Counties Where Most Men, Women Have Multiple Sexual Partners

A report from the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) 2022 released by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) on Tuesday, January 17 highlighted the counties where men and women are highly likely to have more than one sexual partner.

Murang'a County was found to contain more women who have more than one sexual partner than anywhere else in the whole of Kenya, with a cumulative of 11 per cent. It was followed by 6.5 per cent from Kericho County and 6.2 per cent from Busia County.

Migori County on the other hand was found to have more men with multiple sexual partners at a cumulative of 28.7 per cent but was beaten to the top by Narok County at 42.5 per cent. It was followed closely by Elgeyo Marakwet at 28.5 per cent and West Pokot at 27.2 per cent.

For women, Nairobi County has 4.8 per cent of women with multiple sexual partners, beaten by its neighbour, Kiambu County with 5.8 per cent. In comparison, Mombasa has a cumulative of 2.1 per cent while Kisumu is 3.8 per cent.

A couple in bed. /FILE

For men, Nairobi had 18.4 per cent of men with multiple sexual partners, bettered by Kisumu with 19.7 per cent and Mombasa with 20.9 per cent.

The survey further notes that a higher proportion of men (15 per cent) than women (4 per cent) reported having two or more sexual partners in the 12 months prior to the survey. Of those with more than one partner in the last 12 months, 24 per cent of women and 45 per cent of men reported using a condom during their last sexual intercourse.

"In the 12 months before the survey, 19 per cent of women had sex with a person who neither was their husband nor lived with them, and just 37 per cent of these women reported using a condom during their last sexual intercourse with such a partner.

"Thirty-five per cent of men reported having sex in the last 12 months with a person who neither was their wife nor lived with them, and 68 per cent of these men reported using a condom during their last sexual intercourse with such a partner," the report read in part.

The average numbers of sexual partners are 2.3 among women and 7.4 among men. Among women but not men, the percentage who reported using a condom at last sex with a person who neither was their spouse nor lived with them decreased with age, from 46 per cent among women aged 15–19 to 29 per cent among women aged 30–49.

Fertility Rate

The survey also revealed that women between the ages of 20 to 24 have the highest fertility rate in Kenya, a number established after observing the number of births per every 1,000 women in different parts of the nation.

In that age bracket, fertility peaks at 179 births per every 1,000 women. The total fertility rate is higher in the rural areas with 219 births and decreases in the urban areas at 138 births among every 1,000 women.

Following behind is women between the ages of 25 to 28 showing a total of 172 births in every 1,000 women. Of these 200 are in the rural areas while 143 are in the urban populace, a rate that decreases past the age of 28.