The recovery in the agricultural sector raised economic growth last year to 5.6 percent from 4.9 percent in 2022.
The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) released the 2024 Economic Survey on Monday, detailing how different sectors and the labor market are performing.
Sector performance
The agricultural sector recovered from its contraction for the second year in a row to grow by seven percent in 2023. The previous year, the sector contracted by -2.3 percent. KNBS data showed that growth was boosted by increased production of milk, sugarcane, tea and horticultural products. The sector's contribution to GDP growth reached 19.8 percent.
The manufacturing sector grew at a slower rate of 2.7 percent last year after recording a growth rate of 3.7 percent in 2022.
The real estate sector was the second largest contributor to the economy at 13.3 percent. The number of housing units completed under the affordable housing program reached 3,357 units, up from 1,390 units. Housing spending reached Sh92.5 billion in the 2023/24 financial year, up from Sh9.1 billion from the previous period.
KNBS said the depletion of titanium ore, mined by Kwale-based Base Titanium Company, saw production of the mineral decline to 4.3 percent last year.
Highlights
Formal employment grew by 2.7 percent to 362,300 last year.
The number of international visitors exceeded pre-pandemic levels, rising by 35.4 percent to reach 2.1 million in 2023.
Passports issued fell by 5.1 percent to 404,028 in 2023 due to recurring processing hurdles at Nyayo House Immigration.
Reported crimes rose by 19 percent to 104,842, indicating growing insecurity.
The total number of cybercrimes reported in 2023 more than doubled to 1.7 billion from 700 million in 2022, attributed to system vulnerabilities.
