• Kenya’s economy grew 4.9% year on year in Q3 2025, up from 4.2% a year earlier.
• Construction, mining, hospitality and real estate drove growth amid firmer inflation.
• Inflation rose to 4.42%, while full-year growth forecasts cluster around 5%.

Kenya’s economy expanded 4.9% in the third quarter of 2025, up from 4.2% in the same period of 2024, according to data published on Tuesday, Jan. 6, by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.

The statistics office said strong performances in construction, mining, hospitality and real estate drove the acceleration in growth.

Construction output grew 6.7% during the period. Mining and quarrying expanded 16.6%, while accommodation and food services rose 17.7%, KNBS data showed. Real estate grew 5.7%, while financial and insurance activities expanded 5.4%. Transport and storage services posted growth of 5.2%, the bureau added. Agriculture, forestry and fishing grew 3.2% between July 1 and Sept. 30, 2025.

KNBS said inflation averaged 4.42% in the third quarter, up from 4.08% a year earlier. The bureau attributed the increase mainly to higher prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages.

In August 2025, President William Ruto said East Africa’s largest economy would grow 5.6% in 2025, up from 4.7% in 2024. That projection exceeds forecasts from the Finance Ministry at 5.3%, the central bank at 5.2% and the World Bank at 4.9%.

Walid Kéfi