Average Civil Servant Salary in Kenya for 2024

In this article, we will look at the average Civil Servant salary for 2024 in Kenya and how that compares to other countries and professions. We'll also look at interesting salary data points like median salary, 25th and 75th percentile salaries, salary amounts based on experience, bonus ranges and more!

The data in this article has been compiled using official government salary data, salary surveys, and other sources such as job postings which contain salary information.

All salary information is in the local currency, which is the Kenyan shilling. To keep things simple, we are using the KES currency code instead of the currency symbol Sh.

How Much Does a Civil Servant Make in Kenya?

A Civil Servant working in Kenya will typically earn around 639,900 KES per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 332,500 KES to the highest average salary of 979,300 KES.

These are average salaries for a Civil Servant in Kenya and include benefits such as housing and transport. It's also possible for a Civil Servant to earn more or less than the average salaries shown above.

Civil Servant salaries will vary a lot based on your experience, location, skills, and gender. Keep reading below to research more data on each of these areas.

Distribution of Civil Servant Salaries in Kenya

So we've looked at the average salaries a Civil Servant will earn in Kenya. The next interesting data point is the distribution of salaries.

Salary ranges

We already know that a Civil Servant can earn between 332,500 KES and 979,300 KES on average in Kenya. This is known as the range in statistics.

The difference between the maximum and minimum values is a good indicator of variability in salaries, and can be used by employers to figure out how much they can expect to pay, and for employees to know how much they can earn.

Median salary

The median salary for a Civil Servant in Kenya is 614,600 KES. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 614,600 KES, and 50% of the population earn more than 614,600 KES.

If you are earning more than the median salary, that's a good indicator that you are being paid well.

If you're not earning more than the median salary, your objective should be to increase your earnings to be at least as high as the median salary (which you can do by asking for a pay rise, looking for a better paying job, etc).

Percentiles

Percentiles are similar to the median salary, but instead of looking at the middle value, they look at the values in the top and bottom half of the distribution.

For the average Civil Servant salary in Kenya, 25% of the population are earning less than 425,100 KES while 75% of the population earn more than 425,100 KES.

75% of the population earn less than 765,100 KES, and 25% of the population earn more than 765,100 KES.

Like the median salary, the 25th and 75th percentile salaries can be used to determine which quartile you fall into so that you know whether you are being paid well enough compared to others in your profession and location.

Civil Servant Salary by Experience Level in Kenya

The most important factor in determining your salary after the specific profession is the number of years experience you have. It stands to reason that more years of experience will result in a higher wage.

We have researched the average civil servant salary based on years of experience to give you an idea of how the average changes once you've worked for a certain amount of time.

• 0 - 2 Years Experience. A Civil Servant in Kenya that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 378,300 KES.
• 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Civil Servant salary would increase to 507,300 KES.
• 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Civil Servant, the average salary would be 658,300 KES.
• 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 798,900 KES.
• 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Civil Servant with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 874,300 KES.
• 20+ Years Experience. For a Civil Servant with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 917,700 KES.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

Civil Servant Salary by Education Level in Kenya

As well as experience in a job, your education plays a big role in how much you can earn. A lot of higher paying positions require a high level of education, but how much can a degree increase your salary?

In our research we have compared the salaries of employees in the same job and career level with different levels of education to see how much more you can earn at each education level.

The salary you can earn based on your education is very specific to both your location and the career path you choose.

In our research, we looked at the average salary for a Civil Servant in Kenya based on the education level of the employees in order to find out whether a better education level would increase your salary.

• High School. A Civil Servant in Kenya with a high school education can earn an average salary of 447,700 KES.

• Certificate or Diploma. A Civil Servant in Kenya with a certificate or diploma education can earn an average salary of 642,800 KES.

• Bachelor's Degree. A Civil Servant in Kenya with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 888,400 KES.

Average Salary by Education Chart

Civil Servant Salary Compared by Gender

In the modern age, we know that there should never be a pay gap between men and women. Unfortunately, in many professions, there is still a significant difference between the salaries earned by men when compared to the salary of women in the same job.

In Kenya, a male civil servant will earn an average of 675,200 KES, while a female civil servant will earn around 615,700 KES.

This means that a male civil servant earns approximately 10% more than a female civil servant for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in Kenya

Civil Servant Average Pay Raise in Kenya

In many countries, an annual pay raise is often given to employees to reward their service with a salary increase.

From our research, we can see that the average pay raise for a Civil Servant in Kenya is around 5% every 30 months.

The national average pay raise across all professions and industries in Kenya is around 4% every 29 months.

In this case, we can see that the number of months between the average pay raise is higher than the typical 12 months.

To make the data more meaningful, we can calculate what the approximate annual pay raise would be using a simple formula:

Annual Increase = ( Increase Rate ÷ Months ) × 12

So for this example, it would be:

Annual Increase = ( 5 ÷ 30 ) × 12  = 2%

What this means is that a Civil Servant in Kenya can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 2% every 12 months.

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in Kenya for 2024

In the chart below, you can see the average annual pay raise percentages for each of the major industries in Kenya.

You will see that companies in bigger and more lucrative industries tend to have the higher annual pay raises.

Civil Servant Bonus and Incentive Rates in Kenya

Another part of your overall compensation in a job is how much bonus you receive. Some job roles will be more likely to pay a bonus than others and also more likely to have higher bonus rates.

Generally speaking, jobs that are more involved with direct revenue generation will receive higher bonuses based on the performance towards revenue goals.

A Civil Servant is a low bonus based job, with 9% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

91% reported that they had not received any bonuses in the previous 12 months.

For the employees that did receive a bonus in the previous 12 months, the reported bonuses ranged from 1% to 3%.

Government vs Private Sector Salaries

Another commonly asked question is whether you get paid a higher salary working in the public (government) sector or the private sector.

Public sector employees in Kenya earn approximately 14% more than private sector employees in the same role.

Salaries for Jobs Similar to a Civil Servant

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to a Civil Servant in Kenya.

Salary Comparison by City

If you want to compare salaries with different cities in Kenya, you can use the links below to explore the data for each specific city we have researched.

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