According to a FinAccess Household Survey, the counties of Nakuru, West Pokot, and Nyandarua have the highest rates of gambling in Kenya.
The three counties are all above the national average of 11%, with rates of 26, 25, and 23%, respectively.
Nonetheless, according to the report, Nakuru has the highest level of financial literacy, at 67 percent, as measured by respondents’ ability to calculate the cost of interest on a loan.
The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), and Financial Sector Deepening Kenya funded the survey (FSD Kenya).
There is a correlation between the level of economic activity, population density, and urbanization, and it provided county analysis along the four dimensions of formal financial inclusion (access, usage, quality, and impact).
“Counties of Nairobi, Nyeri, Kirinyaga, Murang’a and Kiambu were the only ones with adult population included in the formal financial services, with rates above 90 percent. On the lower end of the pyramid, are West Pokot, Turkana, Garissa and Narok Counties, with inclusion rates of below 61 percent, compared to the national average of 84 percent,” the report reads in part.
The report shows that Nairobi, Mombasa, Kiambu, and Kisumu have the highest levels of bank service utilization, while Garissa, Tana River, and Marsabit have the lowest levels of regularity and frequency of use.
“Compared to other counties, Machakos county reported the highest usage of Insurance services (mainly driven by National Hospital Insurance Fund) rate of 51 percent, twice the reported national average of 25 percent,” reads the report in part.
Marsabit, Garissa, and Samburu Counties, on the other hand, had the highest level of debt distress, as measured by default rates of 74%, 59%, and 58% among the adult population, respectively.
“This may be explained by the climate-related shock of drought facing these counties that has reduced the ability of borrowers to repay their loans,” the report reads.
Busia, Nandi, and Siaya had the lowest reported loan default rates, each with less than 5%.
Microfinance, capital markets, mobile banking, SACCO use of services and products, and other financial solutions are also covered in the report.
The report also includes indicators for the use of informal solutions like Chamas at the county level.
