Families in Kenya wired up to KES40.5 billion to their children studying in overseas universities in 2025, highlighting a significant drain in families' resources to cater for tuition, accommodation and living expenses abroad.

According to the 2025 Remittance Household Survey by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), this spent on education in universities abroad accounted for 89.5 percent of the country's remittance outflows. 

"The concentration of outflows to students suggests that remittances are not only a source of household support but also an investment in human capital, with potential long-term benefits for both recipients and the broader economy," KNBS report stated in part.

In 2024, the survey notes that students abroad received a total of KES 27.7 billion from families across Kenya, accounting for 67.4 percent of total outflows and over three-quarters of all cash transfers. 

Affect balance of payments

The report, which was co-produced with partnership from FSD Kenya and Central Bank highlights that this remittance outflow can "impact negatively on the country’s balance of payment position and should therefore be minimized by locally providing education opportunities that Kenyans would otherwise seek abroad. 

"It is worth exploring introducing cost‑efficient outward rails for education payments with transparent foreign‑exchange pricing and capped fees and expanding domestic education financing to preserve human‑capital gains while managing balance‑of‑payments pressures," the report states.

This implies that the country's education system could be failing to train and possibly retain talent, leaving parents forced to invest heavily in universities and institutions abroad for their children. 

Meanwhile, the study established that rural communities in the country are the primary beneficiaries of remittances support, with women dominating as both senders and recipients.

During the period under study, just over six million women received remittances from abroad against 4.6 million men. Additionally, up to 680,207 women reported sending money abroad compared to 447,475 men.

In terms of the age bracket of the remittance recipients, people within 30 and 39 age bracket formed the largest recipient group, an indicator that diaspora inflows could be going to working-age adults rather than the elderly and children.

Yet the infrastructure realities of these communities remain stark. Among recipient households, only 62.4 per cent had electricity as their main lighting source, with solar accounting for a further 24 per cent. Firewood remains the dominant cooking fuel for 51.6 per cent of recipients. 

Strikingly, while remittances are flowing to rural areas, 12 percent of recipient households reported having no sanitation facilities at all.

Kenyans living and working abroad wired KES931.8 billion between June 2024 and May 2025, with the bulk of the transactions (91 percent) being cash and in-kind support making up the balance.

Official data shows that the U.S. remains Kenya's biggest source of diaspora inflows, accounting for KES405 billion or 43.5 percent of remittances. Other leading sources of diaspora support are Germany and Australia.

Recipients with no sanitation facilities

What's more, the country's formal financial systems including banks and mobile money systems, accounted for 92.1 percent of all cash receipts during the season under focus, highlighting increasing role of inclusive financial infrastructure.

Among recipient households, only 62.4 percent use electricity as their main lighting source, with solar accounting for a further 24 percent. 

Firewood remains the dominant cooking fuel for 51.6 per cent of recipients. And while remittances are flowing to rural areas, 12 per cent of recipient households reported having no sanitation facilities at all.

Overall, 85.2 percent of the returned emigrants reported sending support back to the country during their stay abroad, while 14.8 percent did not send any support. 

Students, interns and unemployed emigrants predominantly reported not sending any support while abroad. Most paid employees reported to sending support, accounting for 84.6 percent of all returned emigrants. 

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