Merchandise imports from high-income economies in Kenya
Kenya: Merchandise imports from high-income economies was 49.4% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Merchandise imports from high-income economies in Kenya, 1960–2023
Source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of total merchandise imports.
Analysis
The most recent figure for merchandise imports from high-income economies in Kenya is 49.4%, measured in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.7% on the previous year and up 2.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise imports from high-income economies in Kenya peaked at 100.0% in 2004 and was at its lowest, 41.6%, in 2020.
Kenya ranks 138th of 206 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 64 years of available data.
Merchandise imports from high-income economies in Kenya, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 80.9% | — |
| 1961 | 79.5% | -1.6% |
| 1962 | 80.6% | +1.3% |
| 1963 | 82.2% | +2.1% |
| 1964 | 87.2% | +6.0% |
| 1965 | 83.3% | -4.5% |
| 1966 | 81.8% | -1.8% |
| 1967 | 83.4% | +1.9% |
| 1968 | 75.0% | -10.1% |
| 1969 | 77.1% | +2.8% |
| 1970 | 77.7% | +0.9% |
| 1971 | 79.5% | +2.3% |
| 1972 | 79.2% | -0.4% |
| 1973 | 80.4% | +1.6% |
| 1974 | 77.0% | -4.2% |
| 1975 | 75.3% | -2.2% |
| 1976 | 74.5% | -1.0% |
| 1977 | 83.4% | +11.9% |
| 1978 | 85.9% | +2.9% |
| 1979 | 88.7% | +3.4% |
| 1980 | 90.8% | +2.3% |
| 1981 | 92.7% | +2.1% |
| 1982 | 86.5% | -6.8% |
| 1983 | 84.9% | -1.9% |
| 1984 | 83.0% | -2.2% |
| 1985 | 83.0% | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 83.0% | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 90.2% | +8.7% |
| 1988 | 88.9% | -1.4% |
| 1989 | 88.9% | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 89.6% | +0.8% |
| 1991 | 84.9% | -5.3% |
| 1992 | 82.5% | -2.8% |
| 1993 | 84.7% | +2.6% |
| 1994 | 70.3% | -16.9% |
| 1995 | 71.5% | +1.6% |
| 1996 | 74.1% | +3.6% |
| 1997 | 72.8% | -1.7% |
| 1998 | 74.4% | +2.2% |
| 1999 | 76.0% | +2.2% |
| 2000 | 77.4% | +1.8% |
| 2001 | 77.8% | +0.6% |
| 2002 | 73.9% | -5.1% |
| 2003 | 71.9% | -2.7% |
| 2004 | 100.0% | +39.1% |
| 2005 | 67.9% | -32.1% |
| 2006 | 67.2% | -1.0% |
| 2007 | 62.3% | -7.2% |
| 2008 | 58.8% | -5.7% |
| 2009 | 57.7% | -1.8% |
| 2010 | 55.7% | -3.5% |
| 2011 | 55.1% | -1.0% |
| 2012 | 51.8% | -6.0% |
| 2013 | 48.2% | -7.1% |
| 2014 | 50.7% | +5.2% |
| 2015 | 45.9% | -9.5% |
| 2016 | 43.2% | -5.8% |
| 2017 | 42.5% | -1.7% |
| 2018 | 46.2% | +8.8% |
| 2019 | 45.9% | -0.7% |
| 2020 | 41.6% | -9.2% |
| 2021 | 45.4% | +9.0% |
| 2022 | 48.5% | +6.9% |
| 2023 | 49.4% | +1.7% |
Kenya compared with similar countries
- Kenya's 49.4% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 43.4%, 1.1× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Kenya's 49.4% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 42.2%, 1.2× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Merchandise imports from 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | +39.1% | 71.9% | 100.0% |
| 2005 | -32.1% | 100.0% | 67.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 81.1% | 75.0% | 87.2% | 10 |
| 1970s | 80.2% | 74.5% | 88.7% | 10 |
| 1980s | 87.2% | 83.0% | 92.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 78.1% | 70.3% | 89.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 71.5% | 57.7% | 100.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 48.5% | 42.5% | 55.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 46.2% | 41.6% | 49.4% | 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 imports from high-income economies in Kenya?
- Merchandise imports from high-income economies in Kenya was 49.4% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise imports from high-income economies recorded in Kenya?
- The highest recorded value was 100.0% in 2004.
- What is the lowest merchandise imports from high-income economies recorded in Kenya?
- The lowest recorded value was 41.6% in 2020.
- How does Kenya rank for merchandise imports from high-income economies?
- Kenya ranks 138th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise imports from high-income economies rising or falling in Kenya?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.5%. 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 imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports). 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 imports from high-income economies are the sum of merchandise imports by the reporting economy from high-income economies according to the World Bank classification of economies. Data are expressed as a percentage of total merchandise imports by the economy. Data are computed only if at least half of the economies in the partner country group had non-missing data.