Treasury Principal Secretary Chris Kiptoo has affirmed that Kenya’s economy remained on a stable and improving path in 2025, with lower inflation helping to ease household pressures through reduced commodity prices.
In a statement on Tuesday, January 6, 2026, PS Kiptoo highlighted the government’s progress in economic stabilization while acknowledging that further measures are needed to improve Kenyans’ income levels.
“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.
Kiptoo noted that boosting per capita income is central to Kenya’s ambition of becoming a high-income, first-world 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,” he said.
He noted that Kenya’s current per capita income stands at around $2,000, based on a GDP of $140 billion, but achieving first-world status would require a dramatic increase.
“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,” Kiptoo explained.
The Treasury PS also pointed to strong export performance as evidence of economic improvement in 2025. He highlighted growth in both goods and services exports.
“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.
Services exports, particularly in tourism, also contributed to increased 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 added.
Additionally, remittances from Kenyans living abroad rose by six per cent over the past year, providing a further boost to the economy.
“More importantly, we have had a six per cent increase in remittances over the last one year, for instance,” he noted.
Kiptoo’s assessment paints a picture of an economy on the right trajectory, with stable growth, rising exports, and stronger remittance inflows. However, he reiterated that increasing per capita income remains crucial for Kenya to achieve its goal of high-income status in the coming decades.
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