• Kenya’s public debt rose to 11.81 trillion shillings ($91.3 billion), or 67.8% of GDP, in June 2025, up from 63% in 2024.

• The government spent 1.72 trillion shillings on debt service in 2024/25, with the bulk going to domestic lenders.

• The Treasury plans to extend debt maturities, refinance costly bonds, and rely more on concessional borrowing to ease repayment risks.

Kenya’s public debt stood at 11.81 trillion shillings ($91.3 billion), equivalent to 67.8% of GDP in June 2025, Finance Minister John Mbadi said on Oct. 7. The debt ratio increased from 63% in 2024.

Mbadi said the debt-to-GDP ratio was 63.7% in net present value terms, a level considered sustainable but with an elevated risk of distress.

Of the total debt, 6.33 trillion shillings was domestic, while 5.48 trillion shillings was external, owed to development partners and creditors such as the World Bank, the African Development Bank, China, and eurobond holders.

Cabinet Secretary Hon. FCPA John Mbadi (@JohnMbadiN ) today briefed financial journalists on the status of Kenya’s public debt, disclosing that it stood at Ksh 11.81 trillion (67.8 percent of GDP) as of June 2025. In present value terms, the debt was 63.7 percent of GDP,a level… pic.twitter.com/j2LH1SEAxP

— The National Treasury & Economic Planning (@KeTreasury) October 7, 2025

The government spent 1.72 trillion shillings servicing debt in the 2024/25 fiscal year. It paid 1.14 trillion shillings to domestic lenders and 579 billion shillings to foreign creditors.

Debt management remains politically sensitive in Kenya. Public protests against new taxes forced the government to revise the 2024/25 Finance Act and to launch an audit of public borrowing in September 2024. The withdrawal of the law delayed fiscal measures designed to strengthen revenue collection.

The government’s medium-term debt strategy for 2025 aims to lengthen maturities, reduce exposure to interest-rate and currency risks, and expand concessional borrowing.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its last review in November 2024, said Kenya’s debt remained sustainable but vulnerable. It warned of high risks of over-indebtedness on both external and overall public debt due to slow fiscal consolidation.

“The Treasury has launched a series of liability management operations, including refinancing costly bonds, extending debt maturities, and increasing concessional borrowing to improve sustainability indicators,” Mbadi said.

This article was initially published in French by Lydie Mobio

Adapted in English by Ange Jason Quenum