Kenya’s total public and publicly guaranteed debt reached KES 11.97 trillion ($92.83bn) at the end of August 2025, equivalent to 67.4% of GDP, according to the National Treasury’s Monthly Debt Bulletin.

The stock rose by KES 1.23 trillion ($9.54bn) year-on-year. The rise was fuelled by new Treasury bond issuance and inflows from multilateral lenders, as Nairobi held exploratory talks with the IMF on a possible new support programme to ease repayment pressures.

Domestic obligations accounted for KES 6.566 trillion ($50.92bn) (54.9% of the total) while external debt stood at KES 5.403 trillion ($41.84bn) (45.1%). The month-on-month increase was driven by higher Treasury bond and Treasury bill issuance alongside fresh disbursements from multilateral and bilateral creditors.

External debt rose by KES 18.0bn ($139.43mn) in August, reflecting new inflows from multilateral and bilateral lenders. Bilateral obligations increased by KES 8.09bn ($62.67mn) to KES 985.56bn ($7.63bn), with China the largest bilateral creditor.

Multilateral debt expanded by KES 19.05bn ($147.68mn) to KES 3,025.47bn ($23.45bn), driven by disbursements from the World Bank’s International Development Association at KES 1.65 trillion ($12.78bn), the African Development Bank at KES 546bn ($4.23bn), and the IMF at KES 477bn ($3.70bn), while commercial debt declined slightly.

External debt service in August totalled KES 48.4bn ($375.12mn) (KES 20.6bn ($159.66mn) principal, KES 27.8bn ($215.54mn) interest). Of this, about KES 25.6bn ($198.3mn) went to multilateral lenders, KES 12.4bn ($96.0mn) to bilateral creditors, and roughly KES 10.4bn ($80.6mn) to commercial bondholders and suppliers.

The Treasury said most of the month’s outflows reflected scheduled repayments under World Bank and AfDB facilities, while Eurobond obligations were limited to interest payments.

Domestic debt climbed sharply by KES 178.30bn ($1.38bn) to KES 6.566 trillion ($50.89bn), as bond holdings rose to KES 5.37 trillion ($41.62bn) and Treasury bills to KES 1.06 trillion ($8.21bn). In August, the government offered KES 186bn ($1.44bn) of securities, received bids of KES 614bn ($4.76bn), accepted KES 361bn ($2.80bn) and paid KES 175bn ($1.36bn) in redemptions; net domestic financing for the month was KES 235bn ($1.822bn) against a full-year target of KES 613bn ($4.75bn).

The Treasury reported the shilling averaged KES 129.24 to the US dollar in August, which cushioned external debt valuations; the currency depreciated slightly versus the euro, yen and yuan that month. July’s total debt was about KES 11.77 trillion ($91.25bn), so August’s figure represented a KES 196bn ($1.52bn) month-on-month rise. The government has a full-year net domestic financing target of KES 613bn ($4.75bn) and faces ongoing debt-management and fiscal consolidation objectives.

As bne IntelliNews reported, an IMF staff team visited Nairobi from September 25 to October 9 to open talks with the government on a possible new Fund-supported programme aimed at easing pressure from rising external repayments.