.48 million people | +2.6% |
| 2008 | 6.64 million people | +2.6% |
| 2009 | 6.81 million people | +2.4% |
| 2010 | 6.95 million people | +2.1% |
| 2011 | 7.05 million people | +1.5% |
| 2012 | 7.10 million people | +0.7% |
| 2013 | 7.10 million people | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 7.06 million people | -0.5% |
| 2015 | 7.01 million people | -0.7% |
| 2016 | 6.97 million people | -0.6% |
| 2017 | 6.95 million people | -0.3% |
| 2018 | 6.94 million people | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 6.93 million people | -0.0% |
| 2020 | 6.94 million people | +0.1% |
| 2021 | 6.95 million people | +0.2% |
| 2022 | 6.98 million people | +0.5% |
| 2023 | 7.04 million people | +0.8% |
Kenya compared with similar countries
- Kenya's 7.04 million people is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 1.25 million people, 5.6× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Kenya's 7.04 million people is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 2.19 million people, 3.2× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 1.30 million people | 1.14 million people | 1.56 million people | 10 |
| 1960s | 1.99 million people | 1.63 million people | 2.36 million people | 10 |
| 1970s | 2.79 million people | 2.45 million people | 3.16 million people | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.78 million people | 3.26 million people | 4.32 million people | 10 |
| 1990s | 4.75 million people | 4.42 million people | 5.16 million people | 10 |
| 2000s | 6.06 million people | 5.31 million people | 6.81 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.01 million people | 6.93 million people | 7.10 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 6.98 million people | 6.94 million people | 7.04 million people | 4 |
Countries ranked near Kenya
More reference data data for Kenya
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.5379 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 12.22 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 14.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.377 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 14.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.8 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.1 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 58.05 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 68.95 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.05 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of children under 5 in Kenya?
- Number of children under 5 in Kenya was 7.04 million people in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest number of children under 5 recorded in Kenya?
- The highest recorded value was 7.10 million people in 2013.
- What is the lowest number of children under 5 recorded in Kenya?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.14 million people in 1950.
- How does Kenya rank for number of children under 5?
- Kenya ranks 19th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is number of children under 5 rising or falling in Kenya?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Kenya data come from?
- The figures come from UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Number of children under 5. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Total population, measured on 1 July of the year shown. This only includes people aged 0-4.