NAIROBI, Kenya – Most Kenyans say their personal and family finances have deteriorated since President William Ruto took office, according to the latest Trends and Insights for Africa (TIFA) survey.
The findings highlight that economic hardship, rather than political or security concerns, dominates the public’s perception of the country’s challenges.
The TIFA survey, conducted between November 10 and 17, 2025, sampled 2,053 adults across all 47 counties, providing a comprehensive snapshot of household experiences.
“While the pace of decline may be slowing, most households still feel economically worse off, and the lived economy remains a major vulnerability for the government heading toward 2027,” the report said.
The survey found that 44 percent of Kenyans overwhelmingly define the country’s problems in economic terms, with unemployment, high prices, and poverty far outweighing political, social, or security concerns.
“For most Kenyans, the national crisis is not political instability or security; it is economic survival,” the TIFA report noted.
Despite the government’s announcements of incremental gains in economic growth, the report shows that the improvements have yet to translate into meaningful relief at the household level.
Many families continue to struggle to make ends meet, pointing to the persistence of a lived economic crisis.
The survey’s findings also underscore deep disparities between urban and rural households.
A related TIFA report in September 2025 revealed that firewood remains the primary cooking fuel for 41 percent of Kenyan households, reflecting continued reliance on low-cost resources.
In contrast, urban households are far more likely to use LPG, with 66 percent relying on it for cooking compared to only 23 percent of rural households.
“While the most common fuel used by Kenyans overall for residential cooking is firewood (41 percent), there is a marked contrast between urban and rural dwellers in this regard, with a considerable majority of the former using LPG – nearly three times more than their rural counterparts (66 percent vs. 23 percent) – as the main fuel for this purpose,” the report stated.
