The informal sector in Kenya employed roughly 15.96 million individuals in 2022. This corresponded with over 83 percent of the total number of people employed in the country. Service activities absorbed most individuals engaged in the informal sector: 9.32 million worked in wholesale and retail trade, hotels, and restaurants. Manufacturing came next, being the source of employment for roughly 3.18 million Kenyans.
Kenya’s urban informal economy
Employment in the informal sector comprehends people working in informal enterprises, those not registered by the registrar of companies. This includes informal traders and artisans that produce goods and services meant for the market. As of 2019, Kenya had nearly five million informal enterprises, most of them located in urban areas. Wholesale and retail trade, as well as repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, made up the predominant activity, accounting for over 60 percent of the Kenyan informal establishments.
Driver of employment generation
The informal sector is critical for job creation in Kenya. It generated roughly 768 thousand new jobs in 2019, against 78.4 thousand created in the formal sector. In this scenario, informal businesses have become the main labor market entry for young Kenyans. As of 2019, individuals aged 18-34 years formed the majority of employees in informal enterprises in the country, with a nearly equal proportion between men and women.
Individuals engaged in the informal sector in Kenya in 2022, by activity
(in 1,000s)
Characteristic
Number of individuals in thousands
Wholesale and retail trade, hotels and restaurants
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Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. (May 1, 2023). Individuals engaged in the informal sector in Kenya in 2022, by activity (in 1,000s) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved August 24, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1134287/informal-sector-employment-in-kenya-by-activity/
Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. "Individuals engaged in the informal sector in Kenya in 2022, by activity (in 1,000s)." Chart. May 1, 2023. Statista. Accessed August 24, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1134287/informal-sector-employment-in-kenya-by-activity/
Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. (2023). Individuals engaged in the informal sector in Kenya in 2022, by activity (in 1,000s). Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: August 24, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1134287/informal-sector-employment-in-kenya-by-activity/
Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. "Individuals Engaged in The Informal Sector in Kenya in 2022, by Activity (in 1,000s)." Statista, Statista Inc., 1 May 2023, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1134287/informal-sector-employment-in-kenya-by-activity/
Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, Individuals engaged in the informal sector in Kenya in 2022, by activity (in 1,000s) Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1134287/informal-sector-employment-in-kenya-by-activity/ (last visited August 24, 2024)
Individuals engaged in the informal sector in Kenya in 2022, by activity (in 1,000s) [Graph], Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, May 1, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1134287/informal-sector-employment-in-kenya-by-activity/