NAIROBI, Kenya – Mobile phone ownership in Kenya has grown from 47.3% in 2019 to 53.7% in 2024, accompanied by a surge in internet use from 22.7% to 35% over the same period, new data shows.
The Kenya Housing Survey 2023/24 by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) reveals that while more Kenyans are connected than ever, the gender digital divide remains pronounced.
According to the report, 64.6% of phone owners are men compared to 48.6% of women.
Mobile phone sharing is also more common among women, highlighting access gaps that persist despite the overall growth.
Ownership by Marital Status
The survey shows that phone ownership is highest among people in monogamous marriages (81.9%), with 91.6% of men and 86.5% of women in such unions owning a device.
Interestingly, women who are separated (89.5%) or divorced (87.8%) are more likely to own a phone than their counterparts in monogamous (86.5%) or polygamous (71.1%) marriages.
Widowed women have an ownership rate of 73.3%, while only 57.8% of those who have never married own phones.
Separated and divorced women also reported higher phone usage rates than women in other marital categories—and even more than men in polygamous marriages.
Phone Sharing Trends
Phone sharing is most common among people who have never married (12.7%), followed by divorcees (7.2%), those in polygamous marriages (7.2%), widowed persons (6%), and those in monogamous marriages (4%).
“This trend underscores the relationship between marital status and digital inclusion, with never-married and separated individuals showing the greatest dependency on shared phones,” KNBS notes.
Children and Mobile Access
The survey also found notable mobile phone access among children, with ownership highest in the 10–14 age group (24.3%), followed by ages 5–9 (18%) and 15–24 (14.9%). About 12.2% of children aged 3–4 years share phones.
Regional Use Patterns
Mobile phone usage is highest in Nyandarua (86.1%), Nairobi (81.3%) and Taita Taveta (80.4%), while Turkana, Tana River and Narok recorded the lowest rates.
