OFFICIAL NAME:
Republic of Kenya
Geography
Area: 580,367 sq. km. (224,080 sq mi.);
Cities: Capital--Nairobi (pop. 2.9 million; 2007 est.). Other cities--Mombasa (828,500; 2006 est.), Kisumu (650,846; 2005-6), Nakuru (1.3 million; 2005-6), Eldoret (193,830; 1999).
Climate: Tropical in south, west, and central regions; arid and semi-arid in the north and the northeast.
People
Nationality: Kenyan.
Population (July 2009 est.): 39 million.
Major ethnic groups: Kikuyu 22%, Luhya 14%, Luo 13%, Kalenjin 12%, Kamba 11%, Kisii 6%, Meru 6%.
Religions: Christian 80%, Muslim 10%, traditional African religions 9%, Hindu/Sikh/Baha'i/Jewish 1%.
Languages: English (official), Swahili (national), over 40 other languages from the Bantu, Nilotic, and Cushitic linguistic groups.
Education: First 8 years of primary school are provided tuition-free by the government. In January 2008, the government began offering a program of free secondary education, subject to some restrictions. Attendance--92% for primary grades. Adult literacy rate--74%.
Government
Type: Republic.
Independence: December 12, 1963.
Constitution: 1963.
Branches: Executive--president (chief of state, commander in chief of armed forces), prime minister (head of government), and two deputy prime ministers. Legislative--unicameral National Assembly (parliament). Judicial--Court of Appeal, High Court, various lower and special courts, includes Kadhi (Sharia) courts.
Administrative subdivisions: 140 districts, joined to form 7 rural provinces. The Nairobi area has special provincial status. The government has gazetted 37 new districts. The process of establishing these districts is ongoing.
Economy
GDP (2008 est.): $30 billion.
Annual growth rate (2008): 1.7%.
Gross national income per capita (2008): $770 (Atlas Method).
Natural resources: Wildlife, soda ash, land.
Agriculture: Products--tea, coffee, sugarcane, horticultural products, corn, wheat, rice, sisal, pineapples, pyrethrum, dairy products, meat and meat products, hides, skins. Arable land--5%.
Industry: Types--petroleum products, grain and sugar milling, cement, beer, soft drinks, textiles, vehicle assembly, paper and light manufacturing.
Structure of economy (% of GDP): Services--59.5%; industry and commerce--16.7%; agriculture--23.8%.
Work force: Formal sector wage earners--1.95 million (public sector 30%; private sector 70%). Informal sector workers--6.4 million.
Trade (2008): Exports--$4.4 billion: tea, coffee, horticultural products, petroleum products, cement, pyrethrum, soda ash, sisal, hides and skins, fluorspar. Major export markets--Uganda, United Kingdom, Tanzania, Netherlands, United States, Pakistan. Imports--$9.9 billion: machinery, vehicles, crude petroleum, iron and steel, resins and plastic materials, refined petroleum products, pharmaceuticals, paper and paper products, fertilizers, wheat. Major suppliers--United Arab Emirates, India, China, South Africa, Japan.
PEOPLE
Kenya has a very diverse population that includes three of Africa's major sociolinguistic groups: Bantu (67%), Nilotic (30%), and Cushitic (3%). Kenyans are deeply religious. About 80% of Kenyans are Christian, 10% Muslim, and 10% follow traditional African religions or other faiths. Most city residents retain links with their rural, extended families and leave the city periodically to help work on the family farm. About 75% of the work force is engaged in agriculture, mainly as subsistence farmers. The national motto of Kenya is Harambee, meaning "pull together." In that spirit, volunteers in hundreds of communities build schools, clinics, and other facilities each year and collect funds to send students abroad.
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