Population Distribution in Kenya

Introduction

In the Junior School CBC (KICD), Social Studies examines people and their environment. Population distribution describes how people spread over an area, while population density is the number of people per square kilometre.

Formula

Density = total population / area in km2.

Worked example: A county has 600,000 people on 3,000 km2. Density = 600,000 / 3,000 = 200 people per km2.

Kenya's pattern

• Dense: central highlands, western Kenya around Lake Victoria, Nairobi and the coastal strip.
• Sparse: northern and north-eastern Kenya, and parts of the south-east and Rift Valley floor.

Factors causing dense settlement

1. Fertile soils and reliable rainfall for farming.
2. Cool, healthy climate in highlands.
3. Towns, jobs and industries (for example Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu).
4. Good transport and services such as schools and hospitals.
5. Security and history of settlement.

Factors causing sparse settlement

1. Aridity and unreliable rainfall.
2. Poor soils and rugged land.
3. Tsetse fly and disease in some zones.
4. Poor roads and few services.
5. Pastoralist lifestyles with large grazing areas.

Effects of uneven distribution

• Pressure on land and services in crowded areas.
• Unemployment and urban crowding.
• Underused resources in sparse areas.
• Rural-urban migration.

Possible solutions

Develop roads and services in sparse areas, improve irrigation, invest in rural industries and encourage planned settlement.

Try it

• Calculate density: 1,200,000 people in 4,000 km2.
• Explain why Nairobi has a high density.
• List two reasons the northern counties have fewer people.
• Suggest one way to reduce crowding in towns.