Economies of at least 20 counties have more than tripled since onset of devolution, data revealing growth trends across the country shows.
The regions had a collective Gross County Product (GCP) of Sh1.16 trillion in 2013, which grew to Sh4 trillion by 2023, according to a report by the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO).
This reflected a percentage expansion in their economic sizes ranging from 204 to 361 per cent among different counties, analysis of the PBO’s County Fact Sheet and Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) data shows.
Major drivers of counties' economic growth have been funding they get from the national government (more than Sh3.6 trillion cumulatively), local taxes and investments made by the devolved units as well as private players.
Over the 11 years, nearly a third of all new wealth created in Kenya since devolution started occurred in the 20 counties.
Three of the regions, Elgeyo Marakwet, Kilifi and Meru, saw their economies jump more than four times, marking the biggest growth of all the counties.
Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru (centre) with her colleagues during a past media briefing in Nairobi.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
Elgeyo Marakwet’s GCP, for instance, jumped 4.6 times from Sh30.38 billion in 2013 to Sh140 billion in 2023. Kilifi’s GCP jumped 4.1 times to Sh296.4 billion, and Meru’s rose four times to Sh484 billion over the same period. The three counties were followed by Marsabit, Vihiga, Isiolo, Kakamega, Kwale, Bungoma, Laikipia, Bomet, West Pokot, Mombasa, Lamu, Turkana, Nyamira, Nandi, Trans Nzoia, Siaya and Mandera with growth rates of three to 3.9 times.
Nationally, Kenya’s economic productivity grew 2.8 times from Sh4.9 trillion in 2013 to Sh13.89 trillion in 2023, with 27 counties recording a growth rate higher than the national average.
KNBS data covering five years to 2023 showed that 16 counties recorded growth rates higher than the national average GDP growth of 4.6 per cent.
“The top five counties in terms of economic growth are Marsabit (9.3 per cent), Tana River (7.6 per cent), Nakuru (6.9 per cent), Kajiado (6.3 per cent), and Nairobi City (6.1 per cent),” KNBS’ 2024 GCP report stated.
Over the 11 years to 2023, data shows that much of the growth occurred in counties in the Rift Valley, which constituted six of the 20 counties with a growth of more than three times.
While not among the top performers, Nairobi City County in absolute terms contributed Sh2.48 billion (27.7 per cent) of the Sh8.9 trillion new wealth created over the 11 years -the single largest contribution by any county.
Nairobi continues to hold a huge share of Kenya’s economy, at 27.5 per cent by 2023.
Analysing the GCP trends, PBO noted that a number of counties had varied performances, with most having witnessed contraction during the Covid-19 year in 2020.
“Nyandarua County’s real economic output increased from Sh76.5 billion in 2013 to Sh118.5 billion in 2022. The highest growth rate was recorded in 2015 (13.1 per cent) and the lowest growth in the years 2016 (-0.8 percent), 2018 (-2.8 per cent) and 2020(-2.3 per cent). The decline in the GCP growth in the three years is attributed to poor performance in the agricultural sector as well as the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, especially in 2020, which affected activities in the service sector,” the PBO stated.
GCP measures the market value of all goods and services produced in a county during a year, to track economic activities and growth trends.
Among counties with the slowest growth in their economies over the 11 years were Busia and Embu, with growth rates of 58 and 86 per cent, respectively.
The two were the only counties whose economies grew less than double the sizes they had when devolution started.
