A majority of Kenyans returning from abroad are coming back because their employment contracts or jobs end, according to a new report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) covering the period from June 2024 to May 2025.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

The 2025 Remittances Household Survey Report released on Tuesday, June 16, shows that 59.2 per cent of returned emigrants, representing 29,892 individuals out of a total of 50,465, cited the expiry of contracts or termination of employment as the main reason for their return to Kenya.

“Most returned emigrants reported the expiry of employment contracts or job termination as the main reason for returning,” the report stated.

Surveyed individuals reported other job-related reasons for returning, including job transfers, which accounted for 0.3 per cent (164 individuals).

📌 What You Need to Know

Beyond employment-driven relocations, a share of returnees reported coming back for economic reintegration purposes, such as entrepreneurship and agriculture.

According to the data, 7.6 per cent (3,827 individuals) returned with plans to start a business in the country.

A further 4.9 per cent (2,485 individuals) said they returned to look for farming land, indicating a segment of returnees seeking opportunities in agriculture .

Another 2.2 per cent (1,104 individuals) reported returning to Kenya in search of paid employment after their time abroad.

Non-economic reasons accounted for a significantly smaller proportion of return migration across the period under review.

These included refugee or asylum-related returns at 0.6 per cent (327 individuals) and returns for school or training at 0.2 per cent (87 individuals).

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke