Slower population decline, twice as many marriages

Written on 24 March 2020.

According to preliminary data, in January 2020, there were 9.4% more children born than in the first month of the previous year. The number of deaths decreased significantly, by 17% compared to January 2019. As a result, in the first month of 2020, the population decline of 3,486 people was 47% lower than a year earlier.

In January 2020, there were:

• 8067 babies born, a significant increase of 9.4% or 694 newborns compared to the first month of 2019. The number of children born in January 2020 is the highest January value since 2009.
• The estimated monthly fertility rate per woman was 1.60 compared with 1.44 for the same period last year.
• 11,553 people have lost their lives, a significant 17% or 2,356 less than a year earlier. The sharp decline may be due to the extremely high death figures due to the flu pandemic in January last year.
• The number of deaths decreased while the number of births increased, resulting in a 47% decrease in population decline, making a total of 3,486 in the first month of 2020, down from 6536 in January 2019.
• The number of marriages increased dramatically, with 2,863 couples entering marriage, nearly twice as many as 1,412 compared to January 2019. The number of marriages in January 2020 is the highest January value since 1982.
• 9.7 live births and 14.0 deaths per thousand inhabitants: The former was 0.9 per thousand point higher, the latter 2.8 per thousand point lower than in the same month of 2019. As a result, population decline has decreased to 4.2 per thousand in January 2020, compared with 7.9 per thousand in January 2019. In the first month of 2020, there were 2.9 infant deaths per thousand live births, 0.9 percentage points less than in the same month of the previous year. The marriage rate was 3.5 per thousand, 1.7 per thousand points higher than in January 2019.

Main population figures, January 2020

a) For thousand live births.
Source: CSO (KSH) Quick Reference