The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) has announced that it will be conducting a survey on remittances between July and September 2025.
In a notice on Tuesday, July 29, the agency said the initiative, known as the 2025 Remittances Household Survey (RHS), is the first of its kind and will target households that either send or receive remittances to or from abroad.
According to KNBS, the survey is being conducted in collaboration with the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) and Financial Sector Deepening Kenya (FSD Kenya).
"The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), in collaboration with the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) and Financial Sector Deepening Kenya (FSD Kenya), is conducting the first ever Remittances Household Survey (RHS) from July to September 2025.
"Remittances represent international transfers in monetary (cash), and non-monetary (non-cash/in-kind) form sent by family members, friends and relatives living abroad to households in Kenya (inward remittances) or sent by households in Kenya to family members, friends and relatives living abroad (outward remittances)," the notice read.
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It added, "The remittances can be transferred through formal channels such as the banking system, couriers, money transfer operators, and mobile money or informal channels such as physically carrying across borders."
KNBS said trained field personnel will be dispatched to selected households across the country throughout the survey period.
"The 2025 RHS Field Personnel will visit selected households during the survey period, which will be conducted, between July and September 2025. The Field Personnel will have identification badges. Given the importance of this exercise, we appeal to the selected households to cooperate and support the survey field staff," the notice further read.
KNBS explained that the objective of the survey is to better understand the volume and nature of remittance flows and how they are being used.
"The purpose of the 2025 RHS is to collect qualitative and quantitative information on inward and outward remittances. The data collected will be used to improve national statistics for planning, research and policy formulation, including those related to supporting the remittance flows," the notice stated.
Specifically, the survey aims to collect information on the amount of inward and outward remittances in cash and in-kind/non-cash and establish the channels used to remit funds, associated costs, and challenges faced.
Additionally, the survey also aims to help KNBS understand how recipients use the funds and assess the impact on their livelihoods, identify barriers encountered in sending or receiving money and non-cash items and provide actionable policy recommendations to enhance the remittances market in Kenya.
"The 2025 RHS is expected to produce national estimates on the magnitude of remittance flows into Kenya and out of Kenya, both money and non-cash. The data collected from the 2025 RHS will be used for compilation of Balance of Payments statistics, monitoring Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), research and policy formulation," the notice read.
KNBS also reassured the public that all information gathered will be handled with confidentiality and used exclusively for statistical purposes.
"All the information provided will be treated with utmost confidentiality and will only be used for statistical purposes. The 2025 RHS personnel are under oath not to divulge information provided by the households to a third party," the notice added.
Once completed, the survey findings will be published in aggregated form and made available to the public through the official websites of KNBS, CBK, and FSD Kenya.
