An independent digest of Kenya's 2025 economic performance — covering 18 sectors, GDP, employment, trade, and social indicators.
This is an independent civic data digest, compiled as part of ongoing work on techno-democracy and economic governance in Africa. All figures are sourced directly from the KNBS Economic Survey 2026 (ISBN 978-9966-102-53-9). This summary is not affiliated with or endorsed by KNBS.
Kenya's GDP grew at 4.6% in 2025, sustained by positive growth across all major sectors. Agriculture remains the backbone, contributing 23.2% of GDP. The economy generated over 822,000 new jobs, though 87% were in the informal sector.
Inflation eased to 4.1% in 2025 from 4.5% in 2024, driven by declines in fuel, electricity, and cooking gas prices — despite food prices surging 7.2%.
Food Inflation Alert: Food and non-alcoholic beverages recorded the highest inflation at 7.2%, up from 5.6% in 2024. This disproportionately affects lower-income households whose food basket forms a larger share of expenditure.
Market Rally: The NSE 20 Share Index surged from 2,011 in 2024 to 3,139 points in 2025 — a remarkable 56% gain. Market capitalisation grew by KSh 1.0 trillion, reflecting improved investor confidence following interest rate cuts.
Import Dependency on Asia: Asia's share of Kenya's import bill climbed to 70.0% in 2025, up from 66.4% in 2024. This growing concentration raises supply chain vulnerability risks and currency exposure to Asian markets.
Agriculture grew by 2.8% in real terms in 2025 — a slowdown from 4.3% in 2024. The sector contributes 23.2% of GDP and remains Kenya's economic backbone.
Sugar cane production fell sharply by 24.7%, raising concerns for the sugar processing industry. Pyrethrum production also dropped 18.2%.
Fresh vegetables export earnings declined 9.0% to KSh 21.3Bn due to Maximum Residual Level (MRL) notifications and export interceptions in key markets.
Kenya remains one of Africa's leaders in renewable electricity generation. Rural electrification and KETRACO transmission expansion continued in 2025.
LPG consumption surged 14.7% driven by the National LPG Growth Strategy — subsidized cylinders for low-income households and installation programmes, reducing reliance on charcoal and wood fuel.
University enrolment reached 722,500 students in 2025 — up from 624,600 in 2024. The TVET sector has grown to 890,100 enrolments, reflecting government investment in technical and vocational skills.
Kenya introduced Grade 9 KJSEA assessment for the first time in 2025 as part of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) rollout, marking a major milestone in education reform.
Kenya transitioned from NHIF to the Social Health Authority (SHA) in 2024/25, with premiums received and benefits payouts now tracked under the new framework.
Adolescent pregnancy remains a concern: Number of adolescents presenting at 1st ANC visit data continues to be tracked across all 47 counties, with county-level variation flagged in the report.
Global growth was constrained by elevated policy uncertainty, US trade tariff measures, and sluggish productivity. Front-loading by businesses ahead of tariff changes distorted global trade patterns in 2025.
Crude oil fell to ~$68.92/barrel in 2025 from $79.17/barrel, easing inflationary pressures globally and benefiting Kenya's fuel import bill.
