Kenyans living abroad sent home remittances worth Ksh931.8 billion between June 2024 and May 2025, with a significant share of the money going towards food and household support rather than investment, a new report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) has revealed.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

The findings were unveiled on Tuesday, June 16, during the launch of the 2025 Remittances Household Survey Report, the first-ever nationwide household survey on remittances conducted in Kenya.

According to the report, food and household goods were the leading use of remittance inflows, with 73.1 per cent of recipient households indicating that they spent the money on the category.

The survey notes the growing role of diaspora earnings in supporting daily household needs amid rising living costs, with a large share of remittances being directed towards consumption rather than wealth creation.

📌 What You Need to Know

Education-related expenses ranked as the second-largest use of remittances, accounting for 31.4 per cent of responses, followed by medical expenses at 23.9 per cent.

Purchase of clothing accounted for 19.8 per cent, while rent and household utilities stood at 9.3 per cent.

The report further showed that only 8 per cent of remittance recipients used the funds for farming activities, while 3.1 per cent used the money to repay debts.

Construction projects for recipients accounted for 2.6 per cent of remittance use, while investment in real estate recorded the lowest share at 2.2 per cent .

Overall, Kenya received Ksh931.8 billion in remittance inflows during the reference period, comprising Ksh848.3 billion in cash remittances and Ksh83.5 billion in in-kind support such as goods and other non-cash transfers.

Cash remittances dominated the inflows, accounting for 91 per cent of the total value received by households, compared to 9 per cent for in-kind remittances.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke