Kenya Economy Profile 2009

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 (purchasing power parity)

$61.51 billion (2008 est.)
$60.48 billion (2007 est.)
$56.54 billion (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars

GDP (official exchange rate)

$30.24 billion (2008 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

1.7% (2008 est.)
7% (2007 est.)
6.4% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP)

$1,600 (2008 est.)
$1,600 (2007 est.)
$1,600 (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 23.8%
industry: 16.7%
services: 59.5% (2007 est.)

Population below poverty line

50% (2000 est.)

Labor force

17.37 million (2007 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture: 75%
industry and services: 25% (2003 est.)

Unemployment rate

40% (2008 est.)
40% (2001 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 1.8%
highest 10%: 37.8% (2005)

Distribution of family income - Gini index

42.5 (2008 est.)
44.9 (1997)

Investment (gross fixed)

21.3% of GDP (2008 est.)

Budget

revenues: $6.648 billion
expenditures: $8.167 billion (2008 est.)

Public debt

58.3% of GDP (2008 est.)
74.3% of GDP (2004 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

26.3% (2008 est.)
9.7% (2007 est.)

Commercial bank prime lending rate

14.8% (31 December 2008)
13.34% (31 December 2007)

Stock of money

$NA (31 December 2008)
$5.912 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of quasi money

$NA (31 December 2008)
$6.464 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of domestic credit

$NA (31 December 2008)
$10.67 billion (31 December 2007)

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

4.8% (2008 est.)

Electricity - production

5.223 billion kWh (2008 est.)

Electricity - production by source

fossil fuel: 17.7%
hydro: 71%
nuclear: 0%
other: 11.3% (2001)

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 - imports

72,780 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - exports

5,137 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.)

Current Account Balance

-$2.745 billion (2008 est.)
-$1.102 billion (2007 est.)

Agriculture - products

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

Exports

$4.958 billion (2008 est.)
$4.123 billion (2007 est.)

Exports - commodities

tea, horticultural products, coffee, petroleum products, fish, cement

Exports - partners

Uganda 16.4%, UK 9.1%, Netherlands 8.3%, Tanzania 7.9%, US 5.8%, Pakistan 5.1% (2008)

Imports

$11.07 billion (2008 est.)
$8.381 billion (2007 est.)

Imports - commodities

machinery and transportation equipment, petroleum products, motor vehicles, iron and steel, resins and plastics

Imports - partners

UAE 12.5%, China 10.5%, Saudi Arabia 8.7%, India 8.3%, South Africa 6.6%, Japan 5.6%, US 4.2% (2008)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$2.879 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
$3.355 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Debt - external

$7.084 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
$6.713 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home

$2.541 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
$1.891 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad

$47 million (2008 est.)
$31.4 million (31 December 2007 est.)

Market value of publicly traded shares

$10.92 billion (31 December 2008)
$13.39 billion (31 December 2007)
$11.38 billion (31 December 2006)

Economic aid - recipient

$768.3 million (2005)

Currency (code)

Kenyan shilling (KES)

Currency (code)

KES

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

1 July - 30 June