Observatory of Economic Complexity

Flag Kenya

Econ Complexity (2018): -0.43, Rank 83 of 137

Product Exports (2018): $6.63B, Rank 103 of 222

Exports Per Capita (2018): $129, Rank 31 of 219

Product Imports (2018): $19.7B, Rank 79 of 221

Imports Per Capita (2018): $382, Rank 28 of 219

Service Exports (2014): $4.92B, Rank 75 of 176

Service Imports (2014): $2.85B, Rank 88 of 175

GDP (2018): $87.9B, CURRENT US$
Rank 65 of 196

GDP growth (2008 - 2018): 145%, CURRENT US$
Rank 11 of 196

GDP PC (2018): $1,711, CURRENT US$
Rank 155 of 196

GDP PC GROWTH (2008 - 2018): 89.6%, CURRENT US$
Rank 21 of 196

About

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Overview: In 2018 Kenya was the number 65 economy in the world in terms of GDP (current US$), the number 103 in total exports, the number 79 in total imports, and the number 83 most complex economy according to the Economic Complexity Index (ECI). In 2018, Kenya exported $6.63B and imported $19.7B, resulting in a negative trade balance of -$13B. In 2018, Kenya's exports per capita were $129 and its imports per capita were $382.

Trade: The top exports of Kenya are Tea ($1.46B), Cut Flowers ($616M), Refined Petroleum ($347M), Coffee ($243M), and Titanium Ore ($152M). The top imports of Kenya are Refined Petroleum ($3B), Cars ($518M), Packaged Medicaments ($454M), Palm Oil ($441M), and Hot-Rolled Iron ($410M).

Destinations: Kenya exports mostly to Uganda ($643M), Pakistan ($575M), United States ($527M), Netherlands ($511M), and United Kingdom ($433M), and imports mostly from China ($4.72B), India ($2B), Saudi Arabia ($1.66B), United Arab Emirates ($1.61B), and Japan ($944M).

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

Product Trade

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Product Exports

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Depth
Value

Top Export (2018): Tea, $1.46B

Top Destination (2018): Uganda, $643M

In 2018 Kenya exported a total of $6.63B, making it the number 103 exporter in the world. During the last five reported years the exports of Kenya have changed by -$138M from $6.77B in 2013 to $6.63B in 2018.

The most recent exports are led by Tea ($1.46B), Cut Flowers ($616M), Refined Petroleum ($347M), Coffee ($243M), and Titanium Ore ($152M). The most common destination for the exports of Kenya are Uganda ($643M), Pakistan ($575M), United States ($527M), Netherlands ($511M), and United Kingdom ($433M).

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Product Imports

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Depth
Value

Top Import (2018): Refined Petroleum, $3B

Top Origin (2018): China, $4.72B

In 2018 Kenya imported $19.7B, making it the number 79 trade destination in the world. During the last five reported years the imports of Kenya changed by $2.31B from $17.3B in 2013 to $19.7B in 2018.

The most recent imports of Kenya are led by Refined Petroleum ($3B), Cars ($518M), Packaged Medicaments ($454M), Palm Oil ($441M), and Hot-Rolled Iron ($410M). The most common import partners for Kenya are China ($4.72B), India ($2B), Saudi Arabia ($1.66B), United Arab Emirates ($1.61B), and Japan ($944M).

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Monthly Trade

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Market Growth

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Flow

Fastest Growing Export Markets (2017 - 2018)

Fastest Growing Import Markets (2017 - 2018)

Service Trade

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Service Trade

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Kenya Exports Services (2014): $4.92B

Kenya Imports Services (2014): $2.85B

In 2014, Kenya exported $4.92B worth of services. The top services exported by Kenya in 2014 were Air transport ($1.19B), Government services, n.i.e. ($908M), Personal travel ($780M), Other transport ($724M), and Telecommunications services ($651M).

The top services imported by Kenya in 2014 were Sea transport ($1.3B), Other business services ($440M), Government services, n.i.e. ($235M), Insurance services ($201M), and Air transport ($167M).

Forecasts

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Trade Forecasts

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This section shows forecasts for total product exports and imports for Kenya. The forecast is based in a long short-term memory model or LSTM constructed using yearly trade data.

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Tariffs

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Tariffs by Product

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The top product import tariffs by their MFN Ad Valorem value for Kenya are Raw sugar, beet (100%) and Refined sugar, in solid form, flavoured or coloured (100%).

Click any of the products in the bar chart to see the specific Ad Valorem Duty Rates by partner country.

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*The tariffs applied to imports for Kenya are:
115: Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Group I) FTA Member States
116: Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Group II) Non-FTA Member States
136: Most Favoured Nation duty rate treatement
202: Preferential tariff for East African Community (EAC) (Kenya, Tanzani, Uganda)

Economic Complexity

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Economic Complexity Ranking

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Scale

During the last 20 years Kenya's⁩ ⁨economy has become relatively less complex, moving from the ⁩⁨60th to the 83rd⁩ 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.

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Most Specialized Products by RCA Index

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Kenya has a high level of specialization in Tea (526), Cut Flowers (189), Titanium Ore (161), Legumes (157), and Coconut and Other Vegetable Fibers (136). Specialization is measured using RCA, an index that takes the ratio between Kenya observed and expected exports in each product.

Most Complex Products by PCI

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The highest complexity exports of Kenya according to the product complexity index (PCI) are Prepared unrecorded sound recording media (non-photo) (1.47), Bar, rod nes, stainless steel, angles, shapes/sections (1.44), Railway maintenance-of-way service vehicles (1.14), Machine-tools (metal, carbides, etc), no metal removal (1.13), and Articles for funfairs, table and parlour games (0.95). PCI measures the knowledge intensity of a product by considering the knowledge intensity of its exporters.

Export Opportunities by Relatedness

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The top export opportunities for Kenya according to the relatedness index, are Crustaceans (0.31), Gold (0.3), Raw Sugar (0.3), Cassava (0.28), and Raw Cotton (0.28). 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

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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 it is currently specialized in.

Diversification Frontier

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Depth
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The Complexity-Relatedness diagram compares the risk and the strategic value of a country's potential export oppotunities. Relatedness is a 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 emissions.

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With the support of:
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  • INTAL

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