Wealth share of the richest 1% in Kenya

Kenya: Wealth share of the richest 1% was 25.9% in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
25.9%
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
129th
of 215 countries
All-time high
46.9%
in 1970
All-time low
24.8%
in 2020
Years of data
56
1820–2024

Wealth share of the richest 1% in Kenya, 1820–2024

01020304050182019222024

Source: World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

The most recent figure for wealth share of the richest 1% in Kenya is 25.9%, measured in 2024.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 7.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, wealth share of the richest 1% in Kenya peaked at 46.9% in 1970 and was at its lowest, 24.8%, in 2020.

Kenya ranks 129th of 215 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 56 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1820s 41.8% 41.8% 41.8% 1
1850s 43.6% 43.6% 43.6% 1
1880s 45.7% 45.7% 45.7% 1
1900s 45.7% 45.7% 45.7% 1
1910s 45.6% 45.6% 45.6% 1
1920s 45.7% 45.7% 45.7% 1
1930s 45.8% 45.8% 45.8% 1
1940s 45.9% 45.9% 45.9% 1
1950s 46.1% 46.1% 46.1% 1
1960s 46.8% 46.8% 46.8% 1
1970s 46.9% 46.9% 46.9% 1
1980s 40.2% 40.2% 40.2% 10
1990s 34.8% 29.6% 40.2% 10
2000s 32.5% 30.6% 33.6% 10
2010s 27.5% 25.2% 30.1% 10
2020s 26.1% 24.8% 28.1% 5

Countries ranked near Kenya

  1. 126 South Korea 26.1% compare
  2. 127 Burkina Faso 26.1% compare
  3. 128 Mauritius 26.0% compare
  4. 130 Burundi 25.9% compare
  5. 131 Libya 25.9% compare
  6. 132 Sierra Leone 25.8% compare

See the full ranking of 215 places →

More reference data data for Kenya

All data for Kenya →

Frequently asked questions

What is wealth share of the richest 1% in Kenya?
Wealth share of the richest 1% in Kenya was 25.9% in 2024, according to World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest wealth share of the richest 1% recorded in Kenya?
The highest recorded value was 46.9% in 1970.
What is the lowest wealth share of the richest 1% recorded in Kenya?
The lowest recorded value was 24.8% in 2020.
How does Kenya rank for wealth share of the richest 1%?
Kenya ranks 129th out of 215 countries with data for 2024.
Is wealth share of the richest 1% rising or falling in Kenya?
Over the last ten years it is down 7.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Kenya data come from?
The figures come from World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Wealth share of the richest 1%. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 56 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Wealth share of the richest 1%
Unit
%
Source
World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
215 places, 10,553 data points, 1800–2024
Last refreshed

The share of wealth owned by the richest 1% of the population. Wealth is defined as the total value of non-financial and financial assets (housing, land, deposits, bonds, equities, etc.) held by households, minus their debts.