Kenya: Social contributions (% of revenue)

Key figures

Over five years it is up 0.73 percentage points from 3.12% in 2018. Since 2014 it is up 2.3 percentage points from 1.55% in 2014.

What the numbers say

In 2023, Kenya's social contributions (% of revenue) rose 2.15 percentage points on 2022 (from 1.7% to 3.85%).

Across the 8 yearly changes before that (2015 to 2022), the average change was +0.02 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.25 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.7 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 2.15 percentage points in 2023 and the biggest yearly fall was 2.33 percentage points in 2019. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2014 to 2023 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 10% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

Closest to Kenya in the 2023 ranking

• Croatia — 1st of 7: 27.86%
• Uzbekistan — 2nd of 7: 15.36%
• Iceland — 3rd of 7: 9.52%
• Samoa — 5th of 7: 1.34%
• Sri Lanka — 6th of 7: 1.18%
• Jordan — 7th of 7: 0.06%

What this measures

Social contributions are actual or imputed contributions payable to social insurance schemes to make provisions for social benefits to be paid. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of revenue which includes all transactions that add to the amount of economic value of a unit or sector.

Limitations: For most countries central government finance data have been consolidated into one account, but for others only budgetary central government accounts are available. Countries reporting budgetary data are noted in the country metadata. Because budgetary accounts may not include all central government units (such as social security funds), they usually provide an incomplete picture. In federal states the central government accounts provide an incomplete view of total public finance. Data on government revenue and expense are collected by the IMF through questionnaires to member countries and by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a median.

All 10 values

Social contributions (% of revenue) in nearby economies

• Angola — 5% (2017)
• Cabo Verde — 0.18% (2020)
• Cameroon — 1.56% (2021)
• Gabon — 1.59% (2021)
• Madagascar — 4.89% (2024)
• Mauritius — 7.08% (2024)
• Mozambique — 0.47% (2024)
• Rwanda — 8.79% (2024)
• South Africa — 1.79% (2024)

More public sector data for Kenya

• Military expenditure (current USD) — 1.47 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (current LCU) — 190.01 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 1.07% (2025)
• Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 117 million (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of general government expenditure) — 4.63% (2025)
• Armed forces personnel, total — 24,000 (2020)
• Armed forces personnel (% of total labor force) — 0.11% (2020)
• CPIA business regulatory environment rating (1=low to 6=high) — 4 (2025)
• CPIA debt policy rating (1=low to 6=high) — 3 (2025)
• CPIA economic management cluster average (1=low to 6=high)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Kenya's social contributions (% of revenue)?

3.85% in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2014?

It is up 2.3 percentage points from 1.55% in 2014. The highest value was 3.85% in 2023 and the lowest 0.8% in 2019.

Is the latest change in social contributions (% of revenue) unusual for Kenya?

In 2023, Kenya's social contributions (% of revenue) rose 2.15 percentage points on 2022 (from 1.7% to 3.85%). Across the 8 yearly changes before that (2015 to 2022), the average change was +0.02 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.25 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.7 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator GC.REV.SOCL.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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