Share of government consumption in GDP vs. GDP per capita in Kenya
Kenya: Share of government consumption in GDP vs. GDP per capita was 10.9% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
10.9%
Change on year
down 2.9%
World rank
162nd
of 184 countries
All-time high
26.3%
in 1979
All-time low
4.7%
in 1950
Years of data
74
1950–2023
Share of government consumption in GDP vs. GDP per capita in Kenya, 1950–2023
Source: Feenstra et al. - Penn World Table (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Kenya recorded 10.9% for share of government consumption in gdp vs. gdp per capita in 2023.
The figure is down 2.9% on the previous year and up 5.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of government consumption in gdp vs. gdp per capita in Kenya peaked at 26.3% in 1979 and was at its lowest, 4.7%, in 1950.
That places Kenya 162nd out of 184 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.
Share of government consumption in GDP vs. GDP per capita in Kenya, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 4.7% | — |
| 1951 | 5.3% | +12.6% |
| 1952 | 5.2% | -1.3% |
| 1953 | 5.2% | -0.1% |
| 1954 | 5.7% | +10.0% |
| 1955 | 7.2% | +26.2% |
| 1956 | 6.8% | -5.9% |
| 1957 | 6.9% | +0.9% |
| 1958 | 6.9% | +0.8% |
| 1959 | 7.4% | +7.4% |
| 1960 | 8.0% | +7.5% |
| 1961 | 8.7% | +9.1% |
| 1962 | 8.2% | -5.8% |
| 1963 | 8.4% | +2.6% |
| 1964 | 10.0% | +18.6% |
| 1965 | 8.8% | -11.5% |
| 1966 | 8.5% | -3.3% |
| 1967 | 8.9% | +4.2% |
| 1968 | 13.0% | +45.5% |
| 1969 | 13.9% | +7.4% |
| 1970 | 15.7% | +12.6% |
| 1971 | 16.8% | +7.5% |
| 1972 | 16.4% | -2.6% |
| 1973 | 15.8% | -3.9% |
| 1974 | 15.2% | -3.9% |
| 1975 | 17.8% | +17.7% |
| 1976 | 19.6% | +9.8% |
| 1977 | 20.7% | +5.9% |
| 1978 | 23.3% | +12.5% |
| 1979 | 26.3% | +12.9% |
| 1980 | 26.3% | -0.0% |
| 1981 | 25.8% | -1.9% |
| 1982 | 25.2% | -2.4% |
| 1983 | 26.2% | +4.0% |
| 1984 | 25.0% | -4.5% |
| 1985 | 24.4% | -2.6% |
| 1986 | 20.5% | -15.8% |
| 1987 | 17.2% | -16.1% |
| 1988 | 14.2% | -17.8% |
| 1989 | 12.4% | -12.5% |
| 1990 | 10.4% | -16.0% |
| 1991 | 9.8% | -6.2% |
| 1992 | 10.1% | +3.3% |
| 1993 | 9.3% | -7.7% |
| 1994 | 9.7% | +3.7% |
| 1995 | 10.0% | +3.6% |
| 1996 | 8.8% | -11.9% |
| 1997 | 8.9% | +0.6% |
| 1998 | 9.0% | +1.3% |
| 1999 | 8.9% | -1.3% |
| 2000 | 8.9% | +0.2% |
| 2001 | 8.7% | -1.7% |
| 2002 | 9.4% | +8.0% |
| 2003 | 10.2% | +7.9% |
| 2004 | 9.9% | -2.5% |
| 2005 | 9.9% | -0.6% |
| 2006 | 9.4% | -4.8% |
| 2007 | 9.7% | +3.2% |
| 2008 | 10.4% | +7.6% |
| 2009 | 10.4% | -0.4% |
| 2010 | 10.6% | +2.2% |
| 2011 | 10.7% | +1.1% |
| 2012 | 10.1% | -5.6% |
| 2013 | 10.3% | +2.1% |
| 2014 | 10.7% | +3.2% |
| 2015 | 12.2% | +14.7% |
| 2016 | 12.6% | +3.2% |
| 2017 | 12.8% | +1.7% |
| 2018 | 12.5% | -2.9% |
| 2019 | 11.7% | -5.8% |
| 2020 | 11.5% | -1.8% |
| 2021 | 10.8% | -5.9% |
| 2022 | 11.3% | +3.8% |
| 2023 | 10.9% | -2.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 6.1% | 4.7% | 7.4% | 10 |
| 1960s | 9.6% | 8.0% | 13.9% | 10 |
| 1970s | 18.8% | 15.2% | 26.3% | 10 |
| 1980s | 21.7% | 12.4% | 26.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 9.5% | 8.8% | 10.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 9.7% | 8.7% | 10.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 11.4% | 10.1% | 12.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 11.1% | 10.8% | 11.5% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Kenya
More economy & growth data for Kenya
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP 3.28 Percent per annum (2029)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP 5.26 Percent per annum (2029)
- Gross capital formation (current US$), annual growth rate 16.16 % change on previous year (2025)
- Gross capital formation (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.1696 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Gross capital formation (current US$), per capita 400.63 current US$ per person (2025)
- Gross capital formation (current LCU), annual growth rate 11.4 % change on previous year (2025)
- Gross capital formation (current LCU), per unit of GDP 21.92 current LCU per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Gross capital formation (current LCU), per capita 51,803 current LCU per person (2025)
- Gross capital formation (constant 2015 US$), annual growth rate 5.84 % change on previous year (2025)
- Gross capital formation (constant 2015 US$), per unit of GDP 0.1503 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of government consumption in gdp vs. gdp per capita in Kenya?
- Share of government consumption in gdp vs. gdp per capita in Kenya was 10.9% in 2023, according to Feenstra et al. - Penn World Table (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of government consumption in gdp vs. gdp per capita recorded in Kenya?
- The highest recorded value was 26.3% in 1979.
- What is the lowest share of government consumption in gdp vs. gdp per capita recorded in Kenya?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.7% in 1950.
- How does Kenya rank for share of government consumption in gdp vs. gdp per capita?
- Kenya ranks 162nd out of 184 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of government consumption in gdp vs. gdp per capita rising or falling in Kenya?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Kenya data come from?
- The figures come from Feenstra et al. - Penn World Table (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of government consumption in GDP vs. GDP per capita. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Government consumption divided by gross domestic product, expressed as a percentage.