Distillers Kenya
A one-page guide to Kenya for the spirits trade: the country, its people, its economy and how it drinks.
At a glance
- Capital
- Nairobi
- Official languages
- Swahili, English
- Currency
- Kenyan shilling (KES)
- Time zone
- UTC+3 (no daylight saving)
- Area
- 580,367 km²
People
- Population
- 53.4 million (2025)
- Population growth
- 1.9% a year
- Living in towns and cities
- 32.2%
- Aged under 15
- 36.3%
- Aged 65 and over
- 3.0%
- Life expectancy
- 63.8 years
Economy
- GDP
- US$135.9 billion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$2,548 (2025)
- Economic growth
- 4.6% (2025)
- Inflation
- 4.1% (2025)
Climate
Tropical on the coast, temperate inland and arid in the north and northeast, with lots of sunshine; inland highlands are cool at night. Long rains run March/April to May/June and short rains October to November/December, which can disrupt road haulage.
Alcohol
- Alcohol is
- Legal
- Legal drinking age
- 18 (Alcoholic Drinks Control Act 2010, s.28)
- Alcohol per adult a year
- 2.25 litres of pure alcohol (2024)
Sources: World Bank (population, economy and demographics), WHO Global Health Observatory (alcohol per adult and drinking mix); Wikipedia - Legal drinking age; Wikipedia - Beer in Kenya; EABL; Wikipedia - Kenya; Kenya Revenue Authority; Food Business Africa - Kenya imported spirits decline (Jan 2024); Business Daily - spirits sales fall (Aug 2025); WHO GISAH country profile - Kenya (2018). Figures are the latest each source publishes; the year is shown beside each one.