22. The Shona community households occupy roughly the same number of rooms as urban Kenyan
households, but the density of use is higher than the national urban average. Crowded conditions—
measured by both space within a housing unit and distance between them—can lead to increased
morbidity and stress (World Health Organization 2018). On average, the Shona community households occupy 1.8 habitable rooms compared to 1.7 in urban Kenya. However, the higher average number of household members among the Shona translates into 3.1 persons occupying each habitable
room compared to 2.1 in urban Kenya (p<0.01; Figure 12). At the county level, the Shona community
households in Nairobi and Kiambu occupy fewer rooms and are more likely to be crowded into a
room (having 3 or more individuals occupying a room) than their respective nationals. Crowded conditions are more pronounced in Nairobi County than in Kiambu County for both Shona and Kenyans
(Figure 13).
Average number of rooms and
persons per room
FIGURE 12: Number of habitable rooms for the Shona community and Kenyans
4
3.1
3
2
3.4
3.0
2.1
1.8
1.7
2.1
1.9
2.3
1.7
1.5
1.6
1
0
Shona
National
(urban)
Population average
Shona
National
Shona
Kiambu County
Habitable rooms
National
Nairobi County
Persons per room
Source: Shona SES (2019) and KIHBS (KNBS 2015/16).
FIGURE 13: Proportion of households living in overcrowded conditions
Percent of households
80
60
68
58
40
53
34
30
15
20
0
Shona
National
(urban)
Population average
Shona
National
Kiambu County
Shona
Shona
National
Nairobi County
Kenya
Source: Shona SES (2019) and KIHBS (KNBS 2015/16).
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