Kenya’s 125 richest now richer than 77% of population, according to Oxfam

Kenya’s wealth gap has reached alarming levels, with just 125 of the country’s wealthiest individuals now controlling more wealth than 77% of the population, or 42.6 million citizens.

This extreme disparity was revealed in the Oxfam Kenya Status of Inequality Report.

Titled Kenya’s Inequality Crisis: The Great Economic Divide, the report highlights the concentration of wealth at the very top.

Oxfam notes that if the fortunes of these 125 individuals were stacked in Sh100 notes, the pile would nearly cover all of Nairobi County.

Since 2015, the number of people living on less than KSh 130 per day has risen by 7 million, a 37% increase.

Meanwhile, CEOs in Kenya’s top companies earn 214 times more than secondary school teachers, underscoring the massive income disparities across professions.

Gender inequality further deepens the crisis. Women earn just KSh 65 for every KSh 100 earned by men, and are five times more likely to engage in unpaid care work, and face significant barriers in land ownership.

Only 13% of women hold legal rights to agricultural land, dropping to 4% among women in the poorest households. Asset ownership in male-headed households is three times higher than in female-headed households.

Rising inequality is compounded by underfunded public services and debt obligations.

In 2024, Sh68 of every Sh100 collected in taxes went toward debt servicing, leaving limited resources for education and healthcare.

Children from the poorest 20% of households now receive five fewer years of schooling on average than those from the richest 20%.

Oxfam’s report warns that without urgent reforms, Kenya’s economic divide will continue to widen, disproportionately affecting women, the poor, and vulnerable communities.