Kenya2021 Economic Complexity Trade : -0.46, Rank 83 of 131
2021 Economic Complexity Technology : -1.52, Rank 92 of 96
2021 Economic Complexity Research : 0.55, Rank 35 of 140
2021 Product Exports | Imports: $7.15B | $23B, 109 of 226 | 81 of 226
2021 Per Capita Product Exports | Imports: $130 | $418, 196 of 219 | 185 of 219
Overview In 2021, Kenya was the number 59 economy in the world in terms of GDP (current US$), the number 109 in total exports, the number 81 in total imports, the number 142 economy in terms of GDP per capita (current US$) and the number 83 most complex economy according to the Economic Complexity Index (ECI) .
Exports The top exports of Kenya are Tea ($1.2B), Cut Flowers ($766M), Coffee ($262M), Refined Petroleum ($247M), and Titanium Ore ($194M), exporting mostly to Uganda ($831M), Netherlands ($576M), United States ($566M), Pakistan ($487M), and United Kingdom ($465M).
Imports The top imports of Kenya are Refined Petroleum ($3.53B), Palm Oil ($1.26B), Packaged Medicaments ($554M), Cars ($549M), and Hot-Rolled Iron ($508M), importing mostly from China ($5.81B), India ($2.55B), United Arab Emirates ($1.81B), Saudi Arabia ($1.09B), and Malaysia ($1.05B).
Location Kenya borders Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda by land.
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.
*All data is converted to USD using January 2020 exchange rates when data is reported in local currency.
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.
In 2021, Kenya exported a total of $7.15B, making it the number 109 exporter in the world. During the last five reported years the exports of Kenya have changed by $1.09B from $6.06B in 2016 to $7.15B in 2021.
The most recent exports are led by Tea ($1.2B), Cut Flowers ($766M), Coffee ($262M), Refined Petroleum ($247M), and Titanium Ore ($194M). The most common destination for the exports of Kenya are Uganda ($831M), Netherlands ($576M), United States ($566M), Pakistan ($487M), and United Kingdom ($465M).
Fastest Growing Export Markets (2020 - 2021)
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).
Kenya has a high level of specialization in Tea (433), Cut Flowers (215), Titanium Ore (210), Coconut and Other Vegetable Fibers (162), and Legumes (143). Specialization is measured using RCA, an index that takes the ratio between Kenya observed and expected exports in each product.
The highest complexity exports of Kenya according to the product complexity index (PCI) are Machine-tools; (including way-type unit head machines) for drilling, boring, milling, threading or tapping by removing metal, other than lathes of heading no. 8458 (1.11), Bulldozers, graders, levellers, scrapers, angledozers, mechanical shovels, excavators, shovel loaders, tamping machines and road rollers, self-propelled (1.1), Machinery, apparatus and equipment (excluding machines of headings 8456 to 8465) for preparing or making printing components; plates, cylinders and other printing components; lithographic stones prepared for printing purposes (0.9), Ceramic goods; (e.g. retorts, crucibles, muffles, nozzles, plugs, supports cupels, tubes, pipes, sheaths, rods) excluding those of siliceous fossil meals or of similar siliceous earths (0.88), and Pigments (metallic powders and flakes) dispersed in non-aqueous media in liquid or paste form, as used in manufacture of paints (including enamels); stamping foils, dyes etc in forms, packing for retail sale (0.86). PCI measures the knowledge intensity of a product by considering the knowledge intensity of its exporters.
The top export opportunities for Kenya according to the relatedness index, were Gold (0.31), Cassava (0.3), Raw Sugar (0.3), Crustaceans (0.29), and Bananas (0.29). Relatedness measures the distance between a country's current exports and each product. The barchart show only products that Kenya is not specialized in.
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.
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.
During the last 20 years Kenya's economy has become relatively less complex, moving from the 49th 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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