NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenya has ranked 10th among African countries for average monthly take-home pay, with workers estimated to receive about Sh44,500 per month after taxes and mandatory deductions.
The ranking, published by economic data platform LiveGDP, places Kenya at $344 (about Sh44,553) in average monthly net salary. The figure represents estimated earnings remaining after taxes and other mandatory deductions.
Kenya sits just behind Cameroon, which records an estimated monthly net salary of $345, while Ghana follows closely at $340. The narrow gap among the three countries puts Kenya among a cluster of African economies with broadly similar reported take-home earnings.
At the top of the continental ranking is Djibouti, where the estimated average monthly net salary stands at $2,836, equivalent to about Sh367,300. This is more than eight times Kenya’s reported figure.
South Africa takes second place with an estimated $1,270 (about Sh164,500) per month, followed by Seychelles at $790 (about Sh102,300) and Botswana at $780. Namibia and Mauritius complete the next two positions, with estimated monthly net salaries of $630 and $615 respectively.
Africa’s wide income divide
The figures highlight the substantial differences in reported take-home earnings across African economies. Djibouti’s estimated net salary is roughly 8.2 times Kenya’s, while South Africa’s is about 3.7 times higher.
At the other end of the ranking, South Sudan records the lowest reported average monthly net salary at $70, followed by Burundi at $75 and Sierra Leone at $80.
However, the ranking does not necessarily mean that workers in countries with higher salaries enjoy a proportionally higher standard of living. Housing, food, transport, healthcare, taxation, inflation and purchasing power vary considerably between countries. LiveGDP also cautions that exchange rates and differences in employment coverage can influence comparisons.
The broader figures show Africa’s average monthly net salary at about $287, the lowest continental average in LiveGDP’s comparison.
For Kenya, the 10th-place position underscores a persistent challenge facing workers and policymakers: headline employment numbers alone do not tell the full story of household financial wellbeing. What ultimately matters to workers is how much remains in their pockets—and what that income can buy.
