Kenya has long struggled with the issue of poverty and with the symptoms that follow such as high rates of disease and child mortality. Life expectancy is low in Kenya, just one of the examples of the effects poverty has on a country. Although Kenya's economy is the largest and most developed in eastern and Central Africa, 25% (2023/2024) of its population lives below the international poverty line.
This severe poverty is caused by economic inequality, government corruption and health problems. In turn, poverty also worsens these factors. The Kenyan government's efforts to address poverty have received help from international institutions as well.
Kibera Slums in Nairobi.
Defining Poverty in Kenya
How do we know if a Kenyan is poor? First, before we get to the poverty lines, it is important to know what KCHS looks at to determine who is poor and to develop the poverty lines.
Compared to other countries that may use income data to measure poverty, in Kenya, we use consumption expenditure data, which does not fluctuate much and accurately captures the situation in rural areas, where households depend on agriculture to meet their needs. The food consumption component looks at the major sources of food in most Kenyan households.
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According to the KCHS, there are three major sources, where you are likely to get your food:
- Own production - when you consume food that you have grown.
- Purchases - buying food at the market.
- Gifts or relief food.
The non-food component includes all other consumption expenditure that is not food. It includes expenditures on things like fare, airtime, water, rent, electricity, gas and other cooking fuel, healthcare, clothes, furniture and household utensils, recreation, insurance, cars, and other miscellaneous expenses.
Poverty Lines
The Kenya Household Continuous Survey examines three different measures of well-being regarding poverty, with two different poverty lines.
- Food Poverty Line: To understand the food poverty rate, we look at the minimum number of calories that someone needs to live a healthy life. In Kenya, we consistently use 2,250 Kcal as the minimum calorie content for well-being. We then look at the foods someone eats and their calorie content to come up with a Ksh-based equivalent of what someone needs to spend on food to meet that minimum calorie requirement. Therefore, the food poverty line was Ksh 2,668 in rural areas and Ksh 3 521 in urban areas. Note that the food poverty line only looks at the food consumption component.
- Overall Poverty Rate: In contrast, the overall poverty rate brings together both the food component and the non-food components listed above. The overall poverty rate tells us whether people meet their basic food requirements and other essential daily living expenses, such as shelter, clothes, and healthcare. Therefore, the overall poverty line in 2022 was Ksh 4,358 in rural areas and Ksh 8,006 in urban areas. Note that the KHCS adjusts for both seasonal and geographical variations in prices. People in Turkana, Homa Bay, Kitui, or Meru will have their poverty rates computed based on the local prices of commodities in those regions.
- Hardcore Poverty Rate: The hardcore poverty rate is the percentage of individuals or households whose total monthly consumption expenditure (including the food and non-food component) is lower than the food poverty line. A person X is considered to be in hardcore poverty if their monthly spending is lower than Ksh 2,688 in rural areas or Ksh 3,521 in urban areas.
There are 3 measures of poverty for Kenya:
- Overall Poverty: Households and individuals whose monthly adult equivalent total consumption expenditure per person is less than KSh 3 252 in rural and peri urban areas and less than KSh 5 995 in core urban areas are considered to be overall poor or live in overall poverty
- Food Poverty: Households and individuals whose monthly adult equivalent food consumption expenditure per person is less than KSh 1 954 in rural and peri urban areas and less than KSh 2 551 in core urban areas respectively are considered to be food poor or live in food poverty. Based on the sample-weighted KIHBS 2015/16 demographic profile by age and sex, the average required daily per adult equivalent calorie requirement for the population sample enumerated by the KIHBS 2015/16 is 2,251 Kcal.
- Hardcore or Extreme Poverty: Households and individuals whose monthly adult equivalent total consumption expenditure per person is less than KSh 1 954 in rural and peri urban areas and less than KSh 2 551 in core urban areas respectively are considered to be hardcore poor or live in hardcore or extreme poverty
Overall poverty is most cited for poverty incidence and headcount tracking.
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Poverty Statistics in Kenya
According to USAid, with a GDP of $95 billion, Kenya recently reached lower-middle income status, and has successfully established a diverse and dynamic economy. Despite this, USAid reports that two-thirds of Kenyans live in poverty, making less than $3.20 a day.
In the decade between 2005 and 2015, Kenya's extreme poverty rate fell from 46.8 percent to 36.1 percent (World Bank). Levels of poverty in Kenya have improved significantly in the past decade. Currently, around 35.5% of the country is living in poverty, but in 2005, this number was 43.6%. Poverty in Kenya is nowadays lower than any other country in the Eastern Africa region, and it is still on the decline.
The statistics indicate that the overall poverty headcount rate for individuals at the national level was 36.1 per cent in 2015/16, implying that 16.4 million individuals lived in overall poverty. The overall poverty incidence remains highest in rural areas, where 40.1 per cent of residents (11.4 million individuals) were overall poor compared to 27.5 per cent (0.9 million individuals) and 29.4 per cent (3.8 million individuals) in peri-urban and core-urban areas, respectively. The statistics further indicate that 27.4 per cent of households lived in overall poverty.
The national food poverty headcount rate for individuals in 2015/16 was 32 per cent, implying that 14.5 million individuals did not meet the food poverty line threshold. In other words, about one in every three individuals in Kenya is unable to consume the minimum daily calorific requirement of 2,250 Kcal as per their expenditures on food. Food poverty incidence remains highest in rural areas, where 35.8 per cent of the population (10.4 million individuals) were below the food poverty line compared to 28.9 per cent (almost 1 million individuals) in periurban areas and 29.4 per cent (almost 3.2 million individuals) in core-urban.
The results further show that 23.8 per cent of households were food poor in 2015/16.
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The hardcore (or extreme) poverty headcount rate for individuals was 8.6 per cent in 2015/16, implying that 3.9 million people lived in conditions of abject poverty and were unable to afford the minimum required food consumption basket even if they allocated all their expenditure on food alone. Extreme poverty incidence remains highest in rural areas, where 11.2 per cent of residents (3.2 million individuals) were hardcore poor.
Here’s a summary of poverty measures in Kenya:
| Poverty Measure | Rural Areas | Peri-Urban Areas | Core-Urban Areas |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Poverty (Individuals) | 40.1% (11.4 million) | 27.5% (0.9 million) | 29.4% (3.8 million) |
| Food Poverty (Individuals) | 35.8% (10.4 million) | 28.9% (Almost 1 million) | 29.4% (Almost 3.2 million) |
| Hardcore Poverty (Individuals) | 11.2% (3.2 million) | N/A | N/A |
Factors Contributing to Poverty
Kenya's inequality is reflected by share of income and social services varying among different segments of the population. One-tenth of Kenyans have approximately two-fifths of total wealth. The wealth gap has not narrowed in recent years, even though the statistics show that the economy has grown by 19 percent.
Disclosed by the World Bank in 2015, Kenya's Gini index was 40.8%, indicating the unequal distribution of income. In addition, the poverty level is unequal in different regions. Measured by MPI, the percentage of poor people is much lower in the capital city. Compared to that, some large secondary cities’ percentage of poor people is much higher. For instance, there is 44% of population in Mombasa is relatively poor.
In addition to the huge inequality between different level of cities, inequalities in poverty level exists within cities. Corruption remains a severe issue in Kenya. Of the 180 countries participating in the assessment of the corruption perceptions index, Kenya was ranked at 143 with the score of 28 in 2017. The score of Kenya for the past five years has varied between 25 and 28, implying that corruption is still a serious problem.
Studies have found that Kenya is one of the most crime-infested countries in Africa. One of reasons is that even the police help crime. Some authority institutions, such as judiciary and legislature, are also considered as the channels of corruption. Not strictly obeying the law is a common phenomenon in Kenya, and this type of phenomenon gives rise to cynicism and undermines social value, because instead of following the legitimate process, people in Kenya often find it easier to use corruption to solve problems.
Addressing health problems remains a challenge for Kenya's government. People with poor health condition decrease household incomes and increase medical expenditure, which may cause households to fall into poverty. HIV and malaria are especially prevalent in marginal areas, such as the Western and Nyanza Provinces. More than three-fifths of households in Kenya fall into poverty due to these diseases.
Data from the Society for International Development shows that although half of Kenya's people have access to improved water supply, there are over 19 million Kenyans still drinking unimproved water, such as unsafe water from rivers. Besides, there is large inequality in access of safe water. One of major causes of water crisis in Kenya is frequent droughts.
The Society for International Development has revealed that rivers are the most common supply of Kenya's drinking water. However, more than half of Kenya's regions are classified as arid and are very arid areas with annual average rainfall at a very low level, and global warming exacerbates this situation. Rivers are an unstable source of water, especially in a dry climate period. Kenya is classified as a water limited country.
Many still unable to access clean water
According to the research conducted by Kimani-Murage and Ngindu in 2007, the main activities that cause contamination of water in Kenya are washing clothes in rivers, pouring pollutants into rivers and using unclean containers to get water. Unsafe water can cause diseases like bilharzia, cholera, and diarrhea, while stagnant water is a breeding ground for mosquitoes that cause malaria infections to skyrocket.
Drought in Kenya.
Efforts to Reduce Poverty
With the assistance of the Commission of Poverty Eradication and Poverty Eradication Unit, the National Poverty Eradication provided various poverty reduction programmes to help reduce poverty in Kenya. It attempted to increase the poor households' living standard. For instance, for householders with low income that were unable to have access to safe food, health care and education, implements of the plan improved their condition through using money from the exchequer.
Objectives of the NPEP involved wide aspects, such as universal education, primary health care, safe drinking water and abolishing the gap between rural and urban social development. Due to the success of the strategy in the economic area, fiscal deficit and stock of non-performing loans have decreased, implying the more stable economic structure.
To alleviate poverty, the government succeeded in achieving the goal of universal primary education. It enlarged the scope of health services and water services, which reduced the incident rate of HIV and other epidemic diseases and improved the living condition of poor people.
Launched in 2008 by President Mwai Kibaki, Kenya Vision 2030 aims to transform Kenya into an actively modernizing middle-income country that provides a better quality of life for every Kenyan by 2030. As the plan is based on four pillars-economic and macro, social, and political-Vision 2030 works to provide more democratic solutions to societal problems.
Small and medium-sized businesses are seen as key to economic development; for example, Vision 2030 will make fertilizer available to small farmers by building a local fertilizer plant.
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