June 17th, 2026

Kenyan households received Sh931.8 billion in remittances between June 2024 and May 2025, according to the 2025 Remittances Household Survey, conducted in August 2025 by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) in partnership with the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), FSD-Kenya, and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)

Overall, the survey confirms that remittances play a critical role in supporting household livelihoods. Among households surveyed, 42.3 per cent reported remittances as a supplementary source of income, 36.4 per cent as additional income, and 22.3 per cent as their main source of livelihood.

The United States of America was the largest source of inflows, contributing 43.5 per cent of total remittances, followed by Germany and Australia. Formal channels remain the preferred mode for remittance transfers, with banks and mobile money platforms accounting for over 92.0 per cent of inflows.

A strong positive relationship was observed between financial inclusion and remittance receipt, with 82.5 per cent of recipients owning mobile money accounts and 55.4 per cent holding bank accounts. Despite this, the uptake of investment-oriented financial products remains low: only 6.5 per cent of recipients owned securities, 5.4 per cent held microfinance accounts, and 1.6 per cent held crypto accounts. Trends in remittance flows were mixed, with 29.9 per cent of households reporting increased receipts compared to the previous year, while 10.3 per cent experienced declines. Employment opportunities and higher income prospects were the main drivers of remittance growth, whereas economic uncertainties and financial pressures contributed to reductions.

Households in Kenya sent a total of KSh 40.5 billion in remittances during the reference period, with cash transfers accounting for 89.5 per cent of total outflows. These remittance flows were primarily directed to students abroad, who received more than two-thirds of the total, highlighting education as a major driver of outflows from Kenya.

The prominence of education-related remittances underscores the critical role of households in supporting tuition, living expenses, and settlement costs for Kenyans studying overseas. In addition, the concentration of outflows to students suggests that remittances are not only a source of household support but also an investment in human capital, with potential long-term benefits for both recipients and the broader economy.

The fastest remittance corridors were the United States of America, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, where most transfers were received on the same day. While cash transfers dominate, in kind remittances continue to play a significant role, particularly among households with lower educational attainment and those residing in rural areas.

Socio-demographic analysis shows that rural households constitute the majority of both remittance recipients and senders, highlighting a pronounced rural-urban divide in remittance patterns. Educational attainment influences the form of remittances: urban and more educated households predominantly receive cash, whereas rural and less educated households rely more on in-kind transfers. Return migration was primarily driven by family reunification and the expiry of work contracts, linking household remittance dynamics to broader migration trends and illustrating the interplay between migration decisions and financial flows.

The findings underscore the need for policies that reduce transaction costs, expand access to affordable formal transfer channels, and leverage remittances for education, health, and environmentally sustainable investments. They also highlight the importance of diaspora engagement in advancing Kenya’s Vision 2030 and supporting the implementation of the Diaspora Policy

The 2025 Remittances Household Survey is the first to measure both inflows and outflows of money at household level, filling a gap left by administrative data from banks and mobile money operators, which capture transaction volumes, but not how households receive, use, or are affected by remittances.

Click here for the 2025 Remittances Household Survey (RHS) report

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