Merchandise exports to high-income economies in Kenya
Kenya: Merchandise exports to high-income economies was 39.6% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Merchandise exports to high-income economies in Kenya, 1960–2023
Source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of total merchandise exports.
Analysis
The most recent figure for merchandise exports to high-income economies in Kenya is 39.6%, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of down 7.0% on the previous year and down 1.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise exports to high-income economies in Kenya peaked at 83.9% in 1960 and was at its lowest, 36.9%, in 2004.
Kenya ranks 164th of 206 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 64 years of available data.
Merchandise exports to high-income economies in Kenya, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise exports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 83.9% | — |
| 1961 | 81.6% | -2.7% |
| 1962 | 82.7% | +1.3% |
| 1963 | 81.8% | -1.1% |
| 1964 | 82.1% | +0.4% |
| 1965 | 79.8% | -2.8% |
| 1966 | 81.2% | +1.8% |
| 1967 | 78.8% | -3.0% |
| 1968 | 50.5% | -35.9% |
| 1969 | 51.0% | +0.9% |
| 1970 | 50.7% | -0.6% |
| 1971 | 47.4% | -6.4% |
| 1972 | 53.5% | +12.9% |
| 1973 | 55.5% | +3.6% |
| 1974 | 54.1% | -2.5% |
| 1975 | 52.6% | -2.8% |
| 1976 | 61.7% | +17.4% |
| 1977 | 72.5% | +17.4% |
| 1978 | 69.8% | -3.6% |
| 1979 | 67.1% | -4.0% |
| 1980 | 60.7% | -9.5% |
| 1981 | 58.2% | -4.1% |
| 1982 | 61.1% | +4.9% |
| 1983 | 61.4% | +0.5% |
| 1984 | 63.7% | +3.8% |
| 1985 | 63.7% | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 63.7% | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 60.9% | -4.3% |
| 1988 | 66.9% | +9.7% |
| 1989 | 66.9% | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 47.8% | -28.5% |
| 1991 | 67.3% | +40.8% |
| 1992 | 68.5% | +1.8% |
| 1993 | 51.5% | -24.8% |
| 1994 | 49.1% | -4.6% |
| 1995 | 44.0% | -10.5% |
| 1996 | 44.2% | +0.6% |
| 1997 | 45.4% | +2.7% |
| 1998 | 41.8% | -7.9% |
| 1999 | 52.7% | +26.0% |
| 2000 | 40.5% | -23.1% |
| 2001 | 36.9% | -8.9% |
| 2002 | 39.4% | +6.8% |
| 2003 | 38.7% | -1.8% |
| 2004 | 36.9% | -4.7% |
| 2005 | 39.1% | +5.9% |
| 2006 | 43.4% | +10.9% |
| 2007 | 42.6% | -1.7% |
| 2008 | 40.1% | -5.9% |
| 2009 | 40.2% | +0.2% |
| 2010 | 39.3% | -2.2% |
| 2011 | 37.7% | -4.0% |
| 2012 | 39.3% | +4.1% |
| 2013 | 40.1% | +2.3% |
| 2014 | 43.2% | +7.6% |
| 2015 | 42.1% | -2.5% |
| 2016 | 42.6% | +1.2% |
| 2017 | 43.1% | +1.1% |
| 2018 | 45.5% | +5.7% |
| 2019 | 46.6% | +2.2% |
| 2020 | 44.1% | -5.4% |
| 2021 | 43.2% | -2.0% |
| 2022 | 42.6% | -1.4% |
| 2023 | 39.6% | -7.0% |
Kenya compared with similar countries
- Kenya's 39.6% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 51.0%, 78% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Kenya's 39.6% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 49.5%, 80% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Merchandise exports to high-income economies 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | +40.8% | 47.8% | 67.3% |
| 1968 | -35.9% | 78.8% | 50.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 75.3% | 50.5% | 83.9% | 10 |
| 1970s | 58.5% | 47.4% | 72.5% | 10 |
| 1980s | 62.7% | 58.2% | 66.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 51.3% | 41.8% | 68.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 39.8% | 36.9% | 43.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 42.0% | 37.7% | 46.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 42.4% | 39.6% | 44.1% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Kenya
More private sector data for Kenya
- Merchandise trade 22.2% (2025)
- Food imports 16.3% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 56.6% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 21.61 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 49.2% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 30.7% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 8.60 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 149.5 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.0633 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 4.42 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise exports to high-income economies in Kenya?
- Merchandise exports to high-income economies in Kenya was 39.6% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise exports to high-income economies recorded in Kenya?
- The highest recorded value was 83.9% in 1960.
- What is the lowest merchandise exports to high-income economies recorded in Kenya?
- The lowest recorded value was 36.9% in 2004.
- How does Kenya rank for merchandise exports to high-income economies?
- Kenya ranks 164th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise exports to high-income economies rising or falling in Kenya?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Kenya data come from?
- The figures come from Staff estimates, World Bank (WB), published as part of Merchandise exports to high-income economies (% of total merchandise exports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 64 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Merchandise exports to high-income economies are the sum of merchandise exports from the reporting economy to high-income economies according to the World Bank classification of economies. Data are expressed as a percentage of total merchandise exports by the economy. Data are computed only if at least half of the economies in the partner country group had non-missing data.