A section of Nairobi. file photo | nmg
Summary
- The Kenya Integrated Household Budget Survey (KIHBS) found that a fifth of Nairobi and Mombasa residents own 86.4 per cent and 78.2 per cent of the wealth, respectively.
- In Nairobi, the survey found that 40 per cent of residents at the bottom of the income pyramid control a mere 0.4 per cent of total expenditure, a figure that rises to 2.7 per cent for 60 per cent of the population.
- On average, nearly 60 per cent of Kenya’s wealth is in the hands of a small group at the top of the economic pyramid, who make a fifth of the more than 45.37 million population in 2016. The household budget report is based on feedback from 24,000 households.
Kenya’s two top cities Nairobi and Mombasa are also the nation’s
most unequal in terms of income distribution, according to a
newly-released report that has also uncovered the skewed distribution of
wealth countrywide.
The Kenya Integrated Household Budget Survey (KIHBS) found that a fifth of Nairobi and Mombasa residents own 86.4 per cent and 78.2 per cent of the wealth, respectively.
The Kenya Integrated Household Budget Survey (KIHBS) found that a fifth of Nairobi and Mombasa residents own 86.4 per cent and 78.2 per cent of the wealth, respectively.
In
Nairobi, the survey found that 40 per cent of residents at the bottom
of the income pyramid control a mere 0.4 per cent of total expenditure, a
figure that rises to 2.7 per cent for 60 per cent of the population.
The
findings underscore the tough policy choices that Kenya must make to
minimise the growing income inequalities whose impact is known to spread
beyond the economic sphere.
The survey further found that 60 per cent of Mombasa residents control only 4.7 per cent of resources in the port city.
On average, nearly 60 per cent of Kenya’s wealth is in the hands
of a small group at the top of the economic pyramid, who make a fifth
of the more than 45.37 million population in 2016. The household budget
report is based on feedback from 24,000 households.
The
survey found that peri-urban areas have the largest inequality gaps
nationally where 60 per cent of residents at the bottom control just 5.7
per cent of the total wealth compared to 29.9 per cent in major cities
and towns and 41.5 per cent in rural areas.
“Over space
across the 47 counties, the distribution of expenditure by quintiles
shows that for all counties that exhibited high poverty rates, the two
bottom quintiles control relatively larger shares of expenditure
compared to counties depicting relatively lower poverty rates,” the
report says.
“On the other hand, counties with
significant components of urban population present skewed expenditures
in favour of the uppermost quintiles.”
Distribution of
wealth in rural areas has, however, improved in the latest survey, which
found that 80 per cent of the population controlled 67.4 per cent of
the resources in 2016 compared to 47.9 per cent in 2006.
ALSO READ: Why poverty plagues Africa despite riches
KNBS’ 2006 survey covered inequality in rural areas only, and did not include Nairobi and Mombasa.
Treasury
secretary Henry Rotich said there was an “overall decline” in
inequality and a “general improvement” in living standards countrywide
over the 10 years through June 2016.
Mr Rotich
attributed the improvement to completion of key infrastructure projects
worth trillions of shillings, that have created jobs, opened up areas
that were largely inaccessible to business and improved living
standards.
“Over the last decade, the government
invested heavily in key infrastructure such as roads, rail, ports,
housing and energy,” Mr Rotich said, adding that investment in social
sector, including equipping of hospitals and increased access to
maternal healthcare, introduction of cash transfers to the vulnerable
through Social Safety Net Programme and increased capitation grant in
education sector had helped tilt the scales in favour of the poor.”
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