35 African countries whose economies are smaller than Nairobi’s

Nairobi has tightened its grip as Kenya’s economic engine, contributing an average 27.5% of the country’s Gross Value Added (GVA) over the last five years, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) Gross County Product 2024 report. 

The capital’s economic size reached Sh 3.81 trillion in 2023, up from Sh 2.60 trillion in 2019, underscoring its unmatched weight in the national economy.

KNBS data shows Nairobi’s dominance is stable and structural rather than cyclical. 

Across 2019–2023, Nairobi accounted for more than a quarter of Kenya’s production every single year, while the next tier of counties remained far behind: Kiambu averaged 5.6%, Nakuru 5.2% and Mombasa 4.8% of national GVA. 

In total, 33 counties each contributed under 2%, highlighting the sharp regional concentration of economic activity.

In nominal terms, Nairobi’s GCP rose from KSh 2.6 trillion in 2019 to Sh 3.8 trillion in 2023, an expansion of over Sh1.2 trillion in five years despite shocks such as COVID-19 and a tight macro environment. 

KNBS further places Nairobi among the country’s fastest growers in real terms, with an average 6.1% annual rise in real GCP against a national GDP growth average of 4.6%. 

This trajectory places the city alongside Kenya’s best performers, such as Nakuru and Kajiado, in the period.

Nairobi’s scale is not just large by Kenyan standards. On a cross-Africa lens, the city’s output would position it around 19th if it were ranked as a standalone economy, larger than several sovereign African states. 

While currency conversion and methodology differences mean this is an indicative comparison, it captures the reality that Nairobi is a continental heavyweight in its own right.

Sectorally, services remain Nairobi’s power base. The capital generated 37.4% of Kenya’s total services GVA on a five-year average, riding on finance, ICT, real estate, professional services, trade and public administration. 

In manufacturing, Nairobi accounted for 36.9% of national output, outpacing industrial rivals Mombasa (9.9%) and Kiambu (8.4%). 

Nairobi also anchored a third of the country’s secondary-sector activities, with KNBS attributing this to construction and electricity-related activities that cluster around the city’s infrastructure and corporate ecosystem. 

These shares explain the city’s resilience and its outsized role in national productivity.

The foundations of Nairobi’s dominance are clear in the socio-economic indicators that sit behind the headline GCP numbers. 

The city has Kenya’s largest working population at 2,191,913 people, giving firms a deep labour pool and consumers strong spending power. 

It also leads in digital access, with 98.8% of households having a mobile phone user and 39.6% reporting internet use, the highest penetration nationally. 

This digital advantage feeds productivity, supports fintech and e-commerce, and attracts high-skill services that compound the city’s lead.

The concentration of growth in Nairobi has implications for inequality and inclusive development. 

On one hand, the capital’s scale helps to stabilise national growth, deepen capital markets, and position Kenya as East Africa’s business hub. 

On the other hand, the geography of opportunity is narrow. Jobs, incomes and firm formation are heavily tilted to the city, while infrastructure gaps, lower ICT usage and market access constraints hold back many counties. 

The result is a persistent productivity gap that feeds unequal outcomes in poverty, human capital and fiscal capacity.

Nairobi’s own challenges are significant and carry nationwide consequences. Urban congestion raises logistics costs and erodes productivity. 

Unemployment, especially among the youth, remains a pressure point even as the city creates more formal jobs. 

The high cost of living in housing, transport and food strains households and can push lower-income workers to the informal fringes, undermining the very agglomeration benefits that make the city productive.