Kenya

All demographic indicators on this page are based on UN mid 2025 estimates unless stated otherwise.

Kenya population (live estimate)

Real-time estimate based on UN demographic growth models.

57,532,000

Annual growth: 1.916%.

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Official population estimates

World population
57,532,000
Median age
20.0
Population growth rate (%)
1.916 ▲ Population is growing

This map shows first-level administrative regions (ADM1).

Key Facts

  • Capital: Nairobi
  • Official language: Cutchi-Swahili
  • Region: Eastern Africa
  • Continent: Africa

Languages

A brief overview of the linguistic situation in the country.

Official language
Swahili (macrolanguage), English, Cutchi-Swahili
Minority language
8
Working / administrative language
3

Kenya has two official languages—English and Swahili—used in government, education, media, and interethnic communication. Beyond these, Kenya hosts over 40 Indigenous languages, including Kikuyu, Luo, Luhya, Kamba, Kalenjin, Maasai, Meru, and Somali. Swahili serves as a unifying lingua franca nationwide.

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Religions

A brief overview of the religious composition of the country.

Dominant religion
Christianity
Largest share
85.7%
Number of religions
7

Kenya’s population is young and increasingly urban, with Nairobi, Mombasa, and Kisumu serving as major linguistic melting pots. Rural regions maintain strong ethnic linguistic identities, while cities foster bilingualism and code-switching between English, Swahili, and local languages.

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Cities

A brief overview of the major cities and urban structure of the country.

Largest city
Nairobi
Number of cities
50

The cities shown here represent major urban centres with populations over 50,000, as defined by the UN Degree of Urbanisation (DEGURBA) methodology. Smaller towns and rural settlements are not included.

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