Kenya's National Debt
A comprehensive breakdown of every shilling the government owes — who lent it, what it costs, and what it means for you
25 active loan facilities
Population data unavailable
Exceeds IMF 55% recommended threshold
Kenya's debt remains elevated. The IMF classifies Kenya at high risk o…
Who Do We Owe?
Breakdown by creditor type — external (multilateral, bilateral, commercial) vs domestic instruments
Debt Growth — 2013 to 2025
How Kenya's domestic and external debts have grown year over year (KES Billions)
Debt-to-GDP Ratio Trend
Borrowing vs The Budget
How much of the national budget is funded by debt, and how much goes back to servicing it
FY 2025/26 Snapshot
Tax: 2.44T + Non-tax: 370B
21.7% of the budget
For every KES 100 collected, KES 48 goes to debt
Borrowing vs Development Spending
Kenyan law (PFM Act) requires borrowing to be used only for development. If borrowing exceeds development spending, funds are going to recurrent costs.
Pending Bills Tracker
Verified but unpaid government obligations to suppliers, contractors & staff
Total — All Government
KES 578.5B
These are unpaid obligations owed by national government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to their suppliers and contractors. They represent verified invoices that have been approved but not yet paid from the Exchequer.
National Government Entities — Detail
11 records totalling KES 405.4B| # | Entity | Type | Total Pending | Eligible | Ineligible |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pending Bills — MDAs (Ministry of Health) FY FY2024/25 | Ministry / Dept / Agency | KES 89.7B | KES 62.5B | KES 27.2B |
| 2 | Pending Bills — MDAs (Ministry of Roads and Transport) FY FY2024/25 | Ministry / Dept / Agency | KES 76.3B | KES 54.1B | KES 22.2B |
| 3 | Pending Bills — MDAs (Ministry of Education) FY FY2024/25 | Ministry / Dept / Agency | KES 45.2B | KES 38.6B | KES 6.6B |
| 4 | Pending Bills — State Corporations (Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA)) FY FY2024/25 | State Corporation | KES 42.3B | KES 35.6B | KES 6.7B |
| 5 | Pending Bills — MDAs (Ministry of Interior and National Administration) FY FY2024/25 | Ministry / Dept / Agency | KES 32.1B | KES 24.8B | KES 7.3B |
| 6 | Pending Bills — MDAs (Ministry of Defence) FY FY2024/25 | Ministry / Dept / Agency | KES 28.9B | KES 21.5B | KES 7.4B |
| 7 | Pending Bills — MDAs (Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Irrigation) FY FY2024/25 | Ministry / Dept / Agency | KES 24.6B | KES 19.2B | KES 5.4B |
| 8 | Pending Bills — State Corporations (Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA)) FY FY2024/25 | State Corporation | KES 19.7B | KES 15.2B | KES 4.5B |
| 9 | Pending Bills — MDAs (Ministry of Energy and Petroleum) FY FY2024/25 | Ministry / Dept / Agency | KES 18.4B | KES 14.7B | KES 3.7B |
| 10 | Pending Bills — MDAs (State Department for Public Works) FY FY2024/25 | Ministry / Dept / Agency | KES 15.8B | KES 12.1B | KES 3.7B |
| 11 | Pending Bills — State Corporations (Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC)) FY FY2024/25 | State Corporation | KES 12.4B | KES 9.8B | KES 2.6B |
Why do counties appear in national debt? Kenya's Public Finance Management Act requires all levels of government to report pending bills. National MDAs owe suppliers through the Exchequer, while counties owe local suppliers from their equitable share. Both are public obligations tracked by the Controller of Budget.
Pending bills are verified but unpaid government invoices to suppliers and contractors. Unlike formal loans, they carry no interest but represent real obligations. The Controller of Budget tracks and reports these in quarterly budget implementation review reports.
Source: Controller of Budget — National Government Budget Implementation Review Report FY 2024/25
Debt Sustainability Warning
Debt-to-GDP (68.0%) exceeds the IMF 55% threshold. Debt service (47.7% of revenue) exceeds the 30% danger threshold.
Debt Sustainability Indicators
Key ratios that determine whether Kenya's debt is on a sustainable path
Debt-to-GDP Ratio
Debt Service / Revenue
Threshold: 30%
External Debt Share
5-Year Debt Trajectory
Projected debt-to-GDP and debt-service-to-revenue ratios
Regional Comparison
Kenya vs East African Community peers
| Country | Debt-to-GDP | Service/Revenue | External Debt % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (You) | 68.0% | 24.3% | 35.0% |
| Ethiopia | 40.4% | 12.6% | 24.3% |
| Tanzania | 48.7% | 13.9% | 47.3% |
| Uganda | 55.0% | 21.0% | 39.2% |
| Rwanda | 66.8% | 7.7% | 93.9% |
Full Loan Register
Every active national government loan — 14 facilities totalling KES 11.44T
| # | Lender | Type | Principal | Outstanding | Rate | Annual Cost | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Domestic Treasury Bonds | domestic_bonds | KES 4.56T | KES 4.56T | 14.50% | KES 661.8B/yr | matured |
| 2 | Eurobonds (2014, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2024 issues) | Commercial | KES 2.28T | KES 2.28T | 7.25% | KES 165.0B/yr | active |
| 3 | Domestic Treasury Bills (91-day, 182-day, 364-day) | domestic_bills | KES 1.05T | KES 1.05T | 16.00% | KES 168.0B/yr | matured |
| 4 | Multilateral (World Bank / IDA / IBRD) | Multilateral | KES 820.0B | KES 805.0B | 1.25% | KES 10.1B/yr | matured |
| 5 | Bilateral (China — Exim Bank / CDB) | Bilateral | KES 540.0B | KES 530.0B | 2.00% | KES 10.6B/yr | active |
| 6 | Multilateral (IMF — Extended Credit & Resilience Trust) | Multilateral | KES 425.0B | KES 418.0B | 2.20% | KES 9.2B/yr | active |
| 7 | Commercial Banks (Syndicated loans) | Commercial | KES 400.0B | KES 400.0B | 6.50% | KES 26.0B/yr | active |
| 8 | Multilateral (African Development Bank / AfDB) | Multilateral | KES 310.0B | KES 302.0B | 1.50% | KES 4.5B/yr | matured |
| 9 | Domestic Infrastructure & Green Bonds | domestic_bonds | KES 300.0B | KES 300.0B | 13.00% | KES 39.0B/yr | matured |
| 10 | CBK Overdraft Facility | domestic_overdraft | KES 250.0B | KES 250.0B | 0.00% | KES 0/yr | matured |
| 11 | Bilateral (Japan — JICA) | Bilateral | KES 210.0B | KES 205.0B | 0.75% | KES 1.5B/yr | matured |
| 12 | Bilateral (Other — Germany KfW, India, Korea, Belgium, UK, Italy) | Bilateral | KES 130.0B | KES 127.0B | 1.80% | KES 2.3B/yr | matured |
| 13 | Bilateral (France — AFD) | Bilateral | KES 120.0B | KES 118.0B | 1.50% | KES 1.8B/yr | matured |
| 14 | Multilateral (Other — EIB, IFAD, IFC) | Multilateral | KES 95.0B | KES 95.0B | 2.00% | KES 1.9B/yr | matured |
| TOTAL (14 facilities) | KES 11.49T | KES 11.44T | KES 1.10T/yr | ||||
Debt Service — Where Your Tax Shillings Go
For every KES 100 the government collects in revenue, here's how it's divided
Annual Debt Service Cost Trend (KES Billions)
Top 10 Creditors
The largest outstanding lenders to the Kenyan government, ranked by balance
Key Takeaways
Debt is growing faster than the economy
At 76.9% of GDP, Kenya's debt exceeds the IMF-recommended 55% threshold for low-income countries. Each year, the debt-to-GDP ratio has increased.
Borrowing isn't all going to development
Under Kenyan law, government borrowing should fund development only. Our data shows borrowing consistently exceeds development spending, meaning borrowed money funds salaries and operations.
Nearly half of revenue services debt
In FY 2025/26, KES 48 of every KES 100 collected went to debt repayment — money that can't build roads, schools, or hospitals.
The debt ceiling has been breached
Current debt is at 125% of the legal ceiling set by the PFM Act. The government has exceeded its own legal borrowing limit.