Founding president and liberation struggle icon Jomo KENYATTA led Kenya from independence in 1963 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 were viewed as having generally reflected the will of the Kenyan people. President MOI stepped down in December 2002 following fair and peaceful elections. Mwai KIBAKI, running as the candidate of the multiethnic, united opposition group, the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC), defeated KANU candidate Uhuru KENYATTA and assumed the presidency following a campaign centered on an anticorruption platform. KIBAKI's NARC coalition splintered in 2005 over the constitutional review process. Government defectors joined with KANU to form a new opposition coalition, the Orange Democratic Movement, which defeated the government's draft constitution in a popular referendum in November 2005.
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
land
569,250 sq km
water
13,400 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
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
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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, 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
Population
36,913,721
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2007 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
42.1% (male 7,826,804/female 7,720,456)
15-64 years
55.2% (male 10,219,575/female 10,174,922)
65 years and over
2.6% (male 446,355/female 525,609) (2007 est.)
Median age
total
18.6 years
male
18.5 years
female
18.7 years (2007 est.)
Population growth rate
2.799% (2007 est.)
Birth rate
38.94 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Death rate
10.95 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Net migration rate
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth
1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years
1.014 male(s)/female
15-64 years
1.004 male(s)/female
65 years and over
0.849 male(s)/female
total population
1.004 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Infant mortality rate
total
57.44 deaths/1,000 live births
male
60.44 deaths/1,000 live births
female
54.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Life expectancy at birth
total population
55.31 years
male
55.24 years
female
55.37 years (2007 est.)
Total fertility rate
4.82 children born/woman (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate
6.7% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS
1.2 million (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths
150,000 (2003 est.)
Major infectious diseases
degree of risk
very high
food or waterborne diseases
bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne disease
malaria is a high risk in some locations
water contact disease
schistosomiasis (2007)
Nationality
noun
Kenyan(s)
adjective
Kenyan
Ethnic groups
Kikuyu 22%, Luhya 14%, Luo 13%, Kalenjin 12%, Kamba 11%, Kisii 6%, Meru 6%, other African 15%, non-African (Asian, European, and Arab) 1%
Religions
Protestant 45%, Roman Catholic 33%, Muslim 10%, indigenous beliefs 10%, other 2%
note: a large majority of Kenyans are Christian, but estimates for the percentage of the population that adheres to Islam or indigenous beliefs vary widely
Languages
English (official), Kiswahili (official), numerous indigenous languages
Literacy
definition
age 15 and over can read and write
total population
85.1%
male
90.6%
female
79.7% (2003 est.)
Country name
conventional long form
Republic of Kenya
conventional short form
Kenya
local long form
Republic of Kenya/Jamhuri y Kenya
local short form
Kenya
former
British East Africa
Government type
republic
Capital
name
Nairobi
geographic coordinates
1 17 S, 36 49 E
time difference
UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions
7 provinces and 1 area*; Central, Coast, Eastern, Nairobi Area*, North Eastern, Nyanza, Rift Valley, Western
Independence
12 December 1963 (from UK)
National holiday
Independence Day, 12 December (1963)
Constitution
12 December 1963; amended as a republic 1964; reissued with amendments 1979, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1997, 2001; note - a new draft constitution was defeated by popular referendum in 2005
Legal system
based on Kenyan statutory law, Kenyan and English common law, tribal law, and Islamic law; judicial review in High Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; constitutional amendment of 1982 making Kenya a de jure one-party state repealed in 1991
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch
chief of state
President Mwai KIBAKI (since 30 December 2002); Vice President Moody AWORI (since 25 September 2003); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government
President Mwai KIBAKI (since 30 December 2002); Vice President Moody AWORI (since 25 September 2003)
cabinet
Cabinet appointed by the president
elections
president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); in addition to receiving the largest number of votes in absolute terms, the presidential candidate must also win 25% or more of the vote in at least five of Kenya's seven provinces and one area to avoid a runoff; election last held 27 December 2002 (next to be held in December 2007); vice president appointed by the president
election results
President Mwai KIBAKI elected; percent of vote - Mwai KIBAKI 63%, Uhuru KENYATTA 30%
Legislative branch
unicameral National Assembly or Bunge (224 seats; 210 members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms, 12 so-called "nominated" members who are appointed by the president but selected by the parties in proportion to their parliamentary vote totals, 2 ex-officio members)
elections: last held 27 December 2002 (next to be held in December 2007)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NARC 125, KANU 64, FORD-P 14, other 7; ex-officio 2; seats appointed by the president - NARC 7, KANU 4, FORD-P 1
Judicial branch
Court of Appeal (chief justice is appointed by the president); High Court
Political parties and leaders
Forum for the Restoration of Democracy-Kenya or FORD-Kenya [Musikari KOMBO or Soita SHITANDA, disputed]; Forum for the Restoration of Democracy-People or FORD-People [Simeon NYACHAE]; Kenya African National Union or KANU [Nicholas BIWOTT or Uhuru KENYATTA, disputed]; National Rainbow Coalition-Kenya or NARC-K [Mwai KIBAKI, unofficially, since the break-up of KIBAKI's original coalition]; Orange Democratic Movement-Kenya or ODM-Kenya [Raila ODINGA, unofficially]
Political pressure groups and leaders
human rights groups; labor unions; Muslim organizations; National Convention Executive Council or NCEC, a proreform coalition of political parties and nongovernment organizations [Ndung'u WAINANA]; Protestant National Council of Churches of Kenya or NCCK [Mutava MUSYIMI]; Roman Catholic and other Christian churches; Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims or SUPKEM [Shaykh Abdul Gafur al-BUSAIDY]
US Embassy, United Nations Avenue, Gigiri; P. O. Box 606 Village Market Nairobi
mailing address
Box 21A, Unit 64100, APO AE 09831
telephone
[254] (20) 537-800
FAX
[254] (20) 537-810
Flag description
three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and green; the red band is edged in white; a large warrior's shield covering crossed spears is superimposed at the center
Economy - overview
The regional hub for trade and finance in East Africa, Kenya has been hampered by corruption and by reliance upon several primary goods whose prices have remained low. In 1997, the IMF suspended Kenya's Enhanced Structural Adjustment Program due to the government's failure to maintain reforms and curb corruption. A severe drought from 1999 to 2000 compounded Kenya's problems, causing water and energy rationing and reducing agricultural output. As a result, GDP contracted by 0.2% in 2000. The IMF, which had resumed loans in 2000 to help Kenya through the drought, again halted lending in 2001 when the government failed to institute several anticorruption measures. Despite the return of strong rains in 2001, weak commodity prices, endemic corruption, and low investment limited Kenya's economic growth to 1.2%. Growth lagged at 1.1% in 2002 because of erratic rains, low investor confidence, meager donor support, and political infighting up to the elections. In the key December 2002 elections, Daniel Arap MOI's 24-year-old reign ended, and a new opposition government took on the formidable economic problems facing the nation. In 2003, progress was made in rooting out corruption and encouraging donor support. Since then, however, the KIBAKI government has been rocked by high-level graft scandals. The World Bank suspended aid for most of 2006, and the IMF has delayed loans pending further action by the government on corruption. The scandals have not seemed to affect growth, with GDP growing more than 5% in 2006.
GDP (purchasing power parity)
$41.36 billion (2006 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate)
$17.43 billion (2006 est.)
GDP - real growth rate
5.7% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP)
$1,200 (2006 est.)
GDP - composition by sector
agriculture
16.3%
industry
18.8%
services
65% (2004 est.)
Labor force
1.955 million (2006 est.)
Labor force - by occupation
agriculture
75%
industry and services
25% (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate
40% (2001 est.)
Population below poverty line
50% (2000 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share
lowest 10%
2%
highest 10%
37.2% (2000)
Distribution of family income - Gini index
44.5 (1997)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
10.5% (2006 est.)
Investment (gross fixed)
19.2% of GDP (2006 est.)
Budget
revenues
$4.448 billion
expenditures
$5.377 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.)
Uganda 15.8%, UK 10.3%, US 8.2%, Netherlands 7.8%, Tanzania 7.7%, Pakistan 4.9% (2006)
Imports
$6.602 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Imports - commodities
machinery and transportation equipment, petroleum products, motor vehicles, iron and steel, resins and plastics
Imports - partners
UAE 11.9%, India 8.9%, China 8.4%, Saudi Arabia 8.4%, US 7.1%, South Africa 6.4%, UK 5.4%, Japan 4.8% (2006)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold
$2.35 billion (2006 est.)
Debt - external
$6.675 billion (2006 est.)
Economic aid - recipient
$453 million (1997)
Currency (code)
Kenyan shilling (KES)
Currency code
KES
Exchange rates
Kenyan shillings per US dollar - 72.101 (2006), 75.554 (2005), 79.174 (2004), 75.936 (2003), 78.749 (2002)
Fiscal year
1 July - 30 June
Telephones - main lines in use
281,800 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular
6.5 million (2006)
Telephone system
general assessment
unreliable; little attempt to modernize except for service to business
domestic
trunks are primarily microwave radio relay; business data commonly transferred by a very small aperture terminal (VSAT) system
international
country code - 254; satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat
Radio broadcast stations
AM 24, FM 18, shortwave 6 (2001)
Radios
3.07 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations
8 (2001)
Televisions
730,000 (1997)
Internet country code
.ke
Internet hosts
13,274 (2006)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
65 (2001)
Internet users
1.055 million (2005)
Airports
225 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways
total
15
over 3,047 m
4
2,438 to 3,047 m
1
1,524 to 2,437 m
4
914 to 1,523 m
5
under 914 m
1 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways
total
210
1,524 to 2,437 m
11
914 to 1,523 m
115
under 914 m
84 (2006)
Pipelines
refined products 894 km (2006)
Railways
total
2,778 km
narrow gauge
2,778 km 1.000-m gauge (2005)
Roadways
total
63,265 km (interurban roads)
paved
8,933 km
unpaved
54,332 km
note
there also are 100,000 km of rural roads and 14,500 km of urban roads for a national total of 177,765 km (2004)
Waterways
part of Lake Victoria system is within boundaries of Kenya (2006)
Merchant marine
total
3 ships (1000 GRT or over) 6,049 GRT/7,082 DWT
by type
passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 1
registered in other countries
6 (Bahamas 1, Comoros 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2, Tuvalu 1, unknown 1) (2006)
Ports and terminals
Mombasa
Military branches
Kenyan Army, Kenyan Navy, Kenyan Air Force (2007)
Military service age and obligation
18 years of age (est.) (2004)
Manpower available for military service
males age 18-49
7,303,153
females age 18-49
7,083,726 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service
males age 18-49
3,963,532
females age 18-49
3,471,926 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP
2.8% (2006)
Disputes - international
Kenya served as an important mediator in brokering Sudan's north-south separation in February 2005; Kenya provides shelter to almost a quarter of a million refugees, including Ugandans who flee across the border periodically to seek protection from Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels; Kenya works hard to prevent the clan and militia fighting in Somalia from spreading across the border, which has long been open to nomadic pastoralists; the boundary that separates Kenya's and Sudan's sovereignty is unclear in the "Ilemi Triangle," which Kenya has administered since colonial times
431,150 (KANU attacks on opposition tribal groups in 1990s) (2006)
Trafficking in persons
current situation
Kenya is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for forced labor and sexual exploitation; children are trafficked within the country for domestic servitude, street vending, agricultural labor, and sexual exploitation; men, women, and girls are trafficked to the Middle East, other African nations, Western Europe, and North America for domestic servitude, enslavement in massage parlors and brothels, and manual labor; Chinese women trafficked for sexual exploitation reportedly transit Nairobi and Bangladeshis may transit Kenya for forced labor in other countries
tier rating
Tier 2 Watch List - Kenya is placed on the Tier 2 Watch List due to a lack of evidence of increasing efforts to combat severe forms of trafficking
Illicit drugs
widespread harvesting of small plots of marijuana; transit country for South Asian heroin destined for Europe and North America; Indian methaqualone also transits on way to South Africa; significant potential for money-laundering activity given the country's status as a regional financial center; massive corruption, and relatively high levels of narcotics-associated activities
