Digital Divide in Kenya: ICT Access and Usage Data Reveals Disparities

The 2023/24 Kenya Housing Survey reveals significant disparities in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) access across Kenyan counties.

Computer Access

Computer usage is significantly higher in urban areas (20.9%) compared to rural areas (7.3%), highlighting a pronounced digital divide. This disparity likely reflects disparities in access to technology, infrastructure, and digital literacy resources.

Nationally, 13.1% of males used computers compared to 10.1% of females, indicating a gender gap in computer usage.

Nairobi City (27.8%) and Nyeri (21.3%) exhibit the highest computer usage rates, while Wajir (2.0%) and Mandera (3.6%) report the lowest, further emphasizing the uneven distribution of digital access across the country.

National Average: 10.7% of households have access to a computer.
Top Performers: Nairobi leads with 28.9%, followed by Kajiado (19.5%) and Kiambu (18.5%).
Lowest Access: Mandera and Marsabit report the lowest access at 1.1%.
Significant Gap: 23 counties (48.9%) have household computer access below 5%.

Mobile Phone Penetration

The survey reveals significant disparities in mobile phone ownership across Kenya.

One, mobile phone ownership is significantly higher in urban areas (64.6%) compared to rural areas (48.6%), while the national average stands at 53.7%.

On gender Parity, at the national level, mobile phone ownership is nearly equal among males (54.5%) and females (52.9%). This trend is consistent across urban and rural areas.

High Penetration: 93.5% of households have at least one mobile phone.
Nairobi Leads: 98.8% mobile phone ownership in Nairobi.
Lowest Penetration: Turkana lags with 69.1% mobile phone ownership.

The report highlights a significant trend: a considerable portion of the population relies on borrowed or shared mobile phones.

Nationally, 11.3% of individuals use phones they do not own, with a slightly higher prevalence in urban areas (11.8%) compared to rural areas (11.0%).

Interestingly, there are significant regional variations in this trend. Nyandarua County exhibited the highest reliance on non-owned phones at 22.2%, followed by Taita-Taveta at 20.1%.

In contrast, Bomet and Narok reported the lowest usage of non-owned phones, with only 2.0% of individuals in each county falling into this category.

Internet Network

Internet Usage

The report revealed significant disparities in internet usage across Kenya.

First, internet penetration is significantly higher in urban areas (56.5%) compared to rural areas (25.0%), with the national average at 35.0%.

Secondly, while internet usage is more prevalent among males (37.8%) than females (32.2%) nationally, this gap widens in rural areas, where male internet usage (28.3%) surpasses female usage (21.7%) more significantly.

As a result, Nairobi City (64.7%) and Kiambu (54.0%) exhibit the highest internet usage rates, while West Pokot (9.1%) and Turkana (12.7%) have the lowest.

National Average: 23.8% of households use the internet.
Top Performers: Nairobi (39.6%), Kajiado (35.6%), and Nakuru (32.1%) lead in internet usage.
Lowest Usage: Marsabit (4.7%) and Mandera (3.6%) exhibit the lowest internet usage rates.

Correlation with GCP

The 2024 Gross County Product (GCP) Report indicates a strong correlation between ICT access and economic performance. According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics’ 2022 KDHS there are disparities in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) access and usage across Kenyan counties, mirroring disparities in their contributions to the Gross County Product (GCP).

While mobile phone penetration is high nationally (93.5%), with Nairobi City leading at 98.8%, computer access remains relatively low at 10.7% nationally. Internet usage also shows significant variation, with only 23.8% of households reporting internet access.