About

Overview In 2022, Kenya was the number 66 economy in the world in terms of GDP (current US$), the number 115 in total exports, the number 80 in total imports, the number 148 economy in terms of GDP per capita (current US$) and the number 84 most complex economy according to the Economic Complexity Index (ECI) .

Exports The top exports of Kenya are Tea ($1.39B), Cut Flowers ($665M), Coffee ($341M), Titanium Ore ($290M), and Tropical Fruits ($227M), exporting mostly to United States ($722M), Uganda ($677M), Pakistan ($541M), Netherlands ($502M), and Rwanda ($439M).

Imports The top imports of Kenya are Refined Petroleum ($5.41B), Palm Oil ($1.28B), Wheat ($576M), Packaged Medicaments ($524M), and Cars ($523M), importing mostly from China ($6.55B), United Arab Emirates ($3.6B), India ($2.72B), Malaysia ($1.1B), and Saudi Arabia ($929M).

Location Kenya borders Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda by land.

Latest Trends

Latest Trade

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Y-AXIS SCALE

The following section uses the most recent trade data from partners of Kenya.

Disclaimer: data is presented based on availability and only countries that use the harmonized system are being shown.

* Trade values are converted to USD using each month's exchange rate. For December 2023 data, the exchange rate from December 30, 2023 is used.

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Latest Data

Flow
Color
Depth

The data obtained is mirror data. The trade of countries that do not report current data can be reconstructed based on data reported by partner countries with current data available.

*All data is converted to USD using January 2020 exchange rates when data is reported in local currency.

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Historical Data

Yearly Trade

Flow
Color
Depth
Top Export (2022)Tea$1.39B
Top Destination (2022)United States$722M

In 2022, Kenya exported a total of $7.34B, making it the number 115 exporter in the world. During the last five reported years the exports of Kenya have changed by $1.22B from $6.13B in 2017 to $7.34B in 2022.

The most recent exports are led by Tea ($1.39B), Cut Flowers ($665M), Coffee ($341M), Titanium Ore ($290M), and Tropical Fruits ($227M). The most common destination for the exports of Kenya are United States ($722M), Uganda ($677M), Pakistan ($541M), Netherlands ($502M), and Rwanda ($439M).

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Exports (2022)
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Destinations (2022)
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Market Growth

Flow
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Fastest Growing Export Markets (2021 - 2022)
United States$154M (+ 27.1%)
Rwanda$136M (+ 44.7%)
Nigeria$60.6M (+ 138%)
Fastest Growing Import Markets (2021 - 2022)
United Arab Emirates$1.8B (+ 100%)
China$801M (+ 13.9%)
India$282M (+ 11.6%)

Total Export Growth by Market (2021 - 2022)

Service Trade

Service Trade

Kenya Exports Services (2019)$5.6B
Kenya Imports Services (2019)$3.79B

In 2019, Kenya exported $5.6B worth of services. The top services exported by Kenya in 2019 were Transportation ($2.2B), Government services, n.i.e. ($972M), Personal travel ($901M), Computer and information services ($629M), and Financial services ($478M).

The top services imported by Kenya in 2019 were Transportation ($1.45B), Other business services ($957M), Construction services ($402M), Government services, n.i.e. ($260M), and Financial services ($218M).

Service Exports (2019)

Service Imports (2019)

Economic Complexity

Overview

Economic Complexity (Trade)-0.49Rank 84 of 124
Economic Complexity (Technology)-1.52Rank 92 of 96
Economic Complexity (Research)0.38Rank 40 of 135

Most Specialized Products by RCA Index

Kenya has a high level of specialization in Tea (551), Titanium Ore (274), Coconut and Other Vegetable Fibers (230), Cut Flowers (222), and Legumes (152). Specialization is measured using RCA, an index that takes the ratio between Kenya observed and expected exports in each product.

Export Opportunities by Relatedness

The top export opportunities for Kenya according to the relatedness index, were Cassava (0.31), Crustaceans (0.31), Bananas (0.3), Raw Sugar (0.3), and Raw Cotton (0.3). Relatedness measures the distance between a country's current exports and each product. The barchart show only products that Kenya is not specialized in.

Product Space

The product space is a network connecting products that are likely to be co-exported. The product space can be used to predict future exports, since countries are more likely to start exporting products that are related to current exports. Relatedness measures the distance between a product, and all of the products a country currently specializes in.

Relatedness Space

This network shows the products most related to the production structure of Kenya. These are products that tend to be co-exported with the products that Kenya exports. Higher relatedness values ​​indicate greater knowledge, which predicts a greater probability of exporting that product in the future.

Diversification Frontier

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Depth

The Complexity-Relatedness diagram compares the risk vs strategic value of a country's potential export oppotunities. Relatedness is predictive of the probability that a country increases its exports in a product. Complexity, is associated with higher levels of income, economic growth, less income inequality, and lower greenhouse emissions.

Economic Complexity Ranking

Methodology
Scale

During the last 20 years Kenya's⁩ ⁨economy has become relatively less complex, moving from the ⁩⁨56th to the 84th⁩ position in the ECI rank.

These economic complexity rankings use 6 digit exports classified according to the HS96 classification. We consider only countries with population of at least 1 million and exports of at least $1 billion, and products with world trade over $500 million. To explore different rankings and vary these parameters visit the custom rankings section.

Explore Rankings

ECI (Trade) Ranking by Country

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