Kenyan men are more active online than women across every age bracket, according to the 2023/24 Kenya Household Survey (KHS) by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), underscoring a persistent digital gender divide in the country.
The report shows the disparity is most evident among young adults aged 25 to 34 years, where 64 per cent of men use the internet compared to 54.5 per cent of women. This group also recorded the highest overall internet usage in Kenya, at 59.3 per cent. Teenagers and young adults aged 15 to 24 years came second, with 47.5 per cent of men and 45.7 per cent of women going online, an overall rate of 46.6 per cent.
Among middle-aged adults (35–44 years), men’s usage stood at 50.4 per cent compared to women’s 42.2 per cent, producing an overall connectivity rate of 47.1 per cent. For the 45–54 years bracket, 40 per cent reported internet use, again with men leading. Older adults saw a sharp drop in online engagement: 31.2 per cent for ages 55–64, 16.5 per cent for ages 65–74, and just 4.4 per cent among those aged 85 and above.
Children showed minimal engagement, with only 6.8 per cent of 3–4-year-olds accessing the internet, rising to 9.8 per cent for ages 5–9, and 11.5 per cent for ages 10–14.
The survey also examined mobile phone ownership by marital status among individuals aged 12 and above. Monogamously married individuals had the highest ownership rate at 89.1 per cent, with married men leading at 91.6 per cent. Among women, those separated (89.5 per cent) and divorced (87.8 per cent) recorded the highest ownership rates.
At the bottom of the spectrum were unmarried individuals, with only 62 per cent of men and 57.8 per cent of women owning mobile phones, highlighting the intersection between marital status, access to technology, and digital inclusion.
The findings point to the urgent need for targeted interventions to close Kenya’s digital gender gap and ensure equitable access to the opportunities of the online world.
