Kenya’s external debt rises to Sh5.476 trillion in first quarter of 2025, KNBS data shows
Multilateral sources remained the leading source of external debt and recorded an 8.4 per cent increase to Sh2.8 trillion at the end of March 2025
The stock of external debt of general government recorded an increase from Sh5.4 trillion at the end of March, 2024 to Sh5.476 trillion at the end of March 2025, a Balance of Payments Statistical Release by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows.
Similarly, the stock of loans from bilateral, multilateral, commercial banks and suppliers credit rose from Sh4.12 trillion to Sh4.186 trillion over the same period, and accounted for 76.4 per cent of the total stock of external
debt of general government at the end of March 2025.
Multilateral sources remained the leading source of external debt and recorded an 8.4 per cent increase to Sh2.8 trillion at the end of March 2025. On the other hand, the stock of loans from bilateral sources reduced from Sh1.1 trillion billion at the end of March, 2024 to Sh1.003 trillion while loans from commercial sources recorded a 32.3 per cent reduction to Sh291.9 billion, at the end of March 2025.
The stock of debt securities amounted to Sh1.290 billion at the end of March 2025 compared to Sh1.3 trillion at the end of the corresponding period in 2024. The increase was partly attributable to the increase in the stock of International Sovereign Bond which amounted to Sh972.3 billion at the end of March 2025, from Sh943.3 billion at the end of March, 2024. Non-resident holdings of government bonds registered a 7.6 per cent decline to Sh314.6 billion as at the end of the first quarter of 2025.
The KNBS data also shows that the current account balance widened from a deficit of Sh42.1 billion in the first quarter of 2024 to a deficit of Sh66.6 billion in the first quarter of 2025.
The expanded deficit was mainly driven by a Sh45.5 billion decline in net inflows in the secondary income account to Sh230.9 billion in the first quarter. The reduction in the secondary income account was largely due to a 11.0 per cent decrease in diaspora remittances to Sh161.0 billion in the quarter under review.
“Conversely, merchandise trade deficit improved slightly, narrowing from Sh313.3 billion in the first quarter of 2024 to Sh306.1 billion in the first quarter of 2025. This improvement was due to a slower decline of Sh40.9 billion in exports compared to a decrease of Sh48.2 billion in imports in absolute terms, over the same period,” the statistical release shows.
The services account recorded a surplus of Sh82.3 billion in the first quarter of 2025, which was a marginal decline from a surplus of Sh83.8 billion in the corresponding quarter of 2024.
KNBS says this was mainly occasioned by a 7.4 per cent decrease in exports of services compared to a 9.8 per cent decline in imports of services in the period under review.
“The decline in services exports was largely attributable to reduced revenues from transport and financial services. Net primary income account recorded a deficit of Sh73.8 billion in the first quarter of 2025, an improvement from a deficit of Sh89.0 billion in the same quarter of 2024. This was mainly on account of reduced servicing of public debt during the quarter under review,” the statistical release adds.
Net financial inflows increased significantly to Sh48.6 billion in the first quarter of 2025 compared to Sh7.2 billion in the same quarter of 2024. The growth was mainly occasioned by increased net inflows in the Other Investment category. There was a Sh77.0 billion build up in reserve assets in the first quarter of 2025 compared to a build up of Sh74.0 billion in a similar quarter of 2024.
“As a consequence, the overall Balance of Payments position deteriorated to a deficit of Sh77.0 billion from a surplus of Sh36.0 billion in the corresponding quarter of 2024,” the data shows.
