Wage bill as a percentage of Public Expenditure in Kenya

Kenya: Wage bill as a percentage of Public Expenditure was 16.1% in 2022. ▼ Falling

Latest (2022)
16.1%
Change on year
down 5.2%
World rank
174th
of 190 countries
All-time high
36.1%
in 2004
All-time low
16.1%
in 2022
Years of data
23
2000–2022

Wage bill as a percentage of Public Expenditure in Kenya, 2000–2022

0102030402000201120222000: 34.32001: 33.32002: 34.82003: 34.82004: 36.12005: 33.72006: 32.52007: 30.82008: 282009: 24.72010: 242011: 24.92012: 24.32013: 23.52014: 20.82015: 18.52016: 16.72017: 172018: 17.72019: 17.42020: 17.72021: 172022: 16.1

Source: World Bank.

Analysis

In 2022, wage bill as a percentage of public expenditure in Kenya stood at 16.1%. That is the lowest value across all 23 years on record.

The figure is down 5.2% on the previous year and down 33.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, wage bill as a percentage of public expenditure in Kenya peaked at 36.1% in 2004 and was at its lowest, 16.1%, in 2022.

Kenya ranks 174th of 190 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 23 years of available data.

Wage bill as a percentage of Public Expenditure in Kenya, year by year

Annual values for Wage bill as a percentage of Public Expenditure in Kenya, 2000 to 2022.
Year Value Change
2000 34.3%
2001 33.3% -2.8%
2002 34.8% +4.4%
2003 34.8% -0.0%
2004 36.1% +3.9%
2005 33.7% -6.7%
2006 32.5% -3.5%
2007 30.8% -5.5%
2008 28.0% -8.8%
2009 24.7% -11.7%
2010 24.0% -3.2%
2011 24.9% +3.8%
2012 24.3% -2.5%
2013 23.5% -3.0%
2014 20.8% -11.4%
2015 18.5% -11.5%
2016 16.7% -9.3%
2017 17.0% +1.6%
2018 17.7% +3.9%
2019 17.4% -1.7%
2020 17.7% +2.2%
2021 17.0% -4.4%
2022 16.1% -5.2%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 32.3% 24.7% 36.1% 10
2010s 20.5% 16.7% 24.9% 10
2020s 16.9% 16.1% 17.7% 3

Countries ranked near Kenya

  1. 171 Bulgaria 16.8% compare
  2. 172 Myanmar 16.5% compare
  3. 173 Mongolia 16.4% compare
  4. 175 Germany 16.0% compare
  5. 176 Kazakhstan 15.8% compare
  6. 177 Niger 15.7% compare

See the full ranking of 190 places →

More reference data data for Kenya

All data for Kenya →

Frequently asked questions

What is wage bill as a percentage of public expenditure in Kenya?
Wage bill as a percentage of public expenditure in Kenya was 16.1% in 2022, according to the World Bank.
What is the highest wage bill as a percentage of public expenditure recorded in Kenya?
The highest recorded value was 36.1% in 2004.
What is the lowest wage bill as a percentage of public expenditure recorded in Kenya?
The lowest recorded value was 16.1% in 2022.
How does Kenya rank for wage bill as a percentage of public expenditure?
Kenya ranks 174th out of 190 countries with data for 2022.
Is wage bill as a percentage of public expenditure rising or falling in Kenya?
Over the last ten years it is down 33.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Kenya data come from?
The figures come from the World Bank, published as part of Wage bill as a percentage of Public Expenditure. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 23 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Wage bill as a percentage of Public Expenditure in Kenya. Statizoid. Retrieved 24 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/wage-bill-as-a-percentage-of-public-expenditure/kenya/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/wage-bill-as-a-percentage-of-public-expenditure/kenya/">Wage bill as a percentage of Public Expenditure in Kenya</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Wage bill as a percentage of Public Expenditure
Source
World Bank
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
190 places, 4,096 data points, 2000–2022
Last refreshed