The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics released its 2025 Remittances Household Survey Report on Tuesday showing total inflows of Ksh931.8 billion from June 2024 to May 2025. The United States accounted for 43.5 per cent of the total. Most funds went to household consumption rather than investment.
The report found that Ksh848.3 billion arrived as cash transfers and Ksh83.5 billion as in-kind support. Food and household goods absorbed 73.1 per cent of the money while education took 31.4 per cent and medical expenses 23.9 per cent. Only 8 per cent supported farming and 2.2 per cent went into real estate.
Women received 60.3 per cent of the remittances. The survey also recorded Ksh41.1 billion in outflows during the same period. High transaction costs were cited as the main challenge by 67.3 per cent of respondents.
A separate section on return migration showed that 59.2 per cent of 50,465 returned emigrants came home because their contracts ended. The United States contributed Ksh405 billion, helping support the Kenyan shilling.