Policy Brief No. 38 of 2023/2024 on Murang’a County Brief on A Review of Youth Employment Programmes

Abstract

Murang’a County had a population of 1,056,640 people with a population density of 419 per square km as at 2019 (Table 1). The youth were estimated at 319,330 (50.6%) with a large share (85.4%) residing in rural areas. The overall poverty rate for the county was lower at 23.0 per cent as of 2016 and 26.7 per cent in 2021 compared to the national level of 36.1 per cent and 38.6 per cent, respectively. Youth poverty rate was at 23.8 per cent and 24.0 per cent in 2016 and 2021, respectively, comparing favourably with the national youth poverty rate at 28.9 per cent and 34.2 per cent in 2016 and 2021, respectively. Notable improvements were observed with the proportion of stunted children decreasing from 19.3 per cent in 2014 to 10.1 per cent in 2022, which is lower than the national average of 17.6 per cent. Reducing stunting levels is crucial in promoting optimal cognitive and psychomotor development of children, resulting in better human capital development that boosts their labour force participation and productivity in the subsequent years.