Kenya Mini DHS 2025-26: 32.9% of women never married, fertility at 3.1

Fewer Kenyan women are marrying and more are staying single, according to the 2025-26 Kenya Mini Demographic and Health Survey, which the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) released in Nairobi on Tuesday, 3 November 2026. The share of women aged 15 to 49 who have never married rose to 32.9%, from 30% in 2003, while the share who are married or living with a partner fell to 55%, from 60%. The same survey found that Kenyan women now have 3.1 children on average, down from 3.4 in 2022.

Demographic and health surveys are among the few sources that track how family life changes over decades, because they ask the same questions of a large national sample of women. Kenya's new figures show several shifts moving together: women are marrying less, more marriages end in separation or divorce, and families are getting smaller. For a country where the average woman had almost five children only two decades ago, that is a large change in what a typical household looks like.

The low rate of registered unions matters for women in particular. When fewer than one in five unions is on record, a woman whose relationship ends may find it harder to prove the marriage when property, maintenance or inheritance is in dispute. The reported findings do not explain why so few unions are registered, but the figure gives policymakers a measured starting point.

The national averages also hide sharp local differences. Embu county has the lowest fertility rate in the country, 2.2 children per woman, followed by Kiambu and Mombasa at 2.3, and Kericho and Nairobi at 2.6. Yet 18.6% of girls aged 15 to 19 in Embu have been pregnant, well above the national 11.9%. In Nairobi, the teenage pregnancy share rose from 8.4% to 13.2%, against the national fall. These gaps show where support for adolescent girls and young families is most needed.

Peepals calculation: Kenya's fertility rate has fallen by about 37% since 2003 ((4.9 - 3.1) / 4.9 = 0.367) and by about 9% since 2022 ((3.4 - 3.1) / 3.4 = 0.088). The share of women who are divorced or separated has risen by two-thirds since 2003 ((10 - 6) / 6 = 0.67), and the teenage pregnancy share has dropped by about a fifth ((14.8 - 11.9) / 14.8 = 0.196). Our calculation from the reported figures.

Short-term: County governments now have fresh figures on fertility, teenage pregnancy and maternal care to plan health and family services. KNBS presents the mini survey as a bridge to the next full demographic and health survey.

Long-term: Smaller families and later or fewer marriages change how care for children and older relatives is shared within households, and how much support women need from the state when relationships end. If the trends continue, they will shape Kenya's schools, health services and labour force for decades.

Who is affected: Kenyan women and girls, their families, county health departments, and the agencies that plan maternal and child health and family law.

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