KENYA
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KENYA
@Kenya:Geography
Location: Eastern Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean, between Somalia
and Tanzania
Map references: Africa
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KENYA - MAJOR CITIES
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Latitude, Internat'l Time
Population Longitude Phone Code Zone
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NAIROBI 1,104,000 1.17S, 36.50E 254-2 GMT+3
Mombasa 426,000 4.04S, 39.40E 254-11 GMT+3
Kisumu 167,000 0.08S, 34.47E 254-35 GMT+3
Nakuru 102,000 0.16S, 36.04E 254-37 GMT+3
Eldoret 60,000 0.31N, 35.17E 254-321 GMT+3
Thika 41,000 1.03S, 37.05E 254-151 GMT+3
Nyeri 36,000 0.25S, 36.56E 254-171 GMT+3
Nanyuki 15,000 0.01N, 37.05E 254-176 GMT+3
Kitale 14,000 1.01N, 35.01E 254-325 GMT+3
Malindi 12,000 3.14S, 40.05E 254-123 GMT+3
Kericho 11,000 0.22S, 35.19E 254-361 GMT+3
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Area:
total area: 582,650 sq km
land area: 569,250 sq km
comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of Nevada
Land boundaries: total 3,446 km, Ethiopia 830 km, Somalia 682 km,
Sudan 232 km, Tanzania 769 km, Uganda 933 km
Coastline: 536 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: administrative boundary with Sudan does not
coincide with international boundary; possible claim by Somalia based
on unification of ethnic Somalis
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
Natural resources: gold, limestone, soda ash, salt barytes, rubies,
fluorspar, garnets, wildlife
Land use:
arable land: 3%
permanent crops: 1%
meadows and pastures: 7%
forest and woodland: 4%
other: 85%
Irrigated land: 520 sq km (1989)
Environment:
current issues: water pollution from urban and industrial wastes;
degradation of water quality from increased use of pesticides and
fertilizers; deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; poaching
natural hazards: NA
international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life
Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified -
Desertification
Note: the Kenyan Highlands comprise one of the most successful
agricultural production regions in Africa; glaciers on Mt. Kenya;
unique physiography supports abundant and varied wildlife of
scientific and economic value
@Kenya:People
Population: 28,817,227 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 48% (female 6,841,235; male 6,957,908)
15-64 years: 50% (female 7,277,061; male 7,085,925)
65 years and over: 2% (female 359,659; male 295,439) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.99% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 41.66 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 12.04 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -19.69 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 73.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 52.41 years
male: 50.72 years
female: 54.16 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 5.76 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Kenyan(s)
adjective: Kenyan
Ethnic divisions: Kikuyu 22%, Luhya 14%, Luo 13%, Kalenjin 12%, Kamba
11%, Kisii 6%, Meru 6%, Asian, European, and Arab 1%, other 15%
Religions: Protestant (including Anglican) 38%, Roman Catholic 28%,
indigenous beliefs 26%, other 8%
Languages: English (official), Swahili (official), numerous indigenous
languages
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1989)
total population: 71%
male: 81%
female: 62%
Labor force:
by occupation: agriculture 75%-80% (1993 est.), non-agriculture
20%-25% (1993 est.)
@Kenya:Government
Names:
conventional long form: Republic of Kenya
conventional short form: Kenya
former: British East Africa
Digraph: KE
Type: republic
Capital: Nairobi
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, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1991, and 1992
Legal system: based on 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 and head of government: President Daniel Toroitich arap
MOI (since 14 October 1978); Vice President George SAITOTI (since 10
May 1989); election last held on 29 December 1992 (next to be held NA
1997); results - President Daniel T. arap MOI was reelected with 37%
of the vote; Kenneth Matiba (FORD-ASILI) 26%; Mwai Kibaki (SP) 19%,
Oginga Odinga (FORD-Kenya) 17%
cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the president
Legislative branch: unicameral
National Assembly (Bunge): elections last held on 29 December 1992
(next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats -
(188 total) KANU 100, FORD-Kenya 31, FORD-Asili 31, DP 23, smaller
parties 3; president nominates 12 additional members
note: first multiparty election since repeal of one-party state law in
1991
Judicial branch: Court of Appeal, High Court
Political parties and leaders: ruling party is Kenya African National
Union (KANU), President Daniel Toroitich arap MOI; opposition parties
include Forum for the Restoration of Democracy (FORD-Kenya), Michael
WAMALWA; Forum for the Restoration of Democracy (FORD-Asili), Kenneth
MATIBA; Democratic Party of Kenya (DP), Mwai KIBAKI
Other political or pressure groups: labor unions; Roman Catholic
Church
Member of: ESCAP, FAO, G-77, ICAO, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IMO, INTELSAT
(nonsignatory user), IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO,
UNOMIL, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Benjamin Edgar KIPKORIR
chancery: 2249 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 387-6101
FAX: [1] (202) 462-3829
consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: Ambassador Aurelia BRAZEAL
embassy: corner of Moi Avenue and Haile Selassie Avenue, Nairobi
mailing address: P. O. Box 30137, Unit 64100, Nairobi; APO AE 09831
telephone: [254] (2) 334141
FAX: [254] (2) 340838
Flag: 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: Kenya in recent years has had one of the highest natural
rates of growth in population, but the statistics have been
complicated by the large-scale movement of nomadic groups and of
Somalis back and forth across the border. Population growth has been
accompanied by deforestation, deterioration in the road system, the
water supply, and other parts of the infrastructure. In industry and
services, Nairobi's reluctance to embrace IMF-supported reforms had
held back investment and growth in 1991-93. Nairobi's push on economic
reform in 1994, however, helped support a 3.3% increase in output.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $33.1 billion (1994
est.)
National product real growth rate: 3.3% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $1,170 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 30% (1994 est.)
Unemployment rate: 35% urban (1994 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $2.4 billion
expenditures: $2.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $740
million (1990 est.)
Exports: $1.45 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
commodities: tea 25%, coffee 18%, petroleum products 11% (1990)
partners: EC 47%, Africa 23%, Asia 11%, US 4%, Middle East 3% (1991)
Imports: $1.85 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
commodities: machinery and transportation equipment 29%, petroleum and
petroleum products 15%, iron and steel 7%, raw materials, food and
consumer goods (1989)
partners: EC 46%, Asia 23%, Middle East 20%, US 5% (1991)
External debt: $7 billion (1994 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 3.9% (1991 est.); accounts for 14%
of GDP
Electricity:
capacity: 810,000 kW
production: 3.3 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 117 kWh (1993)
Industries: small-scale consumer goods (plastic, furniture, batteries,
textiles, soap, cigarettes, flour), processing agricultural products,
oil refining, cement, tourism
Agriculture: most important sector, accounting for 27% of GDP and 65%
of exports; cash crops - coffee, tea; food products - corn, wheat,
sugarcane, fruit, vegetables, dairy products, beef, pork, poultry,
eggs
Illicit drugs: widespread harvesting of small, wild plots of marijuana
and qat; most locally consumed; transit country for Southwest Asian
heroin moving to West Africa and onward to Europe and North America;
Indian methaqualone also transits on way to South Africa
Economic aid:
recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $839 million;
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-89), $7.49 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $74 million;
Communist countries (1970-89), $83 million
Currency: 1 Kenyan shilling (KSh) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Kenyan shillings (KSh) per US$1 - 44.478 (January
1995), 56.051 (1994), 58.001 (1993), 32.217 (1992), 27.508 (1991),
22.915 (1990)
Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June
@Kenya:Transportation
Railroads:
total: 2,650 km
narrow gauge: 2,650 km 1.000-m gauge
Highways:
total: 64,590 km
paved: 7,000 km
unpaved: gravel 4,150 km; improved earth 53,440 km
Inland waterways: part of Lake Victoria system is within boundaries of
Kenya
Pipelines: petroleum products 483 km
Ports: Kisumu, Lamu, Mombasa
Merchant marine:
total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,883 GRT/6,255 DWT
ships by type: barge carrier 1, oil tanker 1
Airports:
total: 246
with paved runways over 3,047 m: 3
with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 22
with paved runways under 914 m: 83
with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 14
with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 119
@Kenya:Communications
Telephone system: over 260,000 telephones; in top group of African
systems
local: NA
intercity: consists primarily of microwave radio relay links
international: 2 INTELSAT (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) earth
stations
Radio:
broadcast stations: AM 16, FM 4, shortwave 0
radios: NA
Television:
broadcast stations: 6
televisions: NA
@Kenya:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary General Service Unit of
the Police
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 6,358,344; males fit for
military service 3,932,506 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $136 million, 1.9% of
GDP (FY93/94)
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