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Kenya
Geography
Area: 580,367 sq. km. (224,080 sq mi.); slightly smaller than
Texas.
Cities: Capital--Nairobi (pop. 2.9 million; 2007 est.). Other
cities--Mombasa (828,500; 2006 est.), Kisumu (650,846; 2005-6),
Nakuru (1.3 million; 2005-6), Eldoret (193,830; 1999).
Terrain: Kenya rises from a low coastal plain on the Indian
Ocean in a series of mountain ridges and plateaus which stand
above 3,000 meters (9,000 ft.) in the center of the country.
The Rift Valley bisects the country above Nairobi, opening
up to a broad arid plain in the north. Highlands cover the
south before descending to the shores of Lake Victoria in
the west.
Climate: Tropical in south, west, and central regions; arid
and semi-arid in the north and the northeast.
People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Kenyan(s).
Population (August 2010 est.): 39 million.
Major ethnic groups: Kikuyu 6.6 million, Luhya 5.3 million,
Luo 4 million, Kalenjin 5 million, Kamba 3.9 million, Kisii
2.2 million, Mijikenda 1.9 million.
Religions: Christian 82.6%, Muslim 11.2%, traditional African
religions 5%, Hindu/Sikh/Baha'i/Jewish 1%.
Languages: English (official), Swahili (national), over
40 other languages from the Bantu, Nilotic, and Cushitic
linguistic groups.
Education: First 8 years of primary school are provided
tuition-free by the government. In January 2008, the government
began offering a program of free secondary education, subject
to some restrictions. Attendance--92% for primary grades.
Adult literacy rate--74%.
Health: Infant mortality rate--57.4/1,000. Life expectancy--55.3
yrs (2007 est.).
Government
Type: Republic.
Independence: December 12, 1963.
Constitution: 1963.
Branches: Executive--president (chief of state, commander
in chief of armed forces), prime minister (head of government),
and two deputy prime ministers. Legislative--unicameral
National Assembly (parliament). Judicial--Court of Appeal,
High Court, various lower and special courts, including
Kadhi (Sharia) courts.
Administrative subdivisions: 140 districts, joined to form
7 rural provinces. The Nairobi area has special provincial
status. The government has gazetted 37 new districts. The
process of establishing these districts is ongoing.
Political parties: Over 40 registered political parties.
Two coalitions, the Party of National Unity (PNU) and the
Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), dominate the political
party scene. PNU membership is filled by parties representing
Kikuyu and closely related ethnic groups; ODM membership
ranks are filled by parties representing nearly everybody
else. PNU and ODM agreed in February 2008 to form a grand
coalition government in a power-sharing arrangement that
ended the political crisis erupting after disputed national
elections in December 2007.
Suffrage: Universal at 18.
Economy
GDP (2009): $29.5 billion.
Annual growth rate (2009): 2.6%.
Gross national income per capita (2008): $770 (Atlas Method).
Natural resources: Wildlife, soda ash, land.
Agriculture: Products--tea, coffee, sugarcane, horticultural
products, corn, wheat, rice, sisal, pineapples, pyrethrum,
dairy products, meat and meat products, hides, skins. Arable
land--17%.
Industry: Types--petroleum products, grain and sugar milling,
cement, beer, soft drinks, textiles, vehicle assembly, paper
and light manufacturing.
Structure of economy (% of GDP): Services--59.5%; industry
and commerce--16.7%; agriculture--23.8%.
Work force: Formal sector wage earners--1.95 million (public
sector 30%; private sector 70%). Informal sector workers--6.4
million.
Trade (2008): Exports--$4.4 billion: tea, coffee, horticultural
products, petroleum products, cement, pyrethrum, soda ash,
sisal, hides and skins, fluorspar. Major export markets--Uganda,
United Kingdom, Tanzania, Netherlands, United States, Pakistan.
Imports--$9.9 billion: machinery, vehicles, crude petroleum,
iron and steel, resins and plastic materials, refined petroleum
products, pharmaceuticals, paper and paper products, fertilizers,
wheat. Major suppliers--United Arab Emirates, India, China,
South Africa, Japan.
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