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World Measure
The population almanac240 countries · 31,365 cities · UN WPP 2024
City profile · Kenya · Africa

Kakamega

Kakamega County · Kenya
City population
1,867,579
#2
in Kenya
#1
in Kakamega County
#225
worldwide
NairobiKakamega
0.284, 34.752 · 288 km from Nairobi
City population
1,867,579
Within the city boundary, not a metro area
Rank in Kenya
#2
of 119 cities of 15,000+
World rank
#225
of 31,365 cities listed
Share of Kenya
3.2%
of the national population

About Kakamega

Ranking 225th in the world, this city holds 1,867,579 people and accounts for 3.2% of Kenya's national population. Located 288 km from Nairobi, it sits at 1,563 m elevation. Khwisero (113,294 people, 22 km away) and Mbale (60,000 people, 23 km away) are the nearest substantial settlements.

This summary is AI-generated from the figures on this page. The figures themselves come from the sources cited beside each value.

Position in Kenya
#2of 119
LargestSmallest
Position in Kakamega County
#1of 3
LargestSmallest

Key Facts

Country
Kenya
Region
Kakamega County
Rank in region
#1of 3
Distance to capital
288 km
to Nairobi
Elevation
1,563 m
Approximate — modelled, not surveyed
Time zone
Africa/Nairobi
Coordinates
0.284, 34.752
Record updated
2022-09-26
Entry edited, not measured

City population, GeoNames. GeoNames publishes no year for its population figures, so “record updated” is when the entry was last edited — not the date the population was measured. Elevation is modelled from a digital elevation model rather than surveyed, so it is approximate.

Nearby Cities

All 119 in Kenya

Closest listed cities by great-circle distance from the city centre.

22KMKhwisero113K people23KMMbale60K people30KMMumias45K people35KMWebuye43K people38KMBungoma68K people

Compared with the World's Largest Cities

City-proper population against the fifteen largest cities in the dataset.

  1. Shanghai24.9M
  2. Beijing19M
  3. Shenzhen17.5M
  4. Guangzhou16.1M
  5. Kinshasa16M
  6. Istanbul15.7M
  7. Lagos15.4M
  8. Ho Chi Minh City14M
  9. Chengdu13.6M
  10. Lahore13M
  11. Mumbai12.7M
  12. São Paulo12.4M
  13. Mexico City12.3M
  14. Karachi11.6M
  15. Tianjin11.1M
  16. Kakamega1.87M
City-proper figures only. Administrative boundaries differ between countries, so these are not directly comparable to metropolitan-area estimates.
Kakamega compared with the fifteen largest cities
NameCity population
Shanghai24.9M
Beijing19M
Shenzhen17.5M
Guangzhou16.1M
Kinshasa16M
Istanbul15.7M
Lagos15.4M
Ho Chi Minh City14M
Chengdu13.6M
Lahore13M
Mumbai12.7M
São Paulo12.4M
Mexico City12.3M
Karachi11.6M
Tianjin11.1M
Kakamega1.87M

Kakamega Population FAQ

What is the population of Kakamega?

Kakamega has a city population of 1,867,579. That is the population within the city's own boundary, not its wider metropolitan area. City population, GeoNames.

Where is Kakamega?

Kakamega is in Kakamega County, Kenya, 288 km from the capital, Nairobi. Its coordinates are 0.284, 34.752.

How big is Kakamega compared with other cities in Kenya?

It is the 2nd largest of the 119 cities of 15,000 or more listed in Kenya, holding 3.2% of the national population.

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