Are Kenyans afraid of Marriage?

According to a recent study, the majority of Kenyan males are choosing to put off getting married and remain single until retirement. According to a research released on November 22, 2022 by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, the proportion of Kenyan men who never married is increasing as they become older (KNBS).

The number of men in the country who are aging without ever getting married is more than the number of spinsters, according to the report that provided insight into the 2019 Census. Additionally, during the past ten years, men's average age at marriage has gradually risen.

For example, the average age of males getting married now is 29, compared to 25 in the 1980s, which shows that men are delaying lifetime commitment further. The average age of marriage for women in the nation has also gone up, from 21 years in the 1980s to 25 years now.

The survey also demonstrates that, in comparison to their female counterparts, males rush for remarriage in the event of separation, divorce, or the death of a spouse. This is demonstrated by the 2019 Census report, which found that 7% of women reported being widowed, compared to 1% of men who reported being divorced.

The survey also reveals that women are having fewer children overall than in previous decades. The average number of children born to each woman has substantially decreased over the past ten years, from seven to just three. In addition, many women are choosing to delay becoming mothers and having their first children. Modern women wait until they are about to approach 30 before giving birth, in contrast to a decade before when most would give birth to their first child at the tender age of 20.

Religious doctrines, hard economic circumstances, the pursuit of education, and personal resolutions may all be contributing factors to the rise in the number of men and women in the country who avoid or delay marriage, delay childbirth, and reduce the number of children.

Remarkably, compared to their counterparts in cities, more women from rural areas tend to decide to stay single after their partners separate, divorce, or pass away.

According to the survey, there are fewer households led by women in urban regions than there are in rural ones since more women choose to remarry.