Geography
Area: 582,646 sq. km. (224,960 sq mi.); slightly smaller than Texas.
Cities: Capital--Nairobi (pop. 2.1 million). Other cities--Mombasa (665,000), Kisumu (504,000), Nakuru (1.2 million).
Terrain: Kenya rises from a low coastal plain on the Indian Ocean in a series of mountain ridges and plateaus which stand above 3,000 meters (9,000 ft.) in the center of the country. The Rift Valley bisects the country above Nairobi, opening up to a broad arid plain in the north. Mountain plains cover the south before descending to the shores of Lake Victoria in the west.
Climate: Varies from the tropical south, west, and central regions to arid and semi-arid in the north and the northeast.

People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Kenyan(s).
Population (July 2006 est.): 34.7 million.
Ethnic groups: African--Kikuyu 21%, Luhya 14%, Luo 13%, Kalenjin 11%, Kamba 11%, Kisii 6%, Meru 5%. Non-African--Asian, European, Arab 1%.
Religions: Indigenous beliefs 10%, Protestant 45%, Roman Catholic 33%, Muslim 12%.
Languages: English, Swahili, more than 40 local ethnic languages.
Education: Years compulsory--None, but first 8 years of primary school are provided through cost-sharing between government and parents. Attendance--92% for primary grades. Adult literacy rate--73.6%.
Health: Infant mortality rate--78.5/1,000. Life expectancy--48.3 yrs.
Work force (1.7million wage earners): Public sector 30%; private sector 70%. Informal sector workers--3.7 million. Services--45%; industry and commerce--35%; agriculture--20%.

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Government
Type: Republic.
Independence: December 12, 1963.
Constitution: 1963.
Branches: Executive--president (chief of state, head of government, commander in chief of armed forces). Legislative--unicameral National Assembly (parliament). Judicial--Court of Appeal, High Court, various lower and special courts, including Kadhis’ (Islamic) courts.
Administrative subdivisions: 69 districts, joined to form 7 rural provinces. Nairobi area has special status.
Political parties: Registered political parties, 41. Ruling party, National Rainbow Coalition (NARC), coalition of 14 separately registered parties.
Suffrage: Universal at 18.

Economy
GDP (2005 est.): $16.1 billion.
Annual growth rate (2005): 5.8%.
Gross national income per capita: $480.
Natural resources: Wildlife, 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.
Trade (2004): Exports--$2.6 billion: tea, coffee, horticultural products, petroleum products, cement, pyrethrum, soda ash, sisal, hides and skins, fluorspar. Major markets--Uganda, Tanzania, United Kingdom, Germany, Netherlands, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Egypt, South Africa, United States. Imports--$4.4 billion: machinery, vehicles, crude petroleum, iron and steel, resins and plastic materials, refined petroleum products, pharmaceuticals, paper and paper products, fertilizers, wheat. Major suppliers--U.K., Japan, South Africa, Germany, United Arab Emirates, Italy, India, France, United States, Saudi Arabia.

Background:

Founding president and liberation struggle icon Jomo KENYATTA led Kenya from independence until his death in 1978, when President Daniel Toroitich arap MOI took power in a constitutional succession. The country was a de facto one-party state from 1969 until 1982 when the ruling Kenya African National Union (KANU) made itself the sole legal party in Kenya. MOI acceded to internal and external pressure for political liberalization in late 1991. The ethnically fractured opposition failed to dislodge KANU from power in elections in 1992 and 1997, which were marred by violence and fraud, but are viewed as having generally reflected the will of the Kenyan people. President MOI stepped down in December of 2002 following fair and peaceful elections. Mwai KIBAKI, running as the candidate of the multiethnic, united opposition group, the National Rainbow Coalition, defeated KANU candidate Uhuru KENYATTA and assumed the presidency following a campaign centered on an anticorruption platform.

Location:

Eastern Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean, between Somalia and Tanzania

Geographic coordinates:

1 00 N, 38 00 E

Map references:

Africa

Area:

total: 582,650 sq km
water: 13,400 sq km
land: 569,250 sq km

Area - comparative:

slightly more than twice the size of Nevada

Land boundaries:

total: 3,477 km
border countries: Ethiopia 861 km, Somalia 682 km, Sudan 232 km, Tanzania 769 km, Uganda 933 km

Coastline:

536 km

Maritime claims - as described in UNCLOS 1982 (see Notes and Definitions):

territorial sea: 12 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

Climate:

varies from tropical along coast to arid in interior

Terrain:

low plains rise to central highlands bisected by Great Rift Valley; fertile plateau in west

Elevation extremes:

lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Kenya 5,199 m

Natural resources:

gold, limestone, soda ash, salt, rubies, fluorspar, garnets, wildlife, hydropower

Land use:

arable land: 7.03%
permanent crops: 0.91%
other: 92.06% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land:

670 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:

recurring drought; flooding during rainy seasons

Environment - current issues:

water pollution from urban and industrial wastes; degradation of water quality from increased use of pesticides and fertilizers; water hyacinth infestation in Lake Victoria; deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; poaching

Environment - international agreements:

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:

the Kenyan Highlands comprise one of the most successful agricultural production regions in Africa; glaciers are found on Mount Kenya, Africa's second highest peak; unique physiography supports abundant and varied wildlife of scientific and economic value

Economy