Single men registered more deaths in 2024 as compared to women, according to the Kenya Vital Statistics Report 2024.
The report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) highlighted that males accounted for the majority of registered deaths for singles (62.5 %) while females accounted for 37.5%.
The majority of the singles (3,947) were between the 20-24 age group, followed closely by 3,374 Kenyans aged 25-30 while the least were those between 75-79 years (631).
Across the counties, Kiambu had the highest number of registered deaths for single persons (2,368) followed by Kajiado at 24 %.
Likewise, 63.3% of married men recorded high death numbers compared to 36.7% among married women, while 76.8% of widowed women recorded a higher number of deaths compared to 23.2% of widowed men.
Overall, the report stated that married persons accounted for the majority of registered deaths (101,507), single persons (28,482), widowed (26,878) and divorced (5,137).
Most of the single persons’ deaths were recorded in Nairobi (3,048), 2,368 in Kiambu and 1,751 in Nakuru.
Counties with the highest proportion of deaths registered in health facilities were Uasin Gishu (82.0%), Kericho (78.1%) and Nairobi City (77.3%).
Further, counties with the highest proportions of registered community deaths were Wajir, Mandera, and Vihiga with 90.5 per cent, 86.0 per cent and 74.3 %, respectively.
Collectively, the report recorded 115,242 male deaths and 91,173 female deaths in 2024.
The report added that Pneumonia has remained the leading cause of health facility deaths since 2021. Cancer also rose in rank to become the second leading cause.
The statistics were drawn from records of key events derived from the Civil Registration System (CRS).
“Statistics on these events are important for socioeconomic planning, informed decision making, monitoring and evaluation of programs on population and health, and measurement of demographic indicators,” reads the report in part.
