The Constitution of Kenya requires that the county governments equitably share at least fifteen percent of all revenue collected by the national government.[1]
As a result, all 47 counties of Kenya receive an equitable share allocation from the national government every financial year for development and recurrent expenditure.
Quick Facts
- Total equitable share allocation to the counties in Financial Year 2023/2024 – Ksh 354.6 billion.
- Total equitable share to the counties since 2013 – Ksh 3.2 trillion.
- Nairobi County equitable share in FY 2023/2024 – Ksh 18.5 billion.
- Nakuru County equitable share in FY 2023/2024 – Ksh 12.5 billion.
- Turkana County Equitable share in FY 2023.2024 – Ksh 12.1 billion.
How revenue is shared among counties in Kenya
Revenue sharing among counties is based on eight parameters per the approved third revenue sharing basis.[2] These include health, agriculture, population, urban services, basic share, land area, rural access index, and the poverty headcount index.
Each parameter is assigned a weight that determines its influence on the revenue-sharing formula.
For instance, the basic share index is the most important parameter, with an assigned weight of 20%, followed by the population index at 18% and the health index at 17%. Others are poverty at 14%, agriculture at 10%, land area at 8%, rural access at 8%, and urban services at 5%.
The chart below shows the approved third revenue-sharing basis for the financial year 2020/2021 to 2024/2025.
The total equitable share allocated to the counties has been increasing since the start of devolution.
Revenue sharing among counties began in the Financial Year 2013/2014 when the total equitable share allocation to the counties was Ksh 178.9 billion.
Revenue allocation to the counties increased by 49.5% since 2013, reaching Ksh 354.6 billion in the Financial Year 2023/2024.
The chart below shows the trend in the equitable share allocation to the counties from FY 2013/2014 – 2023/2024
The annual equitable share allocation to the counties in Ksh can be broken down as follows:
2013/14 178,900,000,000
2014/15 228,500,000,000
2015/16 259,770,000,000
2016/17 284,710,000,000
2017/18 302,000,000,000
2018/19 314,000,000,000
2019/20 286,800,000,000
2020/21 316,500,000,000
2021/22 340,400,000,000
2022/23 370,000,000,000
2023/24 354,590,000,000
How much each county has received since the start of devolution through the equitable share allocation
Depending on the resource allocation formula that considers parameters such as population, land area, health, roads, basic share, agriculture, poverty, and urban services, counties receive different revenue allocations from the national government through the equitable share.
The equitable allocation is then combined with revenue collection from own sources, conditional grants, and other revenue sources to meet each county's recurrent and development expenditures.
Nairobi County has received the highest amount of money from the national government through the equitable share allocation since the start of devolution, at Ksh 165.4 billion. It was followed by Turkana, which received a total of Ksh 115.9 billion, and Kakamega, at Ksh 102 billion.
The chart below shows the total equitable share allocation to the counties from Financial Year 2013/2014 to 2023/2024.
Counties that have received the highest revenue from the equitable share allocation
- Nairobi 165.4 Billion
- Turkana 115.9 Billion
- Kakamega 109.2 Billion
- Nakuru 107.1 Billion
- Mandera 104.7 Billion
- Kilifi 101.6 Billion
- Kiambu 99.1 Billion
- Bungoma 95.1 Billion
- Kitui 91 Billion
- Wajir 84.2 Billion
Counties that have received the lowest revenue from the equitable share allocation
- Lamu 27.8 Billion
- Tharaka Nithi 39.0 Billion
- Elgeyo Marakwet 40.1 Billion
- Isiolo 40.6 Billion
- Taita Taveta 41.9 Billion
- Laikipia 43.3 Billion
- Kirinyaga 44.6 Billion
- Samburu 45.6 Billion
- Embu 47.0 Billion
- Vihiga 47.0 Billion
How much in equitable share the counties received in the most recent financial year
The total equitable share allocation to the counties in the financial year 2023/2024 was Ksh 354.6 billion.
Nairobi received the highest equitable share allocation of Ksh 18.5 billion, followed by Nakuru at Ksh 12.5 billion. Turkana County received 12.1 billion, Kakamega 11.9 billion, Kiambu 11.2 billion, and Kilifi 11.1 billion.
The chart below shows the equitable share allocation by county in FY 2023/2024.
See Also
- Own Source Revenue Collection by Counties
- Total Pending Bills in Kenya – County and National Government
- Recurrent and Development Expenditures by County Governments
- National Government Expenditure on Foreign Travel
- National Government Expenditure on Education
References
[1] Kenya Law Reform Commission. (n.d.) Constitution of Kenya: Chapter twelve - Public Finance, Part 1: Principles and Framework of Public Finance. Retrieved from https://klrc.go.ke/index.php/constitution-of-kenya/147-chapter-twelve-public-finance/part-1-principles-and-framework-of-public-finance/372-203-equitable-share-and-other-financial-laws
[2] Commission on Revenue Allocation (2021). Technical report on the third basis on revenue sharing among county governments. For Financial Year 2020/2021 - 2024/2025
