Nairobi, Nakuru and Kiambu Counties Top Contributors to Kenya’s Wealth

Nairobi, Nakuru, Kiambu and Mombasa respectively   are the highest contributors to the national wealth among Kenya’s 47 counties.

This is according to a new Gross County Product (GCP) Survey by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS). The survey which is the first ever provides a measure of how much each country contributes to Kenya’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Nairobi is the top contributor with a GCP of 21.7% in a five year period of the study from 2013-2017. The other top 10 counties include Nakuru (6.1 percent), Kiambu (5.5 per cent), Mombasa (4.7 per cent), Machakos (3.2 percent), Meru (2.9 per cent) Kisumu (2.9 per cent), Nyandarua (2.6 per cent) Kakamega (2.4 per cent) and Uasin-Gishu (2.3 per cent).

Isiolo at 0.2 per cent and Samburu at 0.3 per cent trailed the list of contributors to the national wealth, according to the report.

KNBS director-general Zachary Mwangi said the data for the estimation of the GCP 2019 was drawn from the one regularly collected by the agency through recurrent and intermittent surveys, censuses and administrative records. A survey conducted in all 47 counties in 2018 supplemented the existing data sets.

On her part, the chairperson of the Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA) Dr. Jane Kiringai said the study had identified the missing piece of the jig-saw puzzle that is revenue sharing.  “It is expected to help shape the revenue sharing debate,” she added.

“The overall objective of the GCP estimates is to provide a picture of the economic structure and relative size of the economy for each county,” says the study “The estimates are expected to be instrumental in informing economic growth and supporting county level decision making and economic planning,” it emphasizes.

The study tracks the monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced within each of the 47 counties.