Africa
Overview
Demography
Capital: Nairobi
Currency: Kenyan shilling (KES)
Population: 56.43M
Population density: 95.27/km2
Conventions
Numbering system
Arabic numerals with dot as decimal separator
Date format: dd/mm/yyyy
Time: 24h time system
Country code: 00254
Economy
GDP: 120.34 billion USD (2024)
GDP per capita: 2,132.43 USD (2024)
Exports: 9 billion USD (2024)
Imports: 24 billion USD (2024)
T-index
0.093%
T-Index ranks countries according to their potential for online sales.
Statistics
Internet users: 40.5% penetration, 23.4 million
Unemployment rate: 5.43% (2024)
Urbanisation: 31.89% (2024)
Global Innovation Index: 102nd out of 139 countries worldwide
Language data sources: Worlddata / EF; Demography data sources: World Bank / Worlddata / IBAN; Economy data sources: World Bank / OEC / T-index; Statistics data sources: DataReportal / World Bank / WIPO
If you need other information, below you can find a selection of economic/social/cultural data
Economy
GDP
$120.34 billion (2024)
Trade – Economic Complexity Index
Ranked 76th out of 130 countries
The Economic Complexity Index (ECI) measures the sophistication and diversity of a country’s exports.
Product Imports
$24 billion (2024)
Service Imports
$5.64 billion (2024)
Market Growth Imports
2.71% of annual growth
Financial inclusion factors (over 15 years of age)
• 45.4% have an account with a financial institution
• 4.4% have a credit card
• 88.1% make digital payment
Active E-commerce
7,009 active stores
GDP Growth (annual %)
4.72%
GDP per Capita
$2,132.43 (2024)
Product Exports
$9 billion (2024)
Service Exports
$8.04 billion (2024)
Market Growth Exports
7.50% of annual growth
Main online stores
AliExpress, Amazon, Jumia Kenya, Kilimall, Carrefour Kenya, Jiji Kenya, MyDawa, Glovo Kenya, SHEIN
Global Startup Ecosystem Index
Kenya ranked 61st out of 100 countries, -0.2% of annual ecosystem growth
The Global Startup Ecosystem Index ranks countries by the strength of their startup ecosystems. It evaluates factors such as startup activity, ecosystem quality, and the business environment.
Economy data sources: World Bank / OEC / T-index / Joy of Creating / BrandNav
Trade balance of goods from 2013 to 2025
Source: Statista
Foreign direct investment, net inflows (% of GDP)
Source: WorldBank
T-index
Reach most of the online purchasing power
T-Index ranks countries according to their potential for online sales. It estimates the market share of each country in relation to global e-commerce.
Try it nowMedia
Media language English and Swahili
The press
Daily Nation, The Standard, The Star, People Daily, Business Daily, The EastAfrican, Taifa Leo, Kenyans.co.ke, Tuko.co.ke, Mpasho, Ghafla!, The Nairobian
Magazines
Parents Magazine, True Love East Africa, Drum East Africa, Nairobi Business Monthly, The Kenyan Wall Street, Management Magazine
News Agency
Kenya News Agency (KNA), Royal Media Services News, Nation Media Group Newsroom, Standard Group News, Radio Africa Group News, Mediamax News Agency
Television
Citizen TV, KTN Home, KTN News, NTV Kenya, K24 TV, KBC Channel 1
Radio
Classic 105 FM, Kiss 100 FM, Radio Jambo, Radio Citizen, Capital FM, HOT 96 FM
Media data source: GlobalMediaList
Internet Data
Internet users
40.5% penetration, 23.4 million
Share of web traffic by device
60.91% mobile phones, 38.12% laptop and desktop computers, 0.97% tablet devices and 0.01% other devices
Median speed of mobile Internet connection
N/A (Download)
N/A (Upload)
Median speed of fixed Internet connection
15.44 Mbps (Download)
15.96 Mbps (Upload)
Mobile connection as a percentage of total population: 134%
Most popular web search engines
Google (96.18%), Bing (3.10%), Yahoo! (0.32%), DuckDuckGo (0.21%), Yandex (0.11%), Ecosia (0.04%), Baidu (0.02%), Others (0.02%)
Share of AI web traffic referrals
ChatGPT (84.02%), Microsoft Copilot (8.44%), Perplexity (3.92%), Google Gemini (2.17%), Claude (1.06%), DeepSeek (0.40%)
Most used social media
WhatsApp (79.3%), TikTok (76.9%), Instagram (73.5%), Facebook (67.1%), X (60.0%), Telegram (48.6%), Messenger (42.2%), LinkedIn (33.6%), Snapchat (31.5%), Pinterest (28.2%), Threads (21.9%), Quora (12.9%), Reddit (11.6%), iMessage (7.8%), Skype (7.5%)
Percentage of mobile connections that are broadband (3G-5G): 80.4%
Internet data sources: DataReportal / Statcounter
Social statistics
Life expectancy
63.65 yrs (2023)
Current health expenditure
4.33% of GDP
Current education expenditure
92.54% of total expenditure in public institutions
CO2 emissions
0.37 metric tons per capita
Corruption Perceptions Index
Kenya scored 30 out of 100, ranking 130th out of 182 countries.
The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) ranks countries by perceived levels of public sector corruption. It is based on expert assessments and business surveys, with higher scores indicating lower perceived corruption.
Religion
Christian (85.5%), Muslim (10.9%), Other (1.8%), None (1.6%), don’t know/no answer (0.2%)
Ethnicity
Kikuyu (17.1%), Luhya (14.3%), Kalenjin (13.4%), Luo (10.7%), Kamba (9.8%), Other (8.2%), Somali (5.8%), Kisii (5.7%), Mijikenda (5.2%), Meru (4.2%), Maasai (2.5%), Turkana (2.1%), non-Kenyan (1%)
World Happiness Index
Kenya ranked 110th out of 147 countries, with a score of 4.674.
The World Happiness Index ranks countries by people’s self-reported life satisfaction. It also considers factors like income, health, social support, freedom, and trust.
Social statistics sources: World Bank / Transparency International / Worldometer / World Population Review / World Happiness Report
Research & Development
R&D Expenditure
0.81% of GDP
World Competitiveness Ranking
Kenya ranked 55th out of 70 countries, with a score of 49.96
The World Competitiveness Ranking measures how well countries create an environment that supports business performance and long-term prosperity. It evaluates factors such as economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency, and infrastructure.
World Digital Competitiveness Ranking
Kenya ranked 62nd out of 69 countries, with a score of 46.58
The World Digital Competitiveness Ranking measures how well countries adopt and develop digital technologies to drive economic transformation. It assesses factors such as knowledge, technology, and future readiness.
Technology – Economic Complexity Index
Ranked 93rd out of 97 countries
Research – Economic Complexity Index
Ranked 39th out of 138 countries
The Economic Complexity Index (ECI) measures the sophistication and diversity of a country’s exports.
Global Innovation Index
Ranked 9th out of 32 Sub-Saharan African countries, and 102nd out of 139 countries worldwide
The Global Innovation Index captures the innovation ecosystem performance of economies and tracks the most recent global innovation trends.
Research & Development sources: World Bank / OEC / WIPO / IMD
Country Curiosities
The Maasai are one of Kenya’s most popular tribes, as they have preserved many of their ancient traditions. One such tradition is the shaving of the Morans (warriors), an event marking the transition of young Maasai warriors to senior warriors in the community. This event, called Enkipaata, is a once-in-a-lifetime ceremony performed only every ten years. On the day of the ceremony, Morans wear colorful beads in their hair, which is braided and dyed with red ochre. Their faces are also painted red, and they attend the ceremony with sticks, chanting traditional songs. The ritual involves all the aspiring warriors going to a river to wash the colors from their hair and faces before returning to the ceremony site. Here, their heads are shaved, usually by their mothers, and then the Oloibonis (community elders) spit in their faces as a blessing. Any Moran who does not participate in this ceremony is not permitted to marry.
Additionally…
- The last male northern white rhinoceros died in Kenya on March 19, 2018, leaving only two females remaining, thus making the subspecies effectively extinct.
- Kenya is the birthplace of Wangari Maathai, the first African woman to receive the Nobel Prize in 2004 for her contributions to sustainable development, democracy, and peace.
- Kenya boasts a comprehensive network of conservation areas, including 23 national parks and 28 national reserves, emphasizing its commitment to preserving natural heritage and promoting responsible tourism.
- Kenya is a world leader in the production of flowers for sale, particularly roses, with floriculture farms around Lake Naivasha and the Rift Valley playing a significant role in the country’s economy.
- According to recent scientific discoveries, humanity originated in Kenya, specifically in regions such as the Turkana Basin.
- Polygamy is traditional in Kenya, where men historically had five or six wives, and bride prices (paid in money or livestock) are still negotiated with the bride’s father, with higher prices for the first wife.
- The ancient volcano Mount Kenya, from which the country derives its name, is Africa’s second-highest peak at nearly 5,200 meters. Despite its equatorial location, it has 11 glaciers that provide drinking water to much of Kenya.
