Development in a society such as that of Kenya must take the demographics of the region into account. Much of Kenya's population is rural, so successful development efforts must improve the conditions of life in rural areas. An examination of the demographic realities of Kenya points to areas of special need which should be addressed by any development program in order to engage the populace in the development effort, to satisfy the needs of the people, and to coordinate the strength of the rural economy with that of the urban regions of the nation.
Kenya has been enjoying for more than two decades a period of high rates of natural population increase because of the continuation of a high birth rate and the decline of the death rate, especially because of a decline in infant mortality. The fact that the birth rate has remained high indicates the importance Kenyans place on having children. The situation is different in the relatively small urban population, where women have fewer children. The lower birth rate in this smaller segment of the population has been offset by an improved standard of nutrition and hygiene for the larger population in rural areas. The annual growth rates in the early 1970s and 1980s have created a young population. The 1979 census showed that 48.5 percent of the population was less than 15 years old, while by mid-1982 the proportion under age 15 had reached 50 percent:
Kenya is thus one of the dozen or so countries in the world where the segment of the population usually thought of as constituting the work force is exceeded by the segment comprising those thought of as dependents. Children under age 15 do contribute to some extent to the household economy in farming and nomadic communities, but the contribution is not great.
The average population density in Kenya was 27 persons per square kilometer in 1979, but this distribution involved a good deal of variation. the Nairobi Area and the...