KEN · snapshot 2026-08-09
Kenya
HighOverall risk score
58.6
Percentile of scored universe
74th
Data coverage
93%
vs Australia (16.1)
+42.4
Category breakdown
Political Stability & Governance
Very High6 indicators · 100% coverage
Economic Resilience
Low7 indicators · 100% coverage
Financial & Currency Risk
High5 indicators · 100% coverage
Business Environment
Insufficient dataInsufficient data
Security & Crime
Very High4 indicators · 100% coverage
Climate & Social Compliance
Very High4 indicators · 100% coverage
Technology & Digital
High4 indicators · 100% coverage
Cultural Distance
Insufficient dataInsufficient data · not in overall score
Key risks and considerations
Kenya rates High for market entry — an overall risk score of 58.6, riskier than 74% of rated economies and 42 points riskier than Australia.
The main risk drivers are no double-tax agreement with Australia, no investment-treaty protection with Australia, pervasive organised crime (7.2/10), elevated sovereign credit risk (OECD Category 7 / 7) and high natural-disaster risk.
Relative strengths: inflation, GDP growth, current account all rate Low, the least-risky rating band.
Possible mitigations
- Political violence. Consider political-violence and political-risk insurance, keep asset footprints light, and maintain an exit/continuity plan with defined triggers.
- Organised crime. Expect extortion, counterfeiting, and cargo-theft exposure: harden supply-chain security, vet logistics partners and distributors carefully, and avoid cash-heavy channels.
- Corruption and legal recourse. Run a strong anti-bribery program (Australian foreign-bribery law follows you abroad), conduct third-party due diligence, and seat dispute resolution offshore — arbitration clauses (e.g. SIAC or HKIAC) beat local courts.
- Payment security. Elevated sovereign/transfer risk: prefer confirmed letters of credit or export credit insurance over open account terms, and watch for import-payment restrictions.
- Banking friction. FATF-listed jurisdiction: expect enhanced due diligence, slower cross-border payments, and possible correspondent-banking gaps — keep KYC documentation impeccable and allow longer settlement times.
- Withholding tax. No double-tax agreement with Australia: model withholding tax on dividends, interest, and royalties into the business case — it can decide the entity-vs-export question.
Generated automatically from this snapshot’s indicator data — a starting point for analysis, not advice.
Indicators
| Indicator | Value | Risk score | Rating | Australia | Data source year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Political Stability & Governance | ||||||
| Voice & accountability (WGI) | 50.6 | 58.3 | High | |||
| Government effectiveness (WGI) | 45.5 | 63.7 | High | |||
| Regulatory quality (WGI) | 49.6 | 60.7 | High | |||
| Rule of law (WGI) | 49.0 | 63.0 | High | |||
| Control of corruption (WGI) | 31.6 | 75.6 | Very High | |||
| Political stability & absence of violence/terrorism (WGI PV) | 42.7 | 87.2 | Very High | |||
| Economic Resilience | ||||||
| GDP growth (3-yr average, %) | 5.0% (3-yr avg) | 15.0 | Low | |||
| Growth volatility (10-yr std dev, pp) | ±2.0 pp | 16.1 | Low | |||
| Government net debt (% of GDP) | 66.3 | 60.0 | High | |||
| Inflation (CPI %, vs income-group target) | 4.1 | 10.0 | Low | |||
| Current account (3-yr average, % of GDP) | -2.7% (3-yr avg) | 15.0 | Low | |||
| FX reserves (months of import cover) | 4.0 months | 30.0 | Medium | |||
| GDP per capita (PPP, current intl $) | $7,016 | 77.1 | Very High | |||
| Financial & Currency Risk | ||||||
| Capital-account openness (Chinn-Ito KAOPEN) | 0.70 | 20.0 | Low | |||
| Currency stability (regime-aware classification) | Floating — low volatility (<8%) | 15.0 | Low | |||
| Sovereign credit risk (OECD country risk classification) | Category 7 / 7 | 92.0 | Very High | |||
| FATF listing (grey / black list status) | Grey list | 45.0 | Medium | |||
| Double-tax agreement with Australia | None in force | 100.0 | Very High | |||
| Business Environment | ||||||
| FDI regulatory restrictiveness (OECD FDIRRI) | 0.22 | 65.1 | High | |||
| Logistics performance (World Bank LPI) | 2.8 | — | Insufficient data | |||
| Business readiness (World Bank B-READY pillar average) | — | — | Insufficient data | |||
| Investment protection with Australia in force (BIT or FTA investment chapter) | None in force | 100.0 | Very High | |||
| Security & Crime | ||||||
| Armed-conflict intensity (battle deaths per 100k, 5-yr) | 0.2 | 80.4 | Very High | |||
| Intentional homicide rate (per 100k) | 4.9 | 67.2 | High | |||
| Organised crime pervasiveness (GI-TOC criminality score) | 7.2 | 94.5 | Very High | |||
| DFAT Smartraveller advisory level | Level 2 — Exercise a high degree of caution | 40.0 | Medium | |||
| Climate & Social Compliance | ||||||
| Physical climate vulnerability (ND-GAIN vulnerability) | 0.482 | 64.5 | High | |||
| Disaster risk (INFORM Risk Index) | 6.0 | 87.7 | Very High | |||
| Modern-slavery prevalence (per 1,000) | 5.0 | 45.3 | Medium | |||
| Modern-slavery vulnerability score | 66.2 | 80.9 | Very High | |||
| Technology & Digital | ||||||
| E-government development (UN EGDI) | 0.6 | 56.2 | High | |||
| Internet users (% of population) | 35.0 | 86.8 | Very High | |||
| Cybercrime origination (World Cybercrime Index) | 0.3 | 30.0 | Medium | |||
| Secure internet servers (per million people) | 399.7 | 62.6 | High | |||
Per-indicator ratings are quartile bands of the 0–100 risk score. The Australia column shows the same indicator’s raw value for the Australian baseline in this snapshot.
Cultural distance
GLOBE 2004 societal practices · rated on distance from Australia · not in the overall score
Context — not scored
Unemployment
5.4%
Displayed, never scored: ambiguous for an entrant and unreliable where informal employment dominates. (2025, ILO modelled)
Trade agreement
No Australian FTA in force
Market access is decision-relevant but a benefit, not a risk — kept out of the rating.
Regional advisories
Higher levels apply in some areas (up to Level 4)
DFAT Smartraveller sub-national advice where it exceeds the overall level.
Compare with
A score means little on its own. These economies scored closest to Kenya in this snapshot, which is the fastest way to see whether the rating is telling you something specific or something regional.