East Africa
Kenya reached 77% electricity access in 2024, followed by Rwanda at 72% in this five-country snapshot. Ethiopia, Uganda and Tanzania were between 52% and 57%.
Sources checked
The 24.6 percentage point gap between Kenya and Tanzania is a comparison for 2024.
In the ILO modelled series, agriculture accounted for 85.59% of employment in Burundi in 2023 and 30.53% in Somalia. Kenya’s estimated share fell from 60.38% in 2000 to 47.16% in 2023.
Ethiopia’s registered carriers recorded 4.02 billion freight tonne-kilometres in 2023. Kenya recorded about 289 million and Tanzania about 20 million in the same ICAO series.
Dar es Salaam port handled 25.07 million tonnes from July 2025 to March 2026, up from 19.31 million in the same nine months a year earlier, according to Tanzania’s transport ministry.
East African Community members shipped USD 3.2 billion in exports to each other in the second quarter of 2026, up 33.2% from a year earlier. Their share fell from 12.8% to 12.1% because overall exports grew faster. Exports to China rose from USD 5.7 billion to USD 10.7 billion.
Tanzania produced about 138,607 tonnes through aquaculture in 2024, ahead of Uganda’s 103,420 and Kenya’s 34,690. Uganda landed about 538,160 tonnes from capture fisheries, the largest catch among the eight countries in this comparison.
In 2024, 88.89% of urban Kenyans and 55.59% of rural Kenyans used at least basic drinking-water services. The urban estimate was higher in all eight East African countries in the comparison.
Tanzania’s gross fixed capital formation was 42.22% of GDP in the 2025 World Development Indicators series. Its broader gross capital formation measure was 40.68%. Kenya’s corresponding shares were 17.92% and 16.96%.
Ethiopia produced 31.76 million tonnes of cereals in 2024, the most among eight East African countries. Its average yield of 2,631.6 kilograms per harvested hectare also led the group. Tanzania placed second by output and Uganda placed second by yield.
In eight East African countries, estimated under-five mortality fell proportionally more than neonatal mortality from 2000 to 2024. In Rwanda, the under-five estimate fell from 184.2 to 37.7 deaths per 1,000 live births, while the newborn estimate fell from 43.1 to 17.4.
An estimated 68% of urban residents in Kenya relied primarily on clean cooking in 2024, against 14% of rural residents. The 54-point gap was the widest among the eight East African countries in this comparison.
Rwanda’s 2024 estimates reached 98% for the third DTP dose and 97% for the first measles-containing dose in the World Bank extract. Somalia was at 70% and 64%. Tanzania had slightly higher estimated measles coverage than DTP coverage.
Tanzania’s gross intake ratio reached 89.31% in the final grade of primary and 35.95% in the final grade of lower secondary in 2023. The UNESCO indicators count entry into each final grade and compare it with a separate age-group population.
In the 2024 Global Findex survey, 90.12% of adults in Kenya reported an account. Uganda followed at 72.83%, Tanzania at 59.83% and Ethiopia at 48.83%. Men reported higher account ownership than women in all four.
Tanzania had about 438,690 square kilometres of forest in 2024, the most among eight East African countries in the World Bank series. Its forest share fell from 61.11% in 2000 to 49.63% in 2024.
Kenya and Ethiopia withdrew about one-third of available renewable freshwater in the 2022 FAO estimates, after allowing for environmental water requirements. Somalia’s estimate was 24.53%. Agriculture made up 99.48% of Somalia’s recorded freshwater withdrawals.
In 2024, the ITU series put internet use at 34.98% of Kenya’s population. Kenya recorded 3.04 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people. Tanzania was at 31.16% for internet use and 0.25 fixed subscriptions per 100 people.
ILO modelled estimates put Tanzania’s 2025 labour force participation at 80.28% for women and 87.31% for men. Women in Burundi had a higher estimated participation rate than men, the only such result among the seven countries with a matched 2025 pair.
Kenya generated USD 8.56 billion in manufacturing value added in 2023 at constant 2015 prices. Uganda generated USD 7.42 billion but led the six comparable countries when manufacturing was measured as a share of GDP, at 15.65%.
In 2024 Ethiopia recorded USD 7.14 billion in personal remittance receipts, the largest amount among six comparable East African countries. Burundi's USD 237 million was the smallest amount and the largest share of national GDP at 7.80%.
Children under 15 made up 46.55% of Somalia’s population in the 2025 series, against 36.26% in Kenya. The share was above a third in all eight East African countries. Kenya had the highest share aged 15 to 64 in the comparison.
Reported transmission and distribution losses accounted for 25.76% of Kenya’s electricity output in 2024, compared with 20.70% in Ethiopia and 12.39% in Tanzania. The IEA series includes losses along the network and electricity taken without authorization.
WHO estimated 35.0 road traffic deaths per 100,000 people in Kenya in 2023, the highest point estimate among eight East African countries. Its published range ran from 19.8 to 61.3. Rwanda's estimate was 10.4, with a range of 5.8 to 18.5.
The World Bank series places Somalia's urban share at 55.14% in 2025, the highest of eight countries. Ethiopia had the largest urban population, 32.66 million, even though its urban share was 24.11%.
In 2023, direct household payments made up 46.27% of Ethiopia’s current health expenditure and 4.10% of Rwanda’s. Domestic government spending accounted for 21.91% in Ethiopia and 47.03% in Rwanda.
Women held 63.75% of occupied lower-house seats in Rwanda in the 2025 series. Ethiopia stood at 41.91%, Burundi at 39.64% and Tanzania at 39.53%. The comparison uses the lower house where a parliament has two chambers.
Kenya had 120.61 mobile subscriptions per 100 people in 2023 and Tanzania had 105.40. Both crossed 126 in the 2024 figures. The map compares eight countries using 2023, the latest year with figures for all eight.
The Port of Mombasa handled 4.36 million tonnes of transit cargo from July to September 2026. Uganda accounted for 2.89 million tonnes. The Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda drove most of the net increase from the same quarter in 2025.
The Northern Corridor observatory recorded 94 hours from Mombasa to Malaba and 79 hours from Mombasa to Busia in July to September 2026. The route to Malaba was 28 kilometres shorter in the report.
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