Kenya Environment Overview
Climate
ranges from tropical along the coastline to arid in the inland regions
Land use
other
44% (2023 est.)
forest
6.5% (2023 est.)
agricultural land
49.5% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: arable land
arable land: 11.4% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent crops
permanent crops: 1.4% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent pasture
permanent pasture: 36.7% (2023 est.)
Urbanization
urban population
29.5% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
4.09% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Methane emissions
other
32.8 kt (2019-2021 est.)
waste
127.1 kt (2019-2021 est.)
energy
334.4 kt (2022-2024 est.)
agriculture
1,241 kt (2019-2021 est.)
Waste and recycling
municipal solid waste generated annually
5.595 million tons (2024 est.)
percent of municipal solid waste recycled
19.9% (2022 est.)
Environmental issues
water contamination stemming from urban and industrial discharges and from the application of pesticides and fertilizers; flooding; proliferation of water hyacinth in Lake Victoria; deforestation; soil degradation; desertification; illegal hunting
Total water withdrawal
municipal
495 million cubic meters (2022 est.)
industrial
303 million cubic meters (2022 est.)
agricultural
3.234 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions
total emissions
19.023 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
from coal and metallurgical coke
3.316 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
from petroleum and other liquids
15.707 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
Particulate matter emissions
12.7 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
Total renewable water resources
30.7 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)
International environmental agreements
party to
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified
none of the selected agreements