Economy

Unfortunately, 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 estimated GDP growth below 2% in 2008 and 2009. (Source: CIA World Factbook)

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$63.73 billion (2009 est.)

country comparison to the world: 83
$62.48 billion (2008 est.)
$61.44 billion (2007 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars

GDP (official exchange rate):
$30.57 billion (2009 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
2% (2009 est.)

country comparison to the world: 81
1.7% (2008 est.)
7.1% (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$1,600 (2009 est.)

country comparison to the world: 194
$1,600 (2008 est.)
$1,700 (2007 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 21.4%
industry: 16.3%
services: 62.3% (2009 est.)

Labor force:
17.47 million (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 34

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 75%
industry and services: 25% (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate:
40% (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 187
40% (2001 est.)

Population below poverty line:
50% (2000 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.)
country comparison to the world: 51
44.9 (1997)

Investment (gross fixed):
21.5% of GDP (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 68

Budget:
revenues: $6.858 billion
expenditures: $8.759 billion (2009 est.)

Public debt:
54.1% of GDP (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 40
60.1% of GDP (2008 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
20.5% (2009 est.)

country comparison to the world: 219
26.2% (2008 est.)

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