In 1870, it is estimated that Kenyan life expectancy from birth was just 25.5 years. This low rate was in part the result of several famines and epidemics which ravaged the region throughout the late 1800s, including an epidemic in 1898, which, when combined with the coinciding famine, was estimated to have resulted in the death of over half the population of the country. The life expectancy would further drop in the late 1910s, the result of the 1918 Spanish Flu epidemic, which is estimated to have claimed the lives of over 5.5 percent of Kenya’s population.
Life expectancy would increase only marginally for much of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but saw a significant increase in the years following the end of the Second World War. Kenyan life expectancy rose by almost ten years in the late 1940s. Life expectancy would continue to steadily rise for much of the 20th century, particularly so with the implementation of universal healthcare in 1965, before peaking at almost 59 years in 1985. However, beginning in the late-1980s, Kenya would see life expectancy fall significantly until the early 2010s, as the HIV/AIDS epidemic led to a significant increase in mortality across the population. After bottoming out at under 52 years in 2005, life expectancy was able to recover to pre-HIV/AIDS levels by the 2010s. In 2020, Kenya is estimated to have a life expectancy from birth of more than 66 years.
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United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), & Gapminder. (August 31, 2019). Life expectancy (from birth) in Kenya from 1870 to 2020 [Graph]. In ÌÇÐÄÆÆ½â°æ. Retrieved July 22, 2026, from /statistics/1072206/life-expectancy-kenya-historical/
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), und Gapminder. "Life expectancy (from birth) in Kenya from 1870 to 2020." Chart. August 31, 2019. ÌÇÐÄÆÆ½â°æ. Accessed July 22, 2026. /statistics/1072206/life-expectancy-kenya-historical/
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), Gapminder. (2019). Life expectancy (from birth) in Kenya from 1870 to 2020. ÌÇÐÄÆÆ½â°æ. ÌÇÐÄÆÆ½â°æ Inc.. Accessed: July 22, 2026. /statistics/1072206/life-expectancy-kenya-historical/
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), and Gapminder. "Life Expectancy (from Birth) in Kenya from 1870 to 2020." ÌÇÐÄÆÆ½â°æ, ÌÇÐÄÆÆ½â°æ Inc., 31 Aug 2019, /statistics/1072206/life-expectancy-kenya-historical/
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) & Gapminder, Life expectancy (from birth) in Kenya from 1870 to 2020 ÌÇÐÄÆÆ½â°æ, /statistics/1072206/life-expectancy-kenya-historical/ (last visited July 22, 2026)
Life expectancy (from birth) in Kenya from 1870 to 2020 [Graph], United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), & Gapminder, August 31, 2019. [Online]. Available: /statistics/1072206/life-expectancy-kenya-historical/