Human Development & Quality of Life in Kenya
Human Development
Kenya's 2023 HDI is 0.628, placing it 143 in UNDP's table and in the medium human development category. More revealing for this profile, the gender-development lens adds GDI 0.944 in UNDP group 3, which is kept separate from the headline HDI. At the same time, the inequality adjustment is one of the most consequential parts of this profile: IHDI falls to 0.456, a 27.4% loss.
What sits inside Kenya's HDI
For this comparison, Kenya's 2023 HDI inputs include life expectancy of 63.6, expected schooling of 11.5, mean schooling of 8.6, and GNI per capita of $5,608 in 2021 PPP dollars. Together they explain the headline index without turning any single input into a separate ranking. When the indicator is reused, read the value with its stated unit rather than creating a broader claim than the source supports.
Inequality changes the headline
In the UNDP data used here, IHDI is the HDI after allowing for unequal distribution of achievement, for Kenya, it remains an objective development measure rather than a subjective well-being indicator.
Gender and planetary-pressure adjustments
Alongside the headline HDI, the published data for Kenya include GDI 0.944, GII 0.526, PHDI 0.610. They complement one another, but none is treated as a substitute for another.
Quality-of-life coverage is conditional
This profile does not show a verified comparable life-satisfaction value for Kenya. Missing source coverage is shown as a limitation, not filled with an estimate.
What Kenya's numbers say together
For a fuller view of Kenya, the page shows IHDI 0.456 with a 27.4% loss; PHDI 0.610 after a 2.9% adjustment; GDI 0.944. These measures answer different questions, so they are kept separate.
For 2023, Kenya records HDI 0.628 and rank 143 in the UNDP table. The result should be read as a composite of health, schooling and income outcomes. When the indicator is reused, preserve the distinction between level and distribution because the evidence is strongest when each metric keeps its own scope.
The IHDI is 0.456, and UNDP reports an overall loss of 27.4% relative to the headline index.
The GDI value is 0.944 in group 3; it should be read alongside, not merged into, HDI.
The PHDI is 0.610, with a 2.9% adjustment from the HDI value in UNDP's 2023 table.
Frequently asked questions
What is Kenya's HDI?
Kenya's 2023 Human Development Index is 0.628, corresponding to UNDP rank 143 in the 2025 report.
How does inequality affect Kenya's HDI?
Kenya's Inequality-adjusted HDI is 0.456. The published overall loss is 27.4% relative to HDI.
Why is there no life satisfaction score on this page?
In this country profile, a subjective well-being figure for Kenya is published only when the source supplies a usable observation. A missing source value is shown as unavailable.
Is HDI the same as quality of life?
No. UNDP's HDI focuses on longevity, education and income. Life satisfaction adds a different perspective and is therefore not folded into HDI.
Sources & methodology
Sources for the development indicators and definitions shown above.
View sources used for this page
Primary source for 2023 HDI and its components, plus IHDI, GDI, GII and PHDI where reported.
Report edition underlying the 2023 human-development indices and ranking.
Data note: Reference years are shown with each indicator; unavailable observations remain unfilled.