|
|
Background: |
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. A disputed presidential election
victory by KIBAKI over challenger Raila ODINGA in December 2007 led to
widespread rioting. Following talks, the two candidates agreed to an
accord establishing the office of prime minister and the creation of a
coalition government. |
|
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 |
|
Elevation extremes: |
lowest point: Indian
Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Kenya 5,199 m |
|
Natural resources: |
limestone, soda ash, salt,
gemstones, fluorspar, zinc, diatomite, gypsum, wildlife, hydropower |
|
Land use: |
arable land: 8.01%
permanent crops: 0.97%
other: 91.02% (2005) |
|
Irrigated land: |
1,030 sq km (2003) |
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Total renewable water resources: |
30.2 cu km (1990) |
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Freshwater withdrawal
(domestic/industrial/agricultural): |
total: 1.58 cu km/yr
(30%/6%/64%)
per capita: 46 cu m/yr (2000) |
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Natural hazards: |
recurring drought; flooding
during rainy seasons |
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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, 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: |
37,953,838
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, higher death rates, lower population growth
rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than
would otherwise be expected (July 2008 est.) |
|
Age structure: |
0-14 years: 42.2% (male
8,065,789/female 7,953,077)
15-64 years: 55.2% (male
10,498,468/female 10,434,764)
65 years and over: 2.6% (male
457,886/female 543,854) (2008 est.) |
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Median age: |
total: 18.6 years
male: 18.5 years
female: 18.8 years (2008 est.)
|
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Population growth rate: |
2.758% (2008 est.) |
|
Birth rate: |
37.89 births/1,000 population
(2008 est.) |
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Death rate: |
10.3 deaths/1,000 population
(2008 est.) |
|
Net migration rate: |
-1 migrant(s)/1,000 population
(2005 est.) |
|
Sex ratio: |
at birth: 1.02
male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64
years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.84
male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2008 est.)
|
|
Infant mortality rate: |
total: 56.01
deaths/1,000 live births
male: 58.95 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 53.02 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.) |
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Life expectancy at birth: |
total population: 56.64
years
male: 56.42 years
female: 56.87 years (2008
est.) |
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Total fertility rate: |
4.7 children born/woman (2008
est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: |
6.7% (2003 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: |
1.2 million (2003 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - deaths: |
150,000 (2003 est.) |
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Major infectious diseases: |
degree of risk: high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea,
hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne disease: malaria
water contact disease: schistosomiasis (2008) |
|
Nationality: |
noun: Kenyan(s)
adjective: Kenyan |
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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 |
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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) |
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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) |
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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 |
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Suffrage: |
18 years of age; universal
|
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Executive branch: |
chief of state:
President Mwai KIBAKI (since 30 December 2002); Vice President Stephene
Kalonzo MUSYOKA (since 10 January 2008);
head of government:
Prime Minister Raila Amolo ODINGA (since 17 April 2008)
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 2007 (next
to be held in December 2012); vice president appointed by the president
election results: President Mwai KIBAKI reelected; percent of
vote - Mwai KIBAKI 46%, Raila ODINGA 44%, Kalonzo MUSYOKA 9% |
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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
2007 (next to be held in December 2012)
election results:
percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - ODM 99, PNU 43, ODM-K 16,
KANU 14 other 38; ex-officio 2; seats appointed by the president - TBD
|
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Judicial branch: |
Court of Appeal (chief justice
is appointed by the president); High Court |
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Political parties and leaders: |
Forum for the Restoration of
Democracy-Kenya or FORD-Kenya [Musikari KOMBO]; Forum for the Restoration
of Democracy-People or FORD-People [Simeon NYACHAE]; Kenya African
National Union or KANU [Uhuru KENYATTA]; National Rainbow Coalition-Kenya
or NARC-Kenya [Raphael TUJU]; Orange Democratic Movement or ODM [Raila
ODINGA]; Orange Democratic Movement-Kenya or ODM-K [Kalonzo MUSYOKA];
Party of National Unity or PNU [Mwai KIBAKI] |
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Political pressure groups and leaders: |
Council of Islamic Preachers of
Kenya or CIPK [Sheikh Idris MOHAMMED]; Kenya Human Rights Commission [L.
Muthoni WANYEKI]; labor unions; Muslim Human Rights Forum [Ali-Amin
KIMATHI]; 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 [Canon
Peter Karanja MWANGI]; Roman Catholic and other Christian churches;
Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims or SUPKEM [Shaykh Abdul Gafur al-BUSAIDY]
|
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International organization participation: |
ACP, AfDB, AU, C, COMESA, EAC,
EADB, FAO, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC,
IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU,
ITUC, MIGA, MINURSO, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR,
UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
|
|
Diplomatic representation in the US: |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Peter Rateng Oginga OGEGO
chancery: 2249 R Street
NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 387-6101
FAX: [1] (202) 462-3829
consulate(s) general: Los
Angeles |
|
Diplomatic representation from the US: |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Michael RANNEBERGER
embassy: 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 |
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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
|
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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. After some early progress
in rooting out corruption and encouraging donor support, the KIBAKI
government was rocked by high-level graft scandals in 2005 and 2006. In
2006 the World Bank and IMF delayed loans pending action by the government
on corruption. The international financial institutions and donors have
since resumed lending, despite little action on the government's part to
deal with corruption. The scandals have not weighed down growth, with
estimated real GDP growth at more than 6 percent in 2007. |
|
GDP (purchasing power parity): |
$57.65 billion (2007 est.)
|
|
GDP (official exchange rate): |
$29.5 billion (2007 est.)
|
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GDP - real growth rate: |
6.3% (2007 est.) |
|
GDP - per capita (PPP): |
$1,600 (2007 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector: |
agriculture: 23.8%
industry: 16.7%
services: 59.5% (2007 est.) |
|
Labor force: |
11.85 million (2005 est.)
|
|
Labor force - by occupation: |
agriculture: 75%
industry and services: 25% (2003 est.) |
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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) |
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Distribution of family income - Gini index: |
44.5 (1997) |
|
Inflation rate (consumer prices): |
9.3% (2007 est.) |
|
Investment (gross fixed): |
22% of GDP (2007 est.) |
|
Budget: |
revenues: $5.444 billion
expenditures: $6.399 billion (2007 est.) |
|
Public debt: |
50.8% of GDP (2007 est.) |
|
Agriculture - products: |
tea, coffee, corn, wheat,
sugarcane, fruit, vegetables; dairy products, beef, pork, poultry, eggs
|
|
Industries: |
small-scale consumer goods
(plastic, furniture, batteries, textiles, clothing, soap, cigarettes,
flour), agricultural products, horticulture, oil refining; aluminum,
steel, lead; cement, commercial ship repair, tourism |
|
Industrial production growth rate: |
6.1% (2007 est.) |
|
Electricity - production: |
5.502 billion kWh (2005) |
|
Electricity - production by source: |
fossil fuel: 17.7%
hydro: 71%
nuclear: 0%
other: 11.3%
(2001) |
|
Electricity - consumption: |
4.464 billion kWh (2005) |
|
Electricity - exports: |
0 kWh (2005) |
|
Electricity - imports: |
28 million kWh (2005) |
|
Oil - production: |
0 bbl/day (2005 est.) |
|
Oil - consumption: |
64,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)
|
|
Oil - exports: |
8,563 bbl/day (2004) |
|
Oil - imports: |
70,540 bbl/day (2004) |
|
Oil - proved reserves: |
0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
|
|
Natural gas - production: |
0 cu m (2005 est.) |
|
Natural gas - consumption: |
0 cu m (2005 est.) |
|
Natural gas - exports: |
0 cu m (2005 est.) |
|
Natural gas - imports: |
0 cu m (2005) |
|
Natural gas - proved reserves: |
0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
|
|
Current account balance: |
-$980 million (2007 est.)
|
|
Exports: |
$3.76 billion f.o.b. (2007
est.) |
|
Exports - commodities: |
tea, horticultural products,
coffee, petroleum products, fish, cement |
|
Exports - partners: |
Uganda 15.9%, UK 10.3%, US
8.2%, Netherlands 7.9%, Tanzania 7.7%, Pakistan 4.9% (2006) |
|
Imports: |
$7.602 billion f.o.b. (2007
est.) |
|
Imports - commodities: |
machinery and transportation
equipment, petroleum products, motor vehicles, iron and steel, resins and
plastics |
|
Imports - partners: |
UAE 11.8%, India 8.8%, China
8.3%, Saudi Arabia 8.3%, US 7%, South Africa 6.4%, UK 5.3%, Japan 4.7%
(2006) |
|
Economic aid - recipient: |
$768.3 million (2005) |
|
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: |
$3.1 billion (31 December 2007
est.) |
|
Debt - external: |
$7.715 billion (31 December
2007 est.) |
|
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home: |
$1.169 billion (2006 est.)
|
|
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad: |
$124 million (2006 est.) |
|
Market value of publicly traded shares: |
$11.38 billion (2006) |
|
Currency (code): |
Kenyan shilling (KES) |
|
Currency code: |
KES |
|
Exchange rates: |
Kenyan shillings per US dollar
- 68.309 (2007), 72.101 (2006), 75.554 (2005), 79.174 (2004), 75.936
(2003) |
|
Fiscal year: |
1 July - 30 June
|
|
Telephones - main lines in use: |
293,400 (2006) |
|
Telephones - mobile cellular: |
6.485 million (2006) |
|
Telephone system: |
general assessment:
inadequate; fixed-line telephone system is small and inefficient; trunks
are primarily microwave radio relay; business data commonly transferred by
a very small aperture terminal (VSAT) system
domestic: no
recent growth in fixed-line infrastructure and the sole provider, Telkom
Kenya, is slated for privatization; multiple providers in the
mobile-cellular segment of the market fostering a boom in mobile-cellular
telephone usage
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: |
2,120 (2007) |
|
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): |
65 (2001) |
|
Internet users: |
2.77 million (2006)
|
|
Airports: |
225 (2007) |
|
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 (2007) |
|
Airports - with unpaved runways: |
total: 210
1,524
to 2,437 m: 12
914 to 1,523 m: 113
under 914 m:
85 (2007) |
|
Pipelines: |
refined products 900 km (2007)
|
|
Railways: |
total: 2,778 km
narrow gauge: 2,778 km 1.000-m gauge (2006) |
|
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: 1 ship (1000 GRT
or over) 3,737 GRT/5,558 DWT
by type: petroleum tanker 1
registered in other countries: 5 (Bahamas 1, Comoros 1, St
Vincent and The Grenadines 2, Tuvalu 1, unknown 1) (2007) |
|
Ports and terminals: |
Mombasa |
|
Military branches: |
Kenyan Army, Kenyan Navy,
Kenyan Air Force (2007) |
|
Military service age and obligation: |
18 years of age (est.) for
voluntary service, with a 9-year obligation (2007) |
|
Manpower available for military service: |
males age 16-49:
9,044,685
females age 16-49: 8,805,736 (2008 est.) |
|
Manpower fit for military service: |
males age 16-49:
5,688,259
females age 16-49: 5,396,166 (2008 est.) |
|
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: |
2.8% (2006) |
| Transnational Issues |
Kenya |
|
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 |
|
Refugees and internally displaced persons: |
refugees (country of
origin): 150,459 (Somalia), 76,646 (Sudan), 14,862 (Ethiopia)
IDPs: 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
|
|
