Kenya is predominantly a service-based economy, with services accounting for a larger GDP share than agriculture and manufacturing. In the 4th quarter of 2023, the Central Bank of Kenya reported that the services’ share of GDP was 58.9%, followed by industry at 17.8%, agriculture at 14.7%, and taxes on products at 8.6%.[1]
Services are all economic activities, excluding industry, agriculture, forestry, fishing, construction, electricity, and water supply.
Share of GDP by service category
Among services, real estate accounted for 10.5% of GDP, followed by transport and storage at 10.1%. Financial and insurance services accounted for 9.9% of GDP, wholesale and retail trade 8.1%, public administration 6.1%, and education 4.9%.
Information and communication services accounted for 3.4% of GDP, professional administration and support services at 2.9%, health at 2.3%, accommodation and restaurant services at 2.4%, and other services at 2.4%.
The chart below shows sectoral shares of GDP, where services account for 58.9% of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product.
County contribution to service activities
Counties engage in different economic activities, including manufacturing and agriculture, contributing to the Gross County Product and the population's overall well-being. Similarly, counties offer various services, which, when aggregated, form a significant share of the national GDP.
Nairobi County contributed, on average, 37.3% to the services GDP, followed by Mombasa County, which contributed 5.6% of the services GDP, and Kiambu County at 5%. Other counties were Nakuru County at 4.4%, Kisumu at 2.7%, and Machakos at 2.6%.
Most counties made a minimal contribution to services, with 21 counties out of 47 contributing less than 1% to the GDP of services. Counties contributing the lowest include Isiolo at 0.3%, Tana River at 0.3%, Samburu at 0.4%, Wajir at 0.4%, and Lamu at 0.3%.
The table below shows the average county contribution to services by county from 2018 to 2022, which ranked from the highest to the lowest.[2]
|
County |
Average County Contribution to Service Activities excluding FISIM* (%), 2018-2022 |
|
37.3 |
|
|
5.6 |
|
|
5 |
|
|
4.4 |
|
|
2.7 |
|
|
2.6 |
|
|
2.6 |
|
|
2.1 |
|
|
2 |
|
|
1.9 |
|
|
1.8 |
|
|
1.8 |
|
|
1.7 |
|
|
1.7 |
|
|
1.5 |
|
|
1.4 |
|
|
1.3 |
|
|
1.3 |
|
|
1.2 |
|
|
1.2 |
|
|
1.1 |
|
|
1.1 |
|
|
1 |
|
|
1 |
|
|
1 |
|
|
1 |
|
|
0.9 |
|
|
0.9 |
|
|
0.9 |
|
|
0.8 |
|
|
0.8 |
|
|
0.8 |
|
|
0.7 |
|
|
0.7 |
|
|
0.7 |
|
|
0.7 |
|
|
0.6 |
|
|
0.6 |
|
|
0.5 |
|
|
0.5 |
|
|
0.5 |
|
|
0.4 |
|
|
0.4 |
|
|
0.4 |
|
|
0.4 |
|
|
0.3 |
|
|
0.3 |
*FISIM stands for Financial Intermediation Services Indirectly Measured
See Also
References
- Central Bank of Kenya. Kenya Quarterly Economic Review, October - December 2023
- KNBS 2023. Gross county product 2023. Nairobi, Kenya. (p. 21).
