Publication:
Kenya Economic Update, December 2024: Special Focus on Women's Economic Empowerment

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Files in English
English PDF (7.2 MB)
211 downloads
English Text (421.14 KB)
12 downloads
Date
2024-12-16
ISSN
Published
2024-12-16
Editor(s)
Abstract
Kenya’s macroeconomic environment improved in 2024, following a tighter macroeconomic policy framework. Still, GDP growth is decelerating as Kenya faced a multiplicity of challenges during the year. Broadening economic participation through women’s economic empowerment is essential for easing Kenya’s socioeconomic pressures. The government of Kenya is committed to advancing women’s economic empowerment through a progressive legal and policy framework; however, significant gender gaps in economic outcomes persist. Persistent gender economic gaps in Kenya are driven by a complex interplay of factors across the life cycle. Key areas such as early childhood development, education, age at family formation, sexual and reproductive health, and social norms are central to understanding women’s economic outcomes. Achieving lasting progress in women’s economic empowerment requires a comprehensive, multisectoral approach that addresses the interconnected challenges women face throughout their lives. A successful strategy also relies on timely, high-quality sex-and-gender-disaggregated data, including information on vulnerable populations such as the poor, women in ASALs, and refugees. This data is crucial for developing effective policies and tracking progress toward women’s economic empowerment. Promoting women’s economic empowerment does not mean leaving men behind; correcting economic gender imbalances benefits everyone and contributes to the county's overall development.
Link to Data Set
Citation
World Bank Group. 2024. Kenya Economic Update, December 2024: Special Focus on Women's Economic Empowerment. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/42541 License: CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO.
Associated URLs
Associated content
Report Series
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue

Related items

Showing items related by metadata.

  • Publication
    Kenya Economic Update, December 2014, No. 11
    (World Bank, Nairobi, 2014-12) World Bank Group
    This is the eleventh edition of the Kenya Economic Update. The special focus of this update examines the structural factors underpinning the poor performance of the manufacturing sector. Drawing on recent firm-level data from the 2010 Industrial Census and the 2013 Enterprise Survey. It investigates the extent to which the sector's lack of dynamism reflects problems in Kenya's business environment, which compares poorly to regional neighbors' on several manufacturing-relevant dimensions. The report has four main messages: First, Kenya begins 2015 in a sound economic position. After growing an estimated 5.4 percent in 2014, its economy is poised to be among the fastest growing in the region, with growth projected at 6.0 percent in 2015, 6.6 percent in 2016, and 7.0 percent in 2017. Second, the external sector remains weak and vulnerable, as import growth continue to outpace export growth and short-term flows finance the current account deficit. The large deficit points to underlying structural weaknesses in Kenya's economy, which need to be addressed. Third, Kenya needs to increase the competitiveness of the manufacturing sector so that it can grow, export, and create much-needed jobs. As a share of GDP, Kenya's manufacturing sector has been stagnant in recent years, and it has lost international market share; lastly, the weak business environmentis a key constraint for the manufacturing sector. Obstacles to doing business affect this sector more than many others because manufacturing needs access to capital for investments, infrastructure to import inputs and export and distribute finished products, affordable and reliable electricity to produce, labor to man operations, and fair and streamlined regulations and trade policies that allow firms to compete.
  • Publication
    Uganda Economic Update, 18th Edition, December 2021
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-12) World Bank
    Uganda’s economy was recovering well, up until the second wave of COVID-19 infections and subsequent lockdown in mid-2021. Since then, activity has rebounded – much like after the first lockdown – but the country is likely to still face a stop-start recovery until there is wider coverage of the COVID-19 vaccine. Notwithstanding this recovery, there has been a rise in poverty and – with the shift back to agriculture for some workers – an increase in household vulnerabilities. We have also seen a widening of inequalities, which have been most severe in the education sector, where schools have now been fully or partially closed for longer than any other country in the world. As a result, Uganda has a long way to go in its quest to build-back-better. Eighteenth Uganda Economic Update includes the special topic of Putting Women at the Center of Uganda’s Economic Revival. In line with the structure of earlier editions of the Uganda Economic Update series, this report reviews recent economic developments – with particular attention paid to the effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic – provides an outlook for the macro-economy, and then delves into the special topic.
  • Publication
    Kenya Economic Update, December 2011
    (World Bank, Nairobi, 2011-12) World Bank
    Kenya is entering a decisive year. Three main developments will make 2012 extraordinary. First, Kenya will hold national elections for the first time since the traumatic post-election violence of 2007-08, which ended Kenya's high growth momentum abruptly. Second, Kenya's economy will need to navigate through a severe economic storm, which could well become a hurricane, especially if Europe enters into a recession. Third, the country will implement its most ambitious governance reforms ever, namely the devolution of responsibility to forty-seven new counties. Kenya's policy makers will need to display tremendous skill and steadfast leadership in order to balance the need for fiscal prudence, with ensuring that resource flows to new local governments are sufficient to meet their needs. High expectations of the promise of devolution need to be met by equally high quality planning and execution of its delivery. Kenya will enter 2012 from a weaker-than expected economic position. Kenya's economy is navigating rough economic waters, where existing structural weaknesses have been compounded by short-term shocks. The most visible sign of Kenya's economic challenge is the depreciating shilling, which reached an all time low against the US Dollar in October 2011. The elements behind this situation are high international food and fuel prices, the drought compounded by conflict in the horn of Africa, the Euro crisis, widening fiscal and current account deficits, and major inefficiencies in Kenya's agriculture sector. The recent developments are also undermining one of Kenya's main strengths over the last decade: the credibility and predictability of its macroeconomic policies.
  • Publication
    Zambia Economic Brief, December 2014, Issue 4 : Financial Services - Reaching Every Zambian
    (Washington, DC, 2014-12) World Bank Group
    Zambia s economy is estimated to grow around 6.0 percent in 2014, slower than the 6.7 percent in the previous two years. Growth comes from a bumper maize harvest; rapid expansion in the construction industry supported in part by public investment in roads; and continued strong growth in services. Following the large fiscal deficit of 6.6 percent in 2013, the economy experienced turbulence during the first half of the year when the kwacha depreciated sharply against the U.S. dollar and other currencies, and inflation pressure increased. However, in response to policy actions, the kwacha stabilized subsequently and regained about half of the lost value, and inflation pressure also ebbed. Average inflation in 2014 is expected to be around 7.8 percent, higher than the targeted 6.5 percent and the 2013 average of 7.0 percent.
  • Publication
    Gender and Economic Growth in Kenya : Unleashing the Power of Women
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2007) Ellis, Amanda; Cutura, Jozefina; Dione, Nouma; Gillson, Ian; Manuel, Clare; Thongori, Judy
    This report examines the legal, administrative, and regulatory barriers that are preventing women in Kenya from contributing fully to the Kenyan economy. Building on the 2004 Foreign Investment and Advisory Service (FIAS) report, "Improving the Commercial Legal Framework and Removing Administrative and Regulatory Barriers to Investment," this study looks at the bureaucratic barriers facing women in Kenya through a gender lens. The report makes specific recommendations to address gender-related barriers in the context of ongoing government and donor initiatives to encourage private sector development as the key driver of poverty reduction and economic growth, in line with Kenya's Economic Recovery Strategy for Wealth and Employment Creation 2003-2007 (ERS). Addressing these constraints will not only allow women to make a full contribution to the economy but also improve their livelihoods and those of their families and help create a more enabling environment for all businesses in Kenya.

Users also downloaded

Showing related downloaded files

  • Publication
    Kenya Country Climate and Development Report
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-11-16) World Bank Group
    The Kenya Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) aims to identify the impact of climate change on Kenya’s economy. Through robust and rigorous analyses that cover climate impact modeling across multiple scenarios and the overall economy, sectoral issues, investment needs and potential sources of financing, the CCDR aims to identify high impact intervention areas that would support climate positive development. Action against climate change is imperative to avoid setting back Kenya’s aspiration of being an upper-middle-income country and reducing poverty in the next decade. In a business-as-usual scenario, inaction under different climate futures could dampen real GDP by 1.25 to 2.4 percent by 2030 and 3.61 to 7.25 percent by 2050 compared to the baseline. Climate impacts Kenya’s human, natural and physical capital and the impacts vary by region. By 2050, no climate action could also result in 1.1 million additional poor compared to the baseline under the pessimistic climate scenario, with communities in the arid and semi-arid areas being most hard-hit. Kenya can also be a key player in the global climate solutions arena if it maintains a low-carbon growth path. Kenya stands out among African and lower-middle-income countries due to its well-diversified and primarily low-carbon energy mix, with about 90 percent of electricity generation coming from renewable resources. Kenya could also generate carbon offsets through large-scale landscape restoration. The CCDR identifies five key action areas that could enable Kenya to meet its growth aspirations in an inclusive and climate-resilient manner. The three multisectoral action areas are: managing water, land, and forest for climate-resilient agriculture and rural economies; delivering people-centered resilience with climate-informed basic services and urbanization; and strengthening Kenya’s competitiveness in international markets through shifts in energy, transport, and digital systems. It is necessary to complement these the three action areas with two crosscutting actions areas - improving integration and coordination of climate action in policy, planning, and investment decision-making across the economy, and developing and operationalizing policy measures for mobilizing climate finance from private and public sector. Implementing these action areas should account for regional differences to climate risk exposure.
  • Publication
    FY15 Kenya Country Opinion Survey Report
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-09) World Bank Group
    The Country Opinion Survey in Kenya assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Kenya perceive the WBG. It provides the WBG with systematic feedback from national and local governments, multilateral/bilateral agencies, media, academia, the private sector, and civil society in Kenya on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Kenya; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Kenya; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Kenya; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in Kenya.
  • Publication
    Kenya Country Opinion Survey Report (July 2012 - June 2013)
    (Washington, DC, 2014-03-14) World Bank Group
    The Country Opinion Survey for FY2012 in Kenya assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Kenya perceive the WBG. It provides the WBG with systematic feedback from national and local governments, multilateral/bilateral agencies, media, academia, the private sector, and civil society in Kenya on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Kenya; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Kenya; 3) overall impressions of the WBG s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Kenya; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG s future role in Kenya.
  • Publication
    The African Continental Free Trade Area
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2020-07-27) World Bank; Maliszewska, Maryla; Ruta, Michele
    The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement will create the largest free trade area in the world, measured by the number of countries participating. The pact will connect 1.3 billion people across 55 countries with a combined GDP valued at $3.4 trillion. It has the potential to lift 30 million people out of extreme poverty by 2035. But achieving its full potential will depend on putting in place significant policy reforms and trade facilitation measures. The scope of the agreement is considerable. It will reduce tariffs among member countries and cover policy areas, such as trade facilitation and services, as well as regulatory measures, such as sanitary standards and technical barriers to trade. It will complement existing subregional economic communities and trade agreements by offering a continent-wide regulatory framework and by regulating policy areas—such as investment and intellectual property rights protection—that have not been covered in most subregional agreements. The African Continental Free Trade Area: Economic and Distributional Effects quantifies the long-term implications of the agreement for growth, trade, poverty reduction, and employment. Its analysis goes beyond that in previous studies that have largely focused on tariff and nontariff barriers in goods—by including the effects of services and trade facilitation measures, as well as the distributional impacts on poverty, employment, and wages of female and male workers. It is designed to guide policy makers as they develop and implement the extensive range of reforms needed to realize the substantial rewards that the agreement offers. The analysis shows that full implementation of AfCFTA could boost income by 7 percent, or nearly $450 billion, in 2014 prices and market exchange rates. The agreement would also significantly expand African trade—particularly intraregional trade in manufacturing. In addition, it would increase employment opportunities and wages for unskilled workers and help close the wage gap between men and women.
  • Publication
    Commodity Markets Outlook, October 2024
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-29) World Bank
    Commodity prices are expected to decrease by 5 percent in 2025 and 2 percent in 2026. The projected declines are led by oil prices but tempered by price increases for natural gas and a stable outlook for metals and agricultural raw materials. The possibility of escalating conflict in the Middle East represents a substantial near-term upside risk to energy prices, with potential knock-on consequences for other commodities. However, over the forecast horizon, longer-term dynamics—including decelerating global oil demand, diversifying oil production, and ample oil supply capacity—suggest sizable downside risks to oil prices, especially if OPEC+ unwinds its latest production cuts. There are also dual risks to industrial commodity demand stemming from economic activity. On the one hand, concerted stimulus in China and above-trend growth in the United States could push commodity prices higher. On the other, weaker-than-anticipated global industrial activity could dampen them. Following several overlapping global shocks in the early 2020s, which drove parallel swings in commodity prices, commodity markets appear to be departing from a period of tight synchronization. A Special Focus analyzes commodity price synchronization over time and considers the relative importance across commodity cycles of a wide range of demand and supply shocks, including global demand shocks and shocks specific to different commodity markets. It concludes that, while supply shocks were the dominant commodity price driver in the early 2000s and around the global financial crisis, post-pandemic price movements have been more substantially shaped by commodity-specific shocks, such as those related to conflicts.