Population Statistics
Home › World › Kenya

Kenya: cities by population

By James Burfield, SEO consultant, Bath · Page updated · UN World Population Prospects

Kenya has a population of 58,636,412 (UN estimate, 2026), with Nairobi as its capital. The 50 largest of its 331 recorded towns and cities, ranked.

+91%
since 2000 (30,642,890)
+43%
projected by 2050 (83,593,239)
101
people per km²
19501975200020252050 5.8M 83.6M
UN estimates to 2026; the dashed line is the medium-variant projection to 2050, a forecast rather than a measurement. Source: World Population Prospects 2024.
Full UN series, 1950 to 2050
YearPopulation
19505,769,185
197513,511,671
200030,642,890
200535,796,484
201041,598,567
201547,088,526
202052,217,334
202557,532,493
202658,636,412
2030 projected63,102,245
2050 projected83,593,239

Medium variant. Figures from 2026 onward are projections, not measurements.

Figures are the latest available in GeoNames (CC BY 4.0), which draws on national censuses of varying dates — treat them as recent, not same-year. Country totals are UN World Population Prospects 2024 (medium variant) where the UN lists the country separately; the handful it reports under a parent state keep a GeoNames figure and are marked as such. Sources & method.

Largest cities in Kenya

#PlaceRegionPopulation
1NairobiNairobi County4,397,073
2KakamegaKakamega County1,867,579
3MombasaMombasa County1,208,333
4NakuruNakuru County570,674
5RuiruKiambu County490,120
6EldoretUasin Gishu County475,716
7KisumuKisumu County397,957
8KikuyuKiambu County323,881
9ThikaNairobi County251,407
10NaivashaNakuru County198,444
11KaruriKiambu County194,342
12KaruriMurang'A194,342
13MatugaKwale County194,252
14MwalaMachakos County181,896
15Ongata RongaiKajiado County172,569
16JomvuMombasa County163,415
17GarissaGarissa County163,399
18KitaleTrans Nzoia162,174
19LimuruKiambu County159,314
20JujaKiambu County156,041
21KitengelaKajiado County154,436
22KiambuKiambu County147,870
23MlolongoMachakos County136,351
24MalindiKilifi County119,859
25ManderaMandera County114,718
26KhwiseroKakamega County113,294
27KisiiKisii County112,417
28NgongKajiado County102,323
29MtwapaKilifi County90,677
30WajirWajir County90,116
31LodwarTurkana County82,970
32Athi RiverMachakos County81,302
33MeruMeru County80,191
34NyeriNyeri County80,081
35IsioloIsiolo County78,650
36UkundaKwale County77,686
37KiserianKajiado County76,903
38KilifiKilifi County74,270
39NanyukiLaikipia72,813
40BusiaBusia County71,886
41MigoriMigori County71,668
42BungomaBungoma County68,031
43NarokNarok County65,430
44EmbuEmbu County64,979
45MachakosMachakos County63,767
46GithunguriKiambu County63,319
47GithunguriMachakos County63,319
48El WakMandera County60,732
49GilgilNakuru County60,711
50Upper GilgilNyandarua County60,711

Twenty years earlier: Kenya in the 2005 World Gazetteer — population then 33,393,408.

Common questions

What is the population of Kenya?
Kenya has a population of 58,636,412, the UN World Population Prospects estimate for 2026. The UN's medium-variant projection for 2050 is 83,593,239 — a forecast, not a measurement.
What is the capital of Kenya?
Nairobi.

Go deeper

Nairobi
The largest place we record in Kenya: 4,397,073 people
Kenya in 2005
The World Gazetteer's archive edition: 33,393,408 then
All 246 countries
Every country and territory, ranked by population