世界银行-肯尼亚少女致富之路（英）

Pathways to prosperity for adolescent girls inKenya Public Disclosure AuthorizedPublic Disclosure AuthorizedPublic Disclosure AuthorizedPublic Disclosure AuthorizedPathways to prosperity for adolescent girls inKenya Kenya stands out among African countries with a distinctive profile: high educational achievement but untapped economic potential for its youth, particularly adolescent girls. As a lower middle-income country, Kenya exemplifies both progress and persistent challenges in advancing gender equality and economic opportunity. However, significant disparities exist across multiple dimensions: geographic (with stark county-level differences), gender (with boys and girls experiencing different pathways), rural-urban (showing distinct patterns of opportunity and participation), and socioeconomic status (with household wealth strongly influencing outcomes). These multifaceted disparities reveal both the progress made and the persistent challenges in ensuring all adolescent girls can access pathways to prosperity regardless of where they live, their family background, or their economic circumstances.Investing in adolescent girls’ empowerment in Kenya could yield substantial returns through increased productivity, innovation, and economic growth. Estimates suggest that investing in adolescent girls in Kenya between now and 2040 could generate more than $150 billion in additional income for a cost of around $13 billion. At the scale of the continent, the “Pathways to Prosperity for Adolescent girls in Africa1 report” estimates that similar investments across Africa could generate more than an estimated $2.4 trillion in additional income for a cost of around $200 billion (Ajayi and Koussoubé, 2024).21. Kenya at a GlanceA. Country contextFigure 1: Cross-country differences in Adolescent girls’ experiences in Africa Note: Data for adolescent girls aged 15-19. Source: Original figure for this publication, based on data from USAID’s latest Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), https://www.dhsprogram.comLow marriage/childbearing, moderate to high schooling High schooling, low work participation High work participation, low schooling High marriage/childbearing, low schooling Moderate levels across all indicatorsPathways to prosperity for adolescent girls in Kenya 2 → School enrollment: 84.7% of adolescent girls (ages 15-19) are in school (76.9% are exclusively in school). This is significantly higher than the Africa average of 51.5%. → Marriage and childbearing: 87.4% of adolescent girls (ages 15-19) are unmarried without children, significantly higher than the Africa average of 73.4%. → Economic engagement: 12.2% of adolescent girls (ages 15-19) are working for pay (7.8% combining school and work, 4.4% exclusively working), lower than the Africa average of 22.3%. → Legal framework: Kenya scores 70 out of 100 on the World Bank’s Women Business and the Law (WBL) 2024 legal frameworks index, above the Africa average of 57.4. However, the supportive fram