- Survey showed percentage of women with one or more co-wives increases with age from four per cent among women age 15–19 to 15 per cent among those age 45–49.
- The percentage of women in polygynous union decreases as wealth quintile increases.
Nine per cent of married women in the country have one or more co-wives, the 2022 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey shows.
The report, however, said only five per cent of married men reported having two or more wives.
It said the percentage of married women aged 15–49 in polygynous unions has declined gradually, from 23 per cent in 1989 to nine per cent in 2022.
Polygyny refers to a man, in particular, being married to two or more women at the same time.
On the other hand, polygamy refers to a person (male or female) being married to two or more people at the same time.
The survey showed the percentage of women with one or more co-wives increases with age from four per cent among women aged 15–19 to 15 per cent among those aged 45–49.
“The percentage of women with one or more co-wives in rural areas is more than double that of urban areas (12 per cent versus five per cent),” the report showed.
It added that the percentage of women with one or more co-wives declines with level of education, from 34 per cent among women with no education to three per cent among women with more than secondary education.
“The percentage of women in polygynous union decreases as wealth quintile increases; it is highest among women in the lowest wealth quintile (21 per cent) and lowest among women in the highest quintile (four per cent),” the survey pointed out.
Counties with the highest percentage of married women with one or more co-wives are Turkana (48 per cent), Wajir (38 per cent), Samburu (31 per cent) and West Pokot (31 per cent), while Kitui (one per cent), Vihiga (two per cent), Machakos (three per cent), Kiambu (three per cent), Tharaka-Nithi (three per cent), Kericho (three per cent), and Nakuru (three per cent) have the lowest percentage.
The 2022 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (2022 KDHS) was implemented by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and other stakeholders.
The Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) was the 7th to be carried out in Kenya following similar surveys conducted in 1989, 1993, 1998, 2003, 2008–09 and 2014.
The survey’s objective was to provide up-to-date information on socio-economic, demographic, nutrition and health indicators for planning, monitoring and evaluation of various health programmes and policies.
The sample size was computed at 42,300 households, with 25 households selected per cluster, which resulted in 1,692 clusters spread across the country, 1,026 clusters in rural areas, and 666 in urban areas.
The survey was also done through a questionnaire where they used the household questionnaire, the woman’s questionnaire, the man’s questionnaire, and the biomarker questionnaire.