Kenya Economy Profile 2003

Economy - overview

Kenya, the regional hub for trade and finance in East Africa, is hampered by corruption and reliance upon several primary goods whose prices remain low. Following strong economic growth in 1995 and 1996, Kenya's economy has stagnated, with GDP growth failing to keep up with the rate of population growth. 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 0.3% 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%. Growth fell below 1% in 2002 because of erratic rains, low investor confidence, meager donor support, and political infighting up to the elections. In the key December 27, 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. Substantial donor support and rooting out corruption are essential to making Kenya realize its substantial economic potential.

GDP (purchasing power parity)

purchasing power parity - $32 billion (2002 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

0.8% (2002 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP)

purchasing power parity - $1,020 (2002 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 24%
industry: 13%
services: 63% (2001 est.)

Population below poverty line

50% (2000 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 37.2% (2000)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

1.9% (2002 est.)

Labor force

10 million (2001 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture 75%-80%

Unemployment rate

40% (2001 est.)

Distribution of family income - Gini index

44.9 (1997)

Budget

revenues: $2.91 billion
expenditures: $2.97 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)

Industries

small-scale consumer goods (plastic, furniture, batteries, textiles, soap, cigarettes, flour), agricultural products processing; oil refining, cement; tourism

Industrial production growth rate

0.9% (2002 est.)

Electricity - production

4.033 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - production by source

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

Electricity - consumption

3.981 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports

0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports

230 million kWh (2001)

Oil - production

0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption

57,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - imports

NA (2001)

Oil - exports

NA (2001)

Agriculture - products

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

Exports

$2.1 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)

Exports - commodities

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

Exports - partners

UK 13.5%, Tanzania 12.5%, Uganda 12.0%, Germany 5.5% (2001 est.)

Imports

$3 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)

Imports - commodities

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

Imports - partners

UK 12%, UAE 9.8%, Japan 6.5%, India 4.4% (2001 est.)

Debt - external

$5.7 billion (2002 est.)

Economic aid - recipient

$457 million (1997)

Currency

Kenyan shilling (KES)

Currency (code)

KES

Exchange rates

Kenyan shillings per US dollar - 78.7491 (2002), 78.5632 (2001), 76.1755 (2000), 70.3262 (1999), 60.3667 (1998)

Fiscal year

1 July - 30 June