Ethnic Fertility Differentials in Kenya and Their Proximate Determinants

Anne Khasakhala, University of Nairobi

This paper examines ethnic differentials in fertility in Kenya using data from the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS), 2003 and 2008/9. Direct and indirect measures of fertility are employed to estimate fertility levels by ethnic group. Proximate determinant analyses are employed to establish the effect of fertility inhibition by ethnic group. The results indicate high levels of fertility among ethnic groups with the exception of only a few. The index of marriage had the greatest fertility-inhibiting effect for the majority of the ethnic groups. The index of contraception, which has been touted as having the greatest fertility-inhibiting effect for the country, is only applicable to ethnic groups with low fertility, i.e., the Kikuyu and Embu. These are also the ethnic groups that have benefited most from modernization and development. Ethnic fertility differentials may offer an alternative explanation for the stall in fertility in Kenya.