Kenya data questions answered
The 15 questions people search most about Kenya's official figures, each answered from the body that publishes them, with a link to check the latest number yourself.
What is the population of Kenya?
Kenya's population was 57,532,493 in 2025, according to the World Bank's World Development Indicators, up from 56,432,944 in 2024.
The official count comes from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), which runs the national census and publishes population projections by county; its website could not be reached on 13 October 2026, so KNBS figures are not quoted here. The World Bank series is an estimate that projects forward from the last census using birth, death and migration rates, and it is revised when new data arrive. County-level totals and age breakdowns are only available from KNBS.
What is the inflation rate in Kenya?
Kenya's 12-month inflation rate was 6.76% in September 2026, up from 6.59% in August, according to the Central Bank of Kenya's inflation rates table, which republishes figures from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. The annual average inflation rate was 5.44%. The CBK home page rounds the September figure to 6.8%.
The 12-month rate compares prices with the same month a year earlier; the annual average rate compares the average index over the past 12 months with the 12 months before, so it moves more slowly. The CBK's monetary policy aims to keep inflation within a target range set by the National Treasury, and its Monetary Policy Committee reviews the outlook at each meeting.
What is Kenya's GDP and growth rate?
Kenya's real GDP grew by 4.6% in 2025, according to the World Bank's World Development Indicators, and GDP at current prices was US$135.9 billion. The IMF's World Economic Outlook also gives 4.6% growth for 2025.
The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics publishes quarterly GDP and the annual Economic Survey, which break growth down by sector such as agriculture, manufacturing and financial services. The CBK also republishes annual GDP figures. Dollar GDP rises and falls with the shilling exchange rate, so compare growth rates at constant prices rather than dollar totals.
What is the Kenya shilling exchange rate today?
On 13 October 2026 the Central Bank of Kenya's daily indicative rates were KSh129.71 per US dollar, KSh171.64 per British pound and KSh145.00 per euro, according to the CBK home page.
These are mean indicative rates calculated by the CBK from interbank market trading; commercial banks and forex bureaux set their own buying and selling rates around them. The CBK's foreign exchange rates page holds the full daily history back to 2012, with mean, buy and sell rates for each currency, and lets you download the series.
What is the Central Bank Rate in Kenya?
The Central Bank Rate (CBR) was 8.75% after the Monetary Policy Committee meeting of 7 October 2026, according to the Central Bank of Kenya's CBR history. The rate has been at 8.75% since 10 February 2026; it was 13.00% for most of 2024 and was cut in steps from August 2024.
The CBR is the benchmark the CBK uses to signal its policy stance. Banks' own rates differ: the CBK home page gave an average commercial bank lending rate of 14.34% and a deposit rate of 6.91% for August 2026. Lending rates are reported with a lag of about a month.
What is Kenya's GDP per capita?
Kenya's GDP per person was US$2,362.86 in 2025, according to the World Bank's World Development Indicators. The figure divides GDP at current prices, converted to US dollars at market exchange rates, by the mid-year population.
Changes in the shilling exchange rate move the dollar figure even when output does not change, so year-to-year comparisons can mislead. For cross-country comparisons of living standards, the World Bank also publishes GDP per capita at purchasing power parity. Averages also hide large differences between counties and between urban and rural households.
What are the PAYE tax rates in Kenya?
Kenya's individual income tax bands run from 10% to 35%, according to the Kenya Revenue Authority, under the Finance Act 2023 (effective 1 July 2023). On monthly pay, the first KSh24,000 is taxed at 10%, the next KSh8,333 at 25%, the next KSh467,667 at 30%, the next KSh300,000 at 32.5%, and all income above KSh800,000 at 35%.
The rates are marginal: each applies only to the slice of pay within its band. Employers deduct the tax through PAYE and remit it to KRA. Personal relief and other reliefs reduce the tax due, and statutory deductions such as social security and housing levy contributions are separate from income tax. Rates change through annual Finance Acts.
What is the unemployment rate in Kenya?
The World Bank's modelled International Labour Organization estimate puts Kenya's unemployment rate at 5.4% in 2025, in its World Development Indicators.
The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics publishes national labour statistics through its quarterly labour force reports and the Economic Survey, including the number of jobs created in the formal and informal sectors; its website could not be reached on 13 October 2026. Most employment in Kenya is informal, so the unemployment rate alone understates how many people lack adequate work. KNBS also reports time-related underemployment and youth unemployment, which are higher.
How much debt does Kenya have?
General government gross debt was 71.3% of GDP in 2025, according to the IMF's World Economic Outlook database, which marks recent years as estimates.
The National Treasury publishes the government's own figures for public and publicly guaranteed debt in its annual public debt management reports and quarterly economic and budgetary reviews, split into external and domestic debt. The Central Bank of Kenya's weekly bulletin reports domestic debt stock. A weaker shilling raises the shilling value of foreign-currency debt even without new borrowing.
What is the life expectancy in Kenya?
Life expectancy at birth in Kenya was 63.8 years in 2024, according to the World Bank's World Development Indicators.
The figure summarises death rates at every age in a single year; it is not a forecast for a child born today. Because many deaths in Kenya are not registered, the estimate draws on census and survey data as well as civil registration, and it is revised when new data arrive. The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics publishes national estimates by sex in its census analytical reports and the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey.
What is the fertility rate in Kenya?
Kenya's total fertility rate was 3.17 births per woman in 2024, according to the World Bank's World Development Indicators.
The total fertility rate is the average number of children a woman would have over her lifetime at current age-specific birth rates. National figures come from the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey, run by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics with the Ministry of Health, and from birth registration. Fertility differs widely by county and between urban and rural areas, which a single national number hides.
What is the poverty rate in Kenya?
The World Bank's World Development Indicators give a poverty rate of 39.8% at Kenya's national poverty line for 2022.
Kenya's official poverty estimates are produced by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics from the Kenya Continuous Household Survey and the Kenya Integrated Household Budget Survey, with separate lines for overall, food and hardcore poverty and estimates for each county. National poverty lines differ from the World Bank's international line of a few dollars a day, so check which line a figure uses before comparing countries.
What is the minimum wage in Kenya?
Kenya does not have a single national minimum wage. Minimum wages are set by Regulation of Wages Orders under the Labour Institutions Act, with different rates by occupation and by location, such as cities, municipalities and other areas, and a separate order for agricultural workers. The orders are published in the Kenya Gazette and by the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection.
The amounts could not be read on an official page on 13 October 2026, so none are quoted here. When checking a figure, confirm the occupation, the area and the date of the Wages Order it comes from, since general and agricultural orders are revised separately.
What is Kenya's national budget?
The National Treasury publishes Kenya's budget documents on its budget page, including the Budget Statement read in June, the Budget Policy Statement, programme-based budget estimates and quarterly economic and budgetary reviews. The totals could not be read on an official page on 13 October 2026, so none are quoted here.
The financial year runs from 1 July to 30 June. Parliament approves the estimates, and the Parliament of Kenya publishes the Appropriation and Finance Bills and the Parliamentary Budget Office's analysis. Spending actually incurred is reported later by the Controller of Budget and audited by the Auditor-General.
How many members of parliament does Kenya have?
Kenya's Parliament has two houses, the National Assembly and the Senate. The National Assembly members page and the Senate pages list current members by county and constituency, with party affiliation; the lists could not be read automatically on 13 October 2026, so no count is quoted here.
The National Assembly includes members elected from constituencies, women representatives elected from each county and nominated members, plus the Speaker as an ex officio member. The Senate has elected senators for each county as well as nominated members. Vacancies and by-elections can make the number sitting at any time lower than the number of seats.
Source guides
- Central Bank of Kenya (CBK)
- Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS)
- Parliament of Kenya
- Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA)
Questions were chosen from the searches people make most about this country's figures, and each answer was written from the official page it links to, read on 14 October 2026. These answers give no verdict on any claim. To report an error, send a correction request.