Kenya’s gross domestic product grew by 4.9 per cent in 2017 according to data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) Economic Survey 2018. Last year, industries such as ICT, education, wholesale and retail, accommodation and food services recorded accelerated growth while the manufacturing, agriculture, forestry, and insurance sectors posted decelerated growth.
Macroeconomic Indicators
The report states that inflation grew to 8.0 per cent in 2017 from 6.0 per cent in 2016. In addition, inflationary pressures last year were caused by increases in oil and food prices. In 2017, the Kenyan shilling weakened against the US dollar and the Euro but strengthened against most of the other major currencies.
In the same year, the domestic prices for petroleum products increased in response to an increase in international oil prices. The rise was caused by a reduced global supply coupled by an increased demand. Wholesale prices for motor gasoline premium and light diesel surged 9.7 per cent and 8.7 per cent respectively.
Imports and Exports
Kenya imported more goods than it exported in 2017 resulting in the growth of the current account deficit to Sh518.9 billion from Sh375.3 billion in 2016.
The value of total export earnings increased from Sh578.1 billion in 2016 to Sh594.1 billion in 2017 while the total expenditure on imports surged 20.5 per cent to Sh1,725.6 billion.
In 2017, imports to China grew by 15.8 per cent to Sh390.6 billion while imports to UAE and Saudi Arabia increased by 51.2 per cent and 65.5 per cent to Sh138.4 billion and Sh114.6 billion in that order.
In the same year, the value of imports from America accounted for 7.5 per cent of the total value of imports. Countries like Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina recorded increase in import expenditure from Sh7.5 billion in 2016 to Sh58.5 billion in 2017.
Employment
In 2017, there were 16.9 million jobs according to the KNBS report with most of the sectors reporting better performance in employment.
“The nominal annual average earnings in the modern sector per person increased from Sh645,035.2 in 2016 to Sh684,097.0 in 2017. […] annual real average earnings per person decreased from Sh379,968.9 to Sh 69,004.3 over the same period,” the report reads in part.
