Business & Markets · Lending interest rate · Kenya
Kenya’s lending interest rate rose to 16.6% in 2024.
16.6%
2024
Up 3 pp from 2023.
Updated 8 Oct 2026
In plain words
16.6%
What it is. The lending interest rate is the price banks in Kenya charge the private sector for loans that usually cover short- and medium-term financing needs. It works as an overall level for bank credit, so a particular borrower pays more or less depending on the size and risk of the loan. Interest on government borrowing and on lenders outside the banking system sits outside this measure.
Neither way is good in itself. A higher rate pays lenders and savers more and costs borrowers more, while a lower rate shifts the balance the other way. Which suits better depends on whether someone is borrowing or saving, and on how fast prices are rising. The latest figure is 16.6% in January 2024, up from 13.6% a year earlier, a rise of 3 percentage points. That is the highest reading since 2015, and well above the low of 12% in January 2020.
Why it matters. For Kenyan households and firms, a rate of 16.6% makes bank loans for stock, equipment or a home noticeably dearer than a year earlier, so some borrowing plans get delayed or scaled back. Savers and the banks that lend gain from the higher return. The 2020 low of 12% shows how much cheaper credit has been within this period.
| Period | Lending interest rate · Kenya |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 16.1% |
| 2016 | 16.6% |
| 2017 | 13.7% |
| 2018 | 13.1% |
| 2019 | 12.4% |
| 2020 | 12% |
| 2021 | 12.1% |
| 2022 | 12.3% |
| 2023 | 13.6% |
| 2024 | 16.6% |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0) · Licence: CC BY 4.0
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Strata-AF™ Data, Lending interest rate, Kenya, 2024; source World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0), retrieved 8 Oct 2026; https://data.strata-af.com/business/lending-rate/kenya
Data insights · Worked out from the published figures
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Methodology
Bank rate that usually meets the short- and medium-term financing needs of the private sector. Unit: %.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (series FR.INR.LEND), retrieved through the World Bank API and published under CC BY 4.0. Updated annually; the World Bank's own source notes apply.