Kenya

Kenya, on the East African coast of the Indian Ocean, has a land mass of 580,370 km² and a total coastline of 536km. It has a population of 53.3 million and GDP of US$113.7billion which is expected to grow by 4.9% in 2025. Inflation is 3.8%, national debt is 68.3% of GDP and the currency is the Kenyan Shilling

The politics of Kenya take place in a framework of a presidential republic, whereby the president is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system in accordance with a new constitution passed in 2010. The proposed Finance Bill 2024 which raised a number of taxes on consumer items was withdrawn by President William Ruto after a large group of youths stormed the parliamentary buildings in protest against the legislation.
The government’s Least Cost Power Development Plan 2017-2037 outlines current and planned energy sources and fuels for power generation in Kenya. It also provides an overview of renewable energy sources including biomass and cogeneration and biogas. The plan aims to increase installed energy capacity from 1,515MW to 10,621MW by 2031.

Kenya has eight provinces (Nairobi, Central, Coast, Eastern, North Eastern, Nyanza, Rift Valley and Western), which are further divided into 47 administrative districts, known as counties. According to the World Bank, Kenya’s urban population is at 30% of the total population and projected to reach close to 46% by 2050. Swahili and English are the official languages, with the latter widely accepted as the language of business and information technology.

The agriculture sector in Kenya plays a key role in the country’s economy, contributing 21.3% to GDP in 2023 (21.0% in 2022), employing more than 40% of the population and accounting for 65% of export earnings. The major export-earning crops are tea, fresh cut flowers and coffee. Kenya has 28 million hectares of agricultural land equivalent to over 48% of the country’s total land area. There are 7.5 million smallholder farmers accounting for 80% of Kenya’s total agriculture output and the remaining 20% of output is large-scale farming. Major agriculture activities include crop production, livestock rearing and agro processing. Kenya has two main growing seasons, a long rain season from March to May and a short rain season from October to November.

There are 39 licensed commercial banks and 15 are more than 50% foreign owned. The banking sector is dominated by Tier 1 (large) banks such as Equity Bank, Absa Bank Kenya, Kenya Commercial Bank, Co-operative Bank, NCBA Bank, Diamond Trust Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, I&M Bank and Stanbic Bank. Total banking assets grew by 0.92% year on year to US$59m at end December 2024, while pretax profits increased by 0.80% year on year to US$1.9bn.

Kenya has one of the highest financial inclusion rates in Africa, as 84.8% of the adult population of 18 years of age and above has access to formal financial services, including bank accounts. The financial sector in Kenya plays a significant role in the country’s economy, contribution nearly 9.9% to GDP in 2024. The banking industry in Kenya is highly competitive and characterised by the presence of local and foreign players.
Incentives to attract foreign investment include a 10-year tax holiday for investors that establish businesses in Kenya, and international companies are permitted to repatriate all of their profits.


Sources: Who Owns Whom sector reports, CIA Factbook, African Development Bank, World Bank, Trading Economics, African Statistical Yearbook and IMF. ?>