What Kenyans Really Need—KIHBS Survey Set to Reveal Living Standards

Kenya has commenced its most comprehensive data collection initiative to date, the 2025/26 Kenya Integrated Household Budget Survey (KIHBS), which aims to provide policymakers with detailed insights crucial for development strategy and resource allocation.

The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) is overseeing the year-long project, covering all 47 counties. Trained enumerators will conduct in-person interviews in over 24,000 randomly selected households, with an additional 960 from refugee camps. To ensure public trust, field officers carry tablet computers, QR-coded badges and authorisation letters. The bureau has affirmed that data confidentiality will be strictly maintained, with the information used solely for statistical analysis.The KIHBS is designed to generate a wide range of indicators on demographics, employment, health, education, household consumption, and living standards. The survey will also gather data on access to essential amenities such as water, sanitation, energy, and housing conditions, which are central to measuring quality of life across urban and rural communities.

The KNBS has appealed to residents to embrace participation, emphasising that the survey findings will directly inform national budgets and future development programmes, affecting sectors from school construction to healthcare provision and electricity expansion. Public cooperation is critical for the survey's success.

The survey's launch follows recent KNBS labour market figures showing the creation of 782,300 jobs in 2024, an approximately 8 percent decline compared to the previous year. While most jobs emerged from the informal sector, growth in this area has slowed, rising just over 4 per cent to 17.4 million workers. The formal sector added 78,600 new positions, reaching a total of 3.2 million, a modest increase that reflects ongoing constraints.