Kenya Ranks 10th in Africa in Tax and Revenue Mobilisation

Kenya has climbed to 10th place among African nations in terms of tax and revenue collection, according to the 2026 Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG). The country's score of 67.9 out of 100 marks a 4.6-point increase since 2016, with the report classifying Kenya's progress as "Increasing Improvement," indicating an accelerating pace of improvement since 2021.

The IIAG, which assesses governance performance across Africa over a ten-year period, places South Africa at the top of the continent with a score of 92.4. Other top performers include Côte d'Ivoire at 83.3, Namibia at 80, Lesotho at 79, and Senegal at 77.8. Kenya's improved ranking comes as the government aims to raise its tax-to-GDP ratio from around 13.5% to 20% through the Medium-Term Revenue Strategy (MTRS) 2024/25-2026/27.

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has been focusing on increasing revenue collections by improving tax compliance and administration. KRA's official data for the 2025/26 financial year provides the latest performance figures on the authority's collections. Despite this progress, Kenya's tax and revenue mobilisation score remains significantly lower than that of the continent's top performers, particularly South Africa, whose score has remained consistently high around the 90-point mark throughout the assessed period.