A survey by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) now says that only 53.7 per cent of Kenyans own mobile phones.
The survey by KNBS covers 2023/2024. It is dubbed ‘Kenya Housing Survey Basic Report’.
It says that Kenyans living in urban areas account for 64.6 per cent of mobile phone ownership compared to those who live in rural areas.
“The survey reveals significant disparities in mobile phone ownership across Kenyan counties and between urban and rural areas,” the survey shows.
“Nationally, 53.7 per cent of the population owns a mobile phone, with urban areas showing a significantly higher ownership rate at 64.6 per cent compared to 48.6 per cent in rural areas.”
The data showed that males and females reported near equal proportions in ownership of a mobile phone in the last three months at 54.5 per cent and 52.9 per cent, in the country.
“A similar trend was observed for both males and females in the urban and rural areas.”
The survey further noted that mobile phone ownership varied across the counties with the highest mobile phone ownership rates in Nairobi City (67.7 per cent) and Kirinyaga (65.0 per cent).
The least were in Turkana (29.4 per cent) and West Pokot (29.0 per cent).
It also noted that nationally, 64.9 per cent of the population aged 3 years and above used a mobile phone in the last three months regardless of ownership with urban areas having a higher usage rate (76.4 per cent) compared to rural areas (59.6 per cent).
The survey covered all 47 counties to ensure that the coverage was comprehensive and representative of the entire country.
Some 25,900 households and 1,295 clusters which were randomly selected participated in the survey.
According to KNBS, the primary objective of the 2023/24 Kenya Housing Survey was to provide up-to-date statistics on housing in Kenya to inform policy analysis.
by BRIAN ORUTA
