A new survey by Ipsos has discovered that about half of Kenyan households make less than Sh10,000 each month while 2 percent have no income at all. Additionally, 1 percent make between Sh55,000 to Sh75,000 while another 1 percent make between Sh75,000 to Sh100,000 every month.

“24 percent earn between Sh10,000 and Sh25000, ten percent earns between Sh25,000-Sh40,000 and another three percent earns between Sh40,000 and Sh55,000 per month,” Ipsos says.

In the first quarter of 2018, Ipsos administered one-on-one interviews to households in urban and rural areas. “Field managers visit at least 15 percent of the respondents in the sample at their households to confirm the interviews (i.e. back-checking). After the interview data are electronically transmitted to the Ipsos server: an independent team then makes random phone calls to 20 percent of the respondents to confirm that the interviews were conducted with the said respondents,” Ipsos states.

The main source of household income is self-employment at 23 percent followed by agriculture, private, and public sector. Self-employment encompasses foodstuff kiosk, salon, carpentry, agriculture produce marketing, livestock marketing, formal private sector, and general goods kiosk.

6 percent of the respondents said they got their income through money given by others. Furthermore, 1 percent said their source of income was retirement pension, 2 percent represented casual labour, and 3 percent represented livestock.