Kenya’s economy remained stable and continued to improve in 2025, Treasury Principal Secretary Chris Kiptoo has said, citing lower inflation and stronger foreign exchange inflows as key gains.
In a statement Tuesday, Kiptoo said easing inflation helped reduce pressure on households by lowering commodity prices compared to previous years.
“In 2025, Kenya’s economy remained on a stable and improving path. Lower inflation eased pressure on households through reduced commodity prices compared to 2023, even as we continue working to further lower the cost of living and strengthen incomes,” he wrote.
Despite the progress, the Treasury PS said the government was keen to do more to raise the income levels of Kenyans, noting that this was central to the country’s ambition of becoming a high-income economy.
“We think that more could be done to improve the income levels of Kenyans. And that’s the aspiration. When you hear we want to up our ambition to be a first-world country, what are we saying? We’re talking about per capita income,” Kiptoo said.
He explained that Kenya’s current per capita income stands at about $2,000, based on a gross domestic product of roughly $140 billion, and said reaching developed economy status would require major economic shifts.
“When we talk about per capita income for Kenya now at 140 billion dollars, you’re talking about 2,000 maybe dollars. But you know, other countries like Singapore and others, you’re talking about over 50,000 dollars per year per capita income. So to reach there means there’s a lot that we have to do,” he said.
Kiptoo pointed to strong export performance in 2025 as evidence of economic improvement, particularly in goods and services.
“The economy has done well, and you can see exports of goods have performed well. You will see we have had foreign exchange inflows from coffee, tea and other commodities that we sell,” he said.
He added that services exports, especially tourism, also recorded positive growth and boosted foreign exchange earnings.
“Our export receipts from services have also done well, particularly from tourism and other services. You can see that there has been a growth in revenue in foreign exchange,” Kiptoo said.
The Treasury PS also highlighted an increase in remittances from Kenyans living abroad, saying they rose by six per cent over the past year.
“More importantly, we have had a six per cent increase in remittances over the last one year, for instance,” he said.
Kiptoo said the government would continue pursuing policies aimed at stabilising the economy, strengthening exports and raising incomes, noting that sustained growth was key to improving the welfare of Kenyans.
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