Short facts about the economy in Kenya

Economy - overview:

Kenya is well placed to serve as an engine of growth in East Africa, but its economy has been stagnating because of poor management and uneven commitment to reform. In 1993, the government of Kenya implemented a program of economic liberalization and reform that included the removal of import licensing, price controls, and foreign exchange controls. With the support of the World Bank, IMF, and other donors, the reforms led to a brief turnaround in economic performance following a period of negative growth in the early 1990s. Kenya's real GDP grew 5% in 1995 and 4% in 1996, and inflation remained under control. Growth slowed after 1997, averaging only 1.5% in 1997-2000. In 1997, political violence damaged the tourist industry, and Kenya's Enhanced Structural Adjustment Program lapsed due to the government's failure to maintain reform or address public sector corruption. Severe drought in 1999 and 2000 caused water and energy rationing and reduced agricultural sector productivity. A new economic team was put in place in 1999 to revitalize the reform effort, strengthen the civil service, and curb corruption. The IMF and World Bank renewed their support to Kenya in mid-2000, but a number of setbacks to the economic reform program in late 2000 have renewed donor and private sector concern about the government's commitment to sound governance. Long-term barriers to development include electricity shortages, inefficient government dominance of key sectors, endemic corruption, and high population growth.

GDP:	purchasing power parity - $45.6 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

0.4% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita:

purchasing power parity - $1,500 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture:  25% industry:  13% services:  62% (1999 est.)

Population below poverty line:

42% (1992 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

lowest 10%:  1.8% highest 10%:  34.9% (1994)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

7% (2000 est.)

Labor force:

9.2 million (1998 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:

agriculture 75%-80%

Unemployment rate:

50% (1998 est.)

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:

0.5% (2000 est.)

Electricity - production:

4.225 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source:

fossil fuel:  31% hydro:  67% nuclear:  0% other:  2% (1999 est.)

Electricity - consumption:

4.075 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports:

0 kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports:

146 million kWh (1999)

Agriculture - products:

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

Exports:

$1.7 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

Exports - commodities:

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

Exports - partners:

Uganda 18%, UK 15%, Tanzania 12%, Pakistan 8% (1999)

Imports:

$3 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

Imports - commodities:

machinery and transportation equipment, petroleum products, iron and steel

Imports - partners:

UK 12%, UAE 8%, Japan 8%, US 7% (1999)

Debt - external:

$6.2 billion (2000)

Economic aid - recipient:

$457 million (1997)

Currency:

Kenyan shilling (KES)

Currency code:

KES

Exchange rates:

Kenyan shillings per US dollar - 78.733 (December 2000), 76.176 (2000), 70.326 (1999), 60.367 (1998), 58.732 (1997), 57.115 (1996)

Fiscal year:

1 July - 30 June

Source: World Factbook