Kenya Background:
Definition Field Listing

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.

Geography :location: Definition Field Listing

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

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

Land boundaries:  border countries: Ethiopia 861 km, Somalia 682 km, Sudan 232 km, Tanzania 769 km, Uganda 933 km.

Coastline: 536 km Maritime claims: Definition Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order territorial sea: 12 nm

exclusive economic zone: 200 mm continental shelf: 200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation Climate:

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, hydro power Land use:

arable land: 8.01% , permanent crops: 0.97% other: 91.02% (2005) Irrigated land: 1,030 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources: 30.2 cu km (1990) Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):

total: 1.58 cu km/yr (30%/6%/64%) per capita: 46 cu m/yr (2000) 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, 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  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: 39,002,772 

Ethnic groups: Definition Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order 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: Definition Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order 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:are 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.)  School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):

Definition Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order total: 10 years male: 10 years female: 9 years (2004)

Government Country name:  Definition Field Listing conventional long form: Republic of Kenya conventional short form: Kenya

local long form: Republic of Kenya/Jamhuri ya 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:

Definition Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order

7 provinces and 1 area*; Central, Coast, Eastern, Nairobi Area*, North Eastern, Nyanza, Rift Valley, Western

Independence: 12 December 1963 (from the 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 Stephene Kalonzo MUSYOKA (since 10 January 2008);

head of government: President Mwai KIBAKI (since 30 December 2002); Vice President Stephene Kalonzo MUSYOKA (since 10 January 2008); note - the roles of the president and prime minister are not well defined at this juncture; constitutionally, the president remains chief of state and head of government, but the prime minister is charged with coordinating government business.