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| Introduction | Kenya |
| 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. |
| People | Kenya |
| Population: | 32,021,856 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 2004 est.) |
| Age structure: | 0-14 years: 40.6% (male 6,575,409; female 6,430,218) 15-64 years: 56.5% (male 9,126,847; female 8,962,905) 65 years and over: 2.9% (male 399,050; female 527,427) (2004 est.) |
| Median age: | total: 18.6 years female: 18.7 years (2004 est.) male: 18.5 years |
| Population growth rate: | 1.14% (2004 est.) |
| Birth rate: | 27.82 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Death rate: | 16.31 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Net migration rate: | -0.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population note: according to UNHCR, by the end of 2001 Kenya was host to 220,000 refugees from neighboring countries, including: Somalia 145,000 and Sudan 68,000 (2004 est.) |
| Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate: | total: 62.62 deaths/1,000 live births female: 59.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) male: 65.55 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 44.94 years male: 44.79 years female: 45.1 years (2004 est.) |
| Total fertility rate: | 3.31 children born/woman (2004 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: | typhoid fever, malaria, schistosomiasis overall degree of risk: very high (2004) |
| 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%, indigenous beliefs 10%, Muslim 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.) |
| Government | Kenya |
| Country name: | conventional long form: Republic of Kenya conventional short form: Kenya former: British East Africa |
| Government 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, 1992, 1997, and 2001 |
| 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) and 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) and Vice President Moody AWORI (since 25 September 2003); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year 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 NA 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 by early 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-People or FORD-People [Kimaniwa NYOIKE, chairman]; Kenya African National Union or KANU [Uhuru KENYATTA]; National Rainbow Coalition or NARC [Mwai KIBAKI] - the governing party |
| 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 [Kivutha KIBWANA]; 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] |
| International organization participation: | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, EADB, FAO, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OPCW, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNMISET, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
| Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Yusuf Abdulraham NZIBO consulate(s) general: offices in Los Angeles and New York are closed; mission to the UN remains open FAX: [1] (202) 462-3829 telephone: [1] (202) 387-6101 chancery: 2249 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 |
| Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Johnnie CARSON embassy: US Embassy, United Nations Ave., Gigiti; P. O. Box 606 Village Market Nairobi mailing address: Box 21A, Unit 64100, APO AE 09831 telephone: [254] (2) 537-800 FAX: [254] (2) 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 |
| Communications | Kenya |
| Telephones - main lines in use: | 328,400 (2003) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular: | 1,590,800 (2003) |
| 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 (2002) |
| Televisions: | 730,000 (1997) |
| Internet country code: | .ke |
| Internet hosts: | 8,325 (2003) |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs): | 65 (2001) |
| Internet users: | 400,000 (2002) |
| Transportation | Kenya |
| Railways: | total: 2,778 km narrow gauge: 2,778 km 1.000-m gauge (2003) |
| Highways: | total: 63,942 km paved: 7,737 km unpaved: 56,205 km (2000) |
| Waterways: | part of Lake Victoria system is within boundaries of Kenya (2004) |
| Pipelines: | refined products 752 km (2004) |
| Ports and harbors: | Kisumu, Lamu, Mombasa |
| Merchant marine: | total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,049 GRT/7,082 DWT registered in other countries: 9 (2003 est.) by type: petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 2 |
| Airports: | 221 (2003 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways: | total: 15 over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways: | total: 206 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 914 to 1,523 m: 110 under 914 m: 84 (2004 est.) |
| Military | Kenya |
| Military branches: | Army, Navy, Air Force |
| Military manpower - availability: | males age 15-49: 8,313,051 (2004 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service: | males age 15-49: 5,150,405 (2004 est.) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure: | $231 million (2003) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | 1.8% (2003) |
| Transnational Issues | Kenya |
| Disputes - international: | Kenya's administrative boundary still extends into the Sudan, creating the "Ilemi Triangle"; Kenya has acted as an important mediator in Sudan's north-south civil war; Kenya and Uganda are working together to stem cattle rustling and violence by Lord's Resistance Army along the border |
| Refugees and internally displaced persons: | refugees (country of origin): 154,272 (Somalia), 11,139 (Ethiopia), 63,197 (Sudan) IDPs: 350,000 (KANU attacks on opposition tribal groups in 1990s) (2004) |
| 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 |
| This page was last updated on 16 December, 2004 |
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