Kenya flag

The Economy of Kenya

Kenyan Economy

Kenya's map

Economy - overview: The regional hub for trade and finance in East Africa, Kenya has been hampered by corruption and by reliance upon several primary goods whose prices have remained low. In 1997, the IMF suspended Kenya's Enhanced Structural Adjustment Program due to the government's failure to maintain reforms and curb corruption. A severe drought from 1999 to 2000 compounded Kenya's problems, causing water and energy rationing and reducing agricultural output. As a result, GDP contracted by 0.2% in 2000. The IMF, which had resumed loans in 2000 to help Kenya through the drought, again halted lending in 2001 when the government failed to institute several anticorruption measures. Despite the return of strong rains in 2001, weak commodity prices, endemic corruption, and low investment limited Kenya's economic growth to 1.2%. Growth lagged at 1.1% in 2002 because of erratic rains, low investor confidence, meager donor support, and political infighting up to the elections. In the key December 2002 elections, Daniel Arap MOI's 24-year-old reign ended, and a new opposition government took on the formidable economic problems facing the nation. After some early progress in rooting out corruption and encouraging donor support, the KIBAKI government was rocked by high-level graft scandals in 2005 and 2006. In 2006 the World Bank and IMF delayed loans pending action by the government on corruption. The international financial institutions and donors have since resumed lending, despite little action on the government's part to deal with corruption. Post-election violence in early 2008, coupled with the effects of the global financial crisis on remittance and exports, reduced GDP growth to 2.2% in 2008, down from 7% the previous year.

GDP:

GDP - real growth rate: 2.2% (2008 est.) 7% (2007 est.) 6.4% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita:

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 23.8% industry: 16.7% services: 59.5% (2007 est.)

Population below poverty line:

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2% highest 10%: 37.2% (2000)

Distribution of family income - Gini index: 42.5 (2008 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

Labor force: 9.45 million (2007 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 75% industry and services: 25% (2003 est.)

Unemployment rate: 40% (2008 est.)

Budget: revenues: $6.617 billion expenditures: $8.196 billion (2008 est.)

Industries: small-scale consumer goods (plastic, furniture, batteries, textiles, clothing, soap, cigarettes, flour), agricultural products, horticulture, oil refining; aluminum, steel, lead; cement, commercial ship repair, tourism

Industrial production growth rate: 3.6% (2008 est.)

Electricity - production: 5.223 billion kWh (2008 est.)

Electricity - production by source:

Electricity - consumption: 4.863 billion kWh (2008 est.)

Electricity - exports: 58.3 million kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - imports: 22.5 million kWh (2007 est.)

Oil - production: 0 bbl/day (2008 est.)

Oil - consumption: 65,530 bbl/day (2006 est.)

Oil - exports: 5,137 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - imports: 72,780 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - proved reserves: 0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)

Natural gas - production: 0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - consumption: 0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - imports: 0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves: 0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

Agriculture - products: tea, coffee, corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruit, vegetables; dairy products, beef, pork, poultry, eggs

Exports: $4.882 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)

Exports - commodities: tea, horticultural products, coffee, petroleum products, fish, cement

Exports - partners: Uganda 16.9%, UK 9.3%, Tanzania 8.2%, Netherlands 8.2%, US 6.4%, Pakistan 5.2% (2007)

Imports: $10.77 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)

Imports - commodities: machinery and transportation equipment, petroleum products, motor vehicles, iron and steel, resins and plastics

Imports - partners: UAE 11.4%, China 9.9%, India 8.7%, Saudi Arabia 8%, South Africa 6.9%, US 6.2%, Japan 5.9%, UK 4.6% (2007)

Debt - external: $6.749 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:

Currency:

Currency code:

Exchange rates: Kenyan shillings (KES) per US dollar - 68.358 (2008 est.), 68.309 (2007), 72.101 (2006), 75.554 (2005), 79.174 (2004)

Fiscal year: