Pneumonia, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases were the leading causes of death reported in health facilities in 2024, according to data released by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).
The report shows that 54.9 per cent of registered deaths occurred in health facilities, while 45.1 per cent were reported in the community.
Pneumonia remained the top cause of health facility deaths for the fourth consecutive year, while cancer rose sharply to become the second leading cause and the top cause of death among women.
Cancer has shown a steady rise over the years, ranking fifth in 2021, fourth in 2022, and second in both 2023 and 2024. Cardiovascular diseases came in third among health facility deaths.
Pneumonia and cancer were the top two leading causes of death among males in 2023 and 2024.
Pneumonia and Cancer Lead Causes of Death in Hospitals
Notably, in 2024, cancer was also the leading cause of death among Kenyans who died outside the country, accounting for 16.7 per cent of such deaths, followed by cardiovascular diseases (11.1%) and heart diseases (8.9%).
In the community, the main causes of death were sudden death, pneumonia, cancer, and malaria, in that order.
Over the last two years, these four causes have consistently dominated both male and female community death statistics.
Among children under five, deaths accounted for 13.9 per cent of all registered fatalities in 2024.
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Prematurity and birth asphyxia remained the leading causes of neonatal and infant deaths, respectively. For children aged 5–14, anaemia was the most common cause of death.
Injuries and road traffic accidents were major causes of death among the youth, particularly males.
Cancer was most prevalent in adults aged 30–49, while HIV/AIDS remained a significant cause of death among females aged 15–29 and 50–59.
For adults aged 30 and above, kidney disease and diabetes were also among the top ten causes of death.
The data shows notable regional trends:
- Wajir, Mandera, and Vihiga counties had the highest number of community-registered deaths,
- While Uasin Gishu, Kericho, and Nairobi City counties led in health facility deaths.
The national sex ratio at death was 126 males for every 100 females, peaking at 188 among those aged 20–24, and dropping to 77 among those aged 80 and above.
Counties such as Mandera, Wajir, Tana River, and Garissa recorded the highest male-to-female death ratios.
Leading Causes of Death in Health Facilities, 2020–2024
| Rank | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cardiorespiratory failure / Cardiopulmonary arrest (9,332) | Pneumonia (15,468) | Pneumonia (11,453) | Pneumonia (9,966) | Pneumonia (9,682) |
| 2 | Pneumonia (9,061) | Cardiopulmonary and Cardiorespiratory Arrest (9,862) | Cardiopulmonary and Cardiorespiratory Arrest (11,176) | Cancer (7,699) | Cancer (8,954) |
| 3 | Cancer (6,078) | Respiratory Infections (7,434) | Respiratory Infections (7,340) | cardiovascular diseases (7,494) | cardiovascular diseases (7,478) |
| 4 | Respiratory Infections (5,749) | COVID-19 (5,987) | Cancer (5,653) | Sepsis (6,171) | Hypertension (5,035) |
| 5 | Hypertension (5,456) | Cancer (5,745) | Injuries (4,296) | Hypertension (8,442) | Injuries (4,574) |
| 6 | Prematurity & Birth Asphyxia (4,368) | heart diseases (4,869) | Hypertension (4,212) | Injuries (4,559) | Anaemia (4,572) |
| 7 | Anaemia (3,557) | Hypertension (4,734) | Anaemia( 4,108) | Prematurity & Birth Asphyxia (4,134) | kidney diseases (4,247) |
Cancer Dominates Death in Female
In the 50–59 age group, the leading causes of community deaths were sudden death, cancer, and pneumonia, with sudden death dominating among males, while cancer led among females.
For older persons aged 60 and above, sudden death was the leading cause across both sexes. Among men, cancer ranked second and pneumonia third, while among women, pneumonia ranked second and cancer third.
In the 15–29 age group, sudden death accounted for 15.4 per cent of all community-registered deaths.
While injuries featured prominently among the top causes of death for males in 2023 and 2024, they did not appear among the top causes for females in the same period.
The report also noted a decline in deaths registered in health facilities due to asthma, malaria, pneumonia, road traffic accidents, and tuberculosis (TB) between 2023 and 2024.
For nine out of the ten leading causes of death in 2024, the number of male deaths exceeded female deaths, reinforcing gender-based disparities in mortality across the country.
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