There’s Good News and Bad News About Kenya’s Ballooning National Debt

Yasuyoshi CHIBA / AFP

After Angola and Zambia, Kenya is high on the list of countries at risk of encountering severe debt distress due in part to extensive borrowing from China to fund major infrastructure projects like the Standard Gauge Railway and, more recently, its seemingly insatiable appetite for more debt. 

In August, Kenya’s national debt broke the psychologically important Sh7 trillion barrier with external debt growing by 15.6% in the March to August period of this year alone.

  • Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis.
  • Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations.
  • Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement in Africa and throughout the Global South.

China, Africa and the Global South... find out what’s happening.

Subscribe today for unlimited access.

OR

Already a subscriber? Log in Click Here to Learn More
by Eric Olander

Most Read

1
Developing Countries’ Debt Servicing Costs to China Are Significant, but Nowhere Near as Much as Other Creditors
2 Chinese Military Fans Discuss Why Indonesia Bought Rafale Instead of J-10C
3
Chinese Cargo Planes Secretly Ferrying Supplies to Iran, Claim Online Sleuths
4
Thailand in Last-Minute U.S. Talks as 36% Tariff Looms
5
Indonesia Goes Nuclear, Taps China and Russia for Modular Reactors
6 From J-10C to Kaan? Indonesia’s Fighter Jet Deal With Turkey Shocks Chinese Military Fans

You Might Like

Bloomberg: “Wave of Looming Defaults Poses the Biggest Test Ever for China’s Influence in [Africa]”

A new Bloomberg report projects a grim future for Africa’s economic stability as it becomes increasingly apparent that countries who borrowed heavily from China over the past decade are unlikely to be able ...

Right Now, It’s the U.S. Fed, Not China That’s Making African Borrowers Very Nervous

While one U.S. foreign policy analyst after another sounds the alarm on the threats posed by Chinese debt in Africa and elsewhere, the reality is that finance policymakers across the continent ...

Kenya Looks Beyond China for New Sources of Development Finance

Since the new year, Kenya has taken some rather bold steps to reduce its borrowing costs and ensure that new loans are “fairly priced.” The Treasury is seeking to refinance large portions of ...

Brookings Scholar Yun Sun Provides a Road Map For Chinese Debt Relief in Africa

There’s growing anticipation over how China will respond to Africa’s calls for debt relief amid the worsening COVID-19 crisis that is ravaging economies across the continent. So far, there have only been a ...

What is The China-Global South Project?

Independent

The China-Global South Project is passionately independent, non-partisan and does not advocate for any country, company or culture.

News

A carefully curated selection of the day’s most important China-Global South stories. Updated 24 hours a day by human editors. No bots, no algorithms.

Analysis

Diverse, often unconventional insights from scholars, analysts, journalists and a variety of stakeholders in the China-Global South discourse.

Networking

A unique professional network of China-Africa scholars, analysts, journalists and other practioners from around the world.

More about CGSP