Kenya has emerged among Africa’s performers in tax and revenue mobilisation, ranking 10th with a score of 67.9 out of 100 in the 2025 assessment of the Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG).

The score marks a 4.6-point improvement from 2016 and places Kenya in the “Increasing Improvement” category, meaning the pace of progress has picked up since 2021.

“Kenya’s performance has improved by 4.6 points since 2016 and is classified as Increasing Improvement, meaning that progress has accelerated since 2021,” the Mo Ibrahim Foundation said in the report.

The performance comes as the government pushes to raise domestic revenue and reduce reliance on borrowing. Under the Medium-Term Revenue Strategy for 2024/25-2026/27, Treasury has set a target of increasing the tax-to-GDP ratio from about 13.5 per cent to 20 per cent.

Recent figures show that tax receipts have risen steadily overall. The Kenya Revenue Authority collected Sh2.844 trillion in the financial year ended June 2026, an increase of Sh272.95 billion, or 10.6 per cent, from Sh2.572 trillion collected in the previous financial year.

Manufacturing, energy, financial and insurance services, information and communication, and wholesale and retail trade were the leading contributors. The five sectors accounted for about 62 per cent of KRA’s total collections during the year.

Customs revenue was another strong performer, with KRA collecting Sh988.78 billion, above its target. Domestic revenue stood at Sh1.851 trillion, although it fell short of the authority’s target.

KRA has also been expanding the use of digital systems to improve compliance and widen the tax base. Measures include electronic invoicing, data analytics, artificial intelligence and closer monitoring of transactions. The authority has also stepped up debt collection and efforts to bring more taxpayers into the formal system.

Despite Kenya’s improvement, it remains some distance behind the continent’s leading tax administrations. South Africa topped the IIAG ranking with 92.4 points, followed by Côte d’Ivoire at 83.3, Namibia at 80, Lesotho at 79 and Senegal at 77.8.

The foundation described South Africa’s performance as evidence of mature taxation capacity, noting its score stayed around 90 throughout the 2016-2025 decade.

At the other end, Libya scored 2.8, followed by Sudan at 11.8, South Sudan at 12.1, Equatorial Guinea at 22.5, Eritrea at 25, Comoros at 25.8 and the Democratic Republic of Congo at 29.6.

The IIAG measures governance performance across all 54 African countries and covers the decade from 2016 to 2025 in its 2026 edition.