Lending interest rate in Kenya
Kenya: Lending interest rate was 16.6% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Lending interest rate in Kenya, 1971–2024
Source: International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in %.
Analysis
Kenya recorded 16.6% for lending interest rate in 2024.
That represents a change of up 22.1% on the previous year and up 0.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, lending interest rate in Kenya peaked at 36.2% in 1994 and was at its lowest, 9.0%, in 1971.
That places Kenya 27th out of 148 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 54 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 9.6% | 9.0% | 10.0% | 9 |
| 1980s | 14.2% | 10.6% | 17.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 27.0% | 18.8% | 36.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 15.8% | 12.5% | 22.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 15.5% | 12.4% | 19.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 13.3% | 12.0% | 16.6% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Kenya
More financial sector data for Kenya
- Net migration -27,330 (2025)
- Total reserves in months of imports 4.03 (2024)
- Net domestic credit 7.15 trillion current LCU (2023)
- Domestic credit to private sector by banks 29.7% (2024)
- Net foreign assets 796.06 billion current LCU (2023)
- Claims on central government, etc. 22.4% (2023)
- Monetary Sector credit to private sector 31.8% (2023)
- Domestic credit to private sector 31.8% (2023)
- Broad money 37.6% (2024)
- Official exchange rate 129.3 LCU per US$, period average (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is lending interest rate in Kenya?
- Lending interest rate in Kenya was 16.6% in 2024, according to International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest lending interest rate recorded in Kenya?
- The highest recorded value was 36.2% in 1994.
- What is the lowest lending interest rate recorded in Kenya?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.0% in 1971.
- How does Kenya rank for lending interest rate?
- Kenya ranks 27th out of 148 countries with data for 2024.
- Is lending interest rate rising or falling in Kenya?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Kenya data come from?
- The figures come from International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Lending interest rate (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 54 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Lending rate is the bank rate that usually meets the short- and medium-term financing needs of the private sector. This rate is normally differentiated according to creditworthiness of borrowers and objectives of financing. The terms and conditions attached to these rates differ by country, however, limiting their comparability.