Bliss for a few – what we learnt from the consumption series

Here are eight things we have learnt about how Kenyans consume.

1. Nearly half (45 per cent) of what Kenyans consume goes to food and drink. This is an indicator of poverty because not much is left for other necessities, including clothing and shelter as well as any recreation or luxury items.
2. Kenyans are spending more than they earn setting themselves up for a debt trap. In 2013, 2014 and 2015, Kenyans' consumption exceeded what they earned by two per cent, three per cent and two per cent respectively.
3. More Kenyans are entering the classes of the super-rich. Knight Frank’s annual Wealth Report shows 202 Kenyans became new dollar millionaires in 2015, growing the number of dollar millionaires from 8,760 to 8,962.
4. On the other hand, low-income earners, who vastly outnumber the rich, struggle to save. For example, David, whom Newsplex spoke to, earns around 24,000 in a good month, but struggles to save Sh1,000.
5. When viewed by counties, residents of Nairobi spend themost per person, an average of Sh19,625 per month, more than twice the national average of Sh9,237 per month. This is likely because most of the richest Kenyans live in Nairobi, and their high earnings offset large numbers of low-income earners.
6. At Sh2,705 per month, the spending power of the average resident of Wajir, the lowest-ranked county, is less than a third the national average.
7. When counties are ranked in consumption by household, 32 counties have a consumption per household below the national average of Sh40,678. The consumption per person in the county in the middle, Nyeri (Sh35,507), is 13 per cent below the national average.
8. The average consumption per person rose from about Sh60,000 per year in 2010 to Sh70,000 in 2015. This is an overall growth rate of 17 per cent in the five-year period, or about 2.8 per cent per year.
9. Kenya’s consumption rate at 80 per cent of GDP in 2014 is the highest in the East African Community, followed closely by Burundi, whose rate has risen from 72 to 77 per cent over the same period. Kenya also far outstrips the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), with Brazil having the highest rate at 63 per cent in 2014, and advanced economies are usually below 59 per cent.
10. The value of imported cars has increased by 41 per cent between 2013 and 2015, from Sh83.4 billion to Sh117.6 billion respectively.