Kenya

Prevalence varies greatly depending on the region – the (former) province with the highest prevalence is North Eastern (97.5% of women aged 15–49), and the province with the lowest is Western (0.8%).  Prevalence is more common among women who live in rural areas, at 25.9%, than among women who live in urban areas, at 13.8%.

FGM is practised across all ethnic groups and religions, although to varying degrees.  The highest prevalences are among Muslim women (51.1% of women aged 15–49) and the Somali (93.6%); the lowest prevalence according to religion is among Protestant/other Christians (17.9%), and the lowest according to ethnic group appears to be among the Luhya (0.4%) and Luo (0.2%), although the small numbers of women who had been cut in each of these sample groups may make the statistics unreliable.  According to a 2014 documentary, The Elite Also Cut (Kenya CitizenTV), there is a lack of comprehensive data on FGM among the Kuria, but prevalence is thought to be very high.

92.5% of women aged 15–49 and 88.8% of men in the same age-range believe that FGM should not be continued.

The prevalence of FGM in Kenya has dropped from 37.6% of women aged 15–49 in 1998 to 21% in 2014.  Due to the large age-range of women included, however, the overall prevalence alone may not fully reflect the progress that has been made in recent years.  Breaking down the most recent data by age group shows that the prevalence for women aged 45–49 is 40.9%, while for the youngest age group this has fallen to 11.4%. Despite the fact that a small proportion of women may be cut after the age of 15, the data demonstrates a clear trend towards lower prevalences among younger women.