Statizoid

Population in Kenya

Kenya: Population was 55.34 million people in 2023. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2023)
55.34 million people
Change on year
up 2.0%
World rank
26th
of 238 countries
All-time high
55.34 million people
in 2023
All-time low
800,000 people
in 1000
Years of data
241
1000–2023

Population in Kenya, 1000–2023

020.0M40.0M60.0M100015112023

Source: HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.

Analysis

The most recent figure for population in Kenya is 55.34 million people, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 241 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.0% on the previous year and up 23.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, population in Kenya peaked at 55.34 million people in 2023 and was at its lowest, 800,000 people, in 1000.

Kenya ranks 26th of 238 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1000s 800,000 people 800,000 people 800,000 people 1
1100s 940,000 people 940,000 people 940,000 people 1
1200s 1.08 million people 1.08 million people 1.08 million people 1
1300s 1.22 million people 1.22 million people 1.22 million people 1
1400s 1.36 million people 1.36 million people 1.36 million people 1
1500s 1.50 million people 1.50 million people 1.50 million people 1
1600s 1.75 million people 1.75 million people 1.75 million people 1
1700s 2.00 million people 2.00 million people 2.00 million people 1
1710s 2.05 million people 2.05 million people 2.05 million people 1
1720s 2.07 million people 2.07 million people 2.07 million people 1
1730s 2.10 million people 2.10 million people 2.10 million people 1
1740s 2.12 million people 2.12 million people 2.12 million people 1
1750s 2.15 million people 2.15 million people 2.15 million people 1
1760s 2.18 million people 2.18 million people 2.18 million people 1
1770s 2.21 million people 2.21 million people 2.21 million people 1
1780s 2.24 million people 2.24 million people 2.24 million people 1
1790s 2.28 million people 2.28 million people 2.28 million people 1
1800s 2.64 million people 2.57 million people 2.70 million people 10
1810s 2.78 million people 2.71 million people 2.85 million people 10
1820s 2.93 million people 2.86 million people 3.00 million people 10
1830s 3.09 million people 3.02 million people 3.16 million people 10
1840s 3.26 million people 3.18 million people 3.34 million people 10
1850s 3.43 million people 3.35 million people 3.51 million people 10
1860s 3.61 million people 3.53 million people 3.70 million people 10
1870s 3.82 million people 3.72 million people 3.93 million people 10
1880s 4.06 million people 3.95 million people 4.16 million people 10
1890s 4.08 million people 3.98 million people 4.17 million people 10
1900s 3.80 million people 3.66 million people 3.95 million people 10
1910s 3.58 million people 3.54 million people 3.63 million people 10
1920s 3.81 million people 3.57 million people 4.10 million people 10
1930s 4.45 million people 4.17 million people 4.73 million people 10
1940s 5.21 million people 4.81 million people 5.65 million people 10
1950s 6.50 million people 5.77 million people 7.42 million people 10
1960s 9.22 million people 7.70 million people 10.94 million people 10
1970s 13.34 million people 11.37 million people 15.46 million people 10
1980s 18.94 million people 16.02 million people 22.12 million people 10
1990s 26.26 million people 22.89 million people 29.73 million people 10
2000s 35.36 million people 30.64 million people 40.41 million people 10
2010s 46.51 million people 41.60 million people 51.20 million people 10
2020s 53.76 million people 52.22 million people 55.34 million people 4

Countries ranked near Kenya

  1. 23 France 66.44 million people compare
  2. 24 South Africa 63.21 million people compare
  3. 25 Italy 59.50 million people compare
  4. 27 Myanmar 54.13 million people compare
  5. 28 Colombia 52.32 million people compare
  6. 29 South Korea 51.75 million people compare

See the full ranking of 239 places →

More population data for Kenya

All data for Kenya →

Frequently asked questions

What is population in Kenya?
Population in Kenya was 55.34 million people in 2023, according to HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest population recorded in Kenya?
The highest recorded value was 55.34 million people in 2023.
What is the lowest population recorded in Kenya?
The lowest recorded value was 800,000 people in 1000.
How does Kenya rank for population?
Kenya ranks 26th out of 238 countries with data for 2023.
Is population rising or falling in Kenya?
Over the last ten years it is up 23.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Kenya data come from?
The figures come from HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Population. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 241 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Population
Unit
people
Source
HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
239 places, 51,002 data points, 1000–2023
Last refreshed

Population by country, available from 10,000 BCE to 2023, based on data and estimates from different sources.