Kenyan residents are receiving more international voice calls. Based on data from the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA), a significant year-over-year growth of 57.47% was observed, representing an increase of 48,989,304 over 12 months. In the first quarter of the financial year 2024/2025, there were 134,247,370 international incoming voice calls via mobile, an increase from 85,258,066 recorded in the previous first quarter.
In contrast, the number of international calls originating from Kenya experienced a slight decline. Outgoing mobile voice traffic totalled 179,701,005 calls in the first quarter of 2023/2024, decreasing to 175,261,235 calls in the corresponding quarter of 2024/2025, which is a 2.47% dip in traffic. What remains consistent is that calls originating from Kenya are more than those coming from outside the country.
According to regulatory data, voice calls remain the dominant form of international communication between Kenya and the rest of the world, dwarfing international SMS traffic. A key difference, however, is that Kenya receives far more international SMS messages than it sends.
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Notably, the number of international text messages, both incoming and outgoing, is decreasing. In the referenced period, the percentage decrease in international incoming SMS traffic is approximately 9.97%. The outgoing SMS traffic decreased by 30.32% from 3,739,629 to 2,605,963.
EAC Migrants
The East African Community (EAC) countries are where most of this traffic is to and from. EAC accounted for 77.70% (104,315,553) of incoming mobile voice traffic. In terms of outgoing calls, the region accounted for 66.29% (116,182,986).
This could be a clear indicator of the growing east African community that has migrated to Kenya.