Trade in services (% of GDP) in Kenya
Kenya: Trade in services (% of GDP) was 10.5% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Trade in services in Kenya, 1975–2025
Source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2025, trade in services in Kenya stood at 10.5%.
That represents a change of down 7.8% on the previous year and down 7.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, trade in services in Kenya peaked at 39.7% in 1993 and was at its lowest, 7.2%, in 2020.
That places Kenya 159th out of 200 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 51 years of available data.
Trade in services (% of GDP) in Kenya, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 16.9% | — |
| 1976 | 17.1% | +0.8% |
| 1977 | 14.7% | -13.8% |
| 1978 | 16.5% | +12.0% |
| 1979 | 13.4% | -18.5% |
| 1980 | 15.0% | +11.4% |
| 1981 | 15.7% | +4.9% |
| 1982 | 15.0% | -4.5% |
| 1983 | 14.3% | -4.4% |
| 1984 | 14.9% | +4.0% |
| 1985 | 15.3% | +2.8% |
| 1986 | 14.7% | -4.0% |
| 1987 | 15.6% | +6.3% |
| 1988 | 15.9% | +1.8% |
| 1989 | 18.4% | +15.8% |
| 1990 | 21.4% | +16.4% |
| 1991 | 20.2% | -5.8% |
| 1992 | 19.9% | -1.8% |
| 1993 | 39.7% | +99.9% |
| 1994 | 38.4% | -3.4% |
| 1995 | 30.2% | -21.4% |
| 1996 | 21.0% | -30.2% |
| 1997 | 25.8% | +22.8% |
| 1998 | 27.0% | +4.3% |
| 1999 | 31.1% | +15.5% |
| 2000 | 13.7% | -56.1% |
| 2001 | 15.1% | +10.1% |
| 2002 | 13.6% | -10.0% |
| 2003 | 12.8% | -5.6% |
| 2004 | 15.6% | +22.1% |
| 2005 | 16.2% | +3.7% |
| 2006 | 14.9% | -7.8% |
| 2007 | 14.5% | -3.0% |
| 2008 | 14.4% | -0.3% |
| 2009 | 11.2% | -22.6% |
| 2010 | 12.9% | +15.5% |
| 2011 | 13.4% | +3.7% |
| 2012 | 13.1% | -2.2% |
| 2013 | 11.9% | -9.1% |
| 2014 | 12.3% | +3.0% |
| 2015 | 11.4% | -7.4% |
| 2016 | 9.2% | -18.8% |
| 2017 | 9.4% | +2.3% |
| 2018 | 10.2% | +7.6% |
| 2019 | 9.4% | -7.2% |
| 2020 | 7.2% | -23.2% |
| 2021 | 8.7% | +20.8% |
| 2022 | 11.6% | +32.5% |
| 2023 | 11.7% | +0.8% |
| 2024 | 11.4% | -2.3% |
| 2025 | 10.5% | -7.8% |
Kenya compared with similar countries
- Kenya's 10.5% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 13.8%, 76% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Kenya's 10.5% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 12.7%, 83% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Trade in services (% of GDP) in Kenya changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | +99.9% | 19.9% | 39.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 15.7% | 13.4% | 17.1% | 5 |
| 1980s | 15.5% | 14.3% | 18.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 27.5% | 19.9% | 39.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 14.2% | 11.2% | 16.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 11.3% | 9.2% | 13.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 10.2% | 7.2% | 11.7% | 6 |
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)
- SDRs holdings, US dollar, annual growth rate -59.19 % change on previous year (2025)
- SDRs holdings, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0.001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- SDRs holdings, US dollar, per capita 2.42 units per person (2025)
- SDRs holdings, SDR, annual growth rate -61.14 % change on previous year (2025)
- SDRs holdings, SDR, per unit of GDP 0.0007 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- SDRs holdings, SDR, per capita 1.77 units per person (2025)
- IMF holdings of currency, US dollar, annual growth rate 3.56 % change on previous year (2025)
- IMF holdings of currency, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0.0204 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is trade in services in Kenya?
- Trade in services in Kenya was 10.5% in 2025, according to Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest trade in services recorded in Kenya?
- The highest recorded value was 39.7% in 1993.
- What is the lowest trade in services recorded in Kenya?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.2% in 2020.
- How does Kenya rank for trade in services?
- Kenya ranks 159th out of 200 countries with data for 2025.
- Is trade in services rising or falling in Kenya?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Kenya data come from?
- The figures come from Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Trade in services (% of GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 51 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Total trade in services includes services provided by residents to non-residents plus services provided by non-residents to residents. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.