The cost of school supplies for families in Kenya is significantly higher than average household incomes, new data shows.
According to “The average cost of back-to-school supplies around the world (2023) findings by WorldRemit, a digital remittance brand within Zepz, the total cost per child is Ksh 68,701.
In addition, with an average household size of 3.23, the total cost per household is estimated at Ksh 221,904.23.
This is approximately 10 times the average monthly household income for most households in the country.
In other parts of the world, cost changes were far more drastic, with yearly changes averaging an increase of 78%.
For families whose incomes cannot accommodate the cost of fundamental supplies, remittances make a significant difference in their ability to afford these supplies, as well as steep costs like tuition, transportation, and childcare.
While practically every country in the study had increased costs, certain items had drastically increased.
For example, in Australia, a case of 12 pencils has increased by more than 4x the cost of the previous year, and the cost of notebooks in India is almost 6x as expensive as in 2022.
2023 Cost of School Overview
| Country | Cost Changes YoY | % of Monthly Household Income | Highest Item increase | |
| Industrialised Nations | Canada | -0.4% | 9% | Gym shoes |
| United States | +28% | 9% | Colouring pencils | |
| United Kingdom | +2% | 9% | Pencils | |
| France | +41% | 19% | Colouring pencils | |
| Spain | +53% | 20% | Pencils | |
| Australia | +19% | 9% | Pencils | |
| Americas | Mexico | +56% | 84% | Polo shirts |
| Guatemala | +75% | 334% | Polo shirts | |
| Colombia | +81% | 153% | Notebooks | |
| Dominican Republic | +56% | 72% | Polo shirts | |
| EMEA | Cameroon | +97% | 789% | Ruler |
| Morocco | +118% | 262% | Polo shirts | |
| Nigeria | +162% | 632% | Sharpener | |
| Tanzania | +62% | 861% | Socks | |
| Zimbabwe | +6% | 427% | Pencil case | |
| APAC | Philippines | +16% | 51% | Pencils |
| India | +129% | 197% | Notebooks |
While practically every country in the study had increased costs, certain items have drastically increased.
While rising costs of living have forced migrants to be more conscious about how they allocate funds for remittances, as of July 2022, WorldRemit data indicates education is one of the top 3 reasons people send money.
Data was gathered between the 21st and 27th of June 2023, and all prices were converted into GBP and US dollars using Google on the 29th of June 2023.
The countries included in the study were the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, the Philippines, Mexico, Uganda, Tanzania, India, Nigeria, Guatemala, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Morocco, Zimbabwe, Lebanon, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, France, and Spain.
