Kenya has ranked 10th among 54 African countries in tax and revenue mobilisation, scoring 67.9 points in the preliminary findings of the 2026 Ibrahim Index of African Governance, placing the country above the continental average despite significant differences in revenue collection capacity across Africa.
The index assessed governments’ capacity and efficiency in raising revenue in 2025. Its findings are scheduled for official launch in Cairo, Egypt, on October 31, 2026.
Kenya’s score of 67.9 points compares with the continental average of 50.0, highlighting its performance in raising domestic revenue to finance public services and government operations.
South Africa topped the continental ranking with 92.4 points, leading Kenya by 24.5 points. Libya recorded the lowest score, at just 2.8 points, illustrating the wide disparities in revenue mobilisation across African countries.
Kenya Records Improvement Over Nine Years
Kenya’s score increased by 4.6 points between 2016 and 2025, with the index classifying the country’s progress as “Increasing Improvement”.
The classification indicates that Kenya’s performance improved at a faster pace after 2021 than during the earlier part of the decade.
Kenya was among 16 African countries that recorded an overall improvement in their scores between 2016 and 2025 while also experiencing faster progress in the latter part of the period.
The improvement contrasts with the wider continental trend, where the average score for tax and revenue mobilisation declined by 1.5 points over the same nine-year period.
East Africa, however, recorded a more positive performance, with the East African Community registering a 2.7-point improvement between 2016 and 2025.
KRA Reports Higher Revenue Collections
The ranking comes after the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) reported collecting Sh2.038 trillion in the first nine months of the 2025/26 financial year, up from Sh1.829 trillion collected during the corresponding period a year earlier.
The increase reflects the authority’s ongoing efforts to strengthen tax compliance and improve revenue collection through digital systems and simplified processes.
KRA has attributed its improved performance to reforms including the electronic Tax Invoice Management System (eTIMS), the GavaConnect Developer Portal and a WhatsApp-based tax filing service powered by the Shuru AI chatbot.
The initiatives are intended to make tax compliance more accessible while improving the authority’s ability to monitor transactions and collect revenue.
Why Revenue Mobilisation Matters
The Ibrahim Index of African Governance highlights the importance of domestic revenue mobilisation in strengthening economic stability and reducing reliance on unpredictable external financing.
Governments with stronger revenue collection capacity have greater scope to fund public services, support development programmes and respond to economic shocks.
Kenya’s 10th-place ranking and improved score point to progress in revenue mobilisation, although the figures also show that performance varies considerably across the continent.
The index’s findings come as the government continues to rely on tax revenue to finance its spending commitments amid pressure to balance public investment, fiscal sustainability and the cost of living.
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