Country Info:
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Kenya Location:
Physical. Kenya is located in Eastern Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean, between Tanzania and Somalia. It covers an area about twice the size of Nevada. Kenya has a tropical climate along the coast, turning increasingly arid farther inland. Low plains rise into central highlands bisected by the Great Rift Valley, with a fertile plateau in the west. Natural resources include gold, limestone, soda ash, salt barites, fluorspar, garnets, wildlife, hydropower, and rubies.
Kenya Geography:
Geography
Area: 224,900 square miles
Capital: Nairobi (pop 2,343,000)
Environmental concerns: water pollution; deforestation; soil erosion; poaching; water-hyacinth infestation in Lake Victoria
Geographical features: low plains rising to central highlands bisected by the Great Rift Valley with fertile plateau in the west
Climate: tropical to arid
Kenya People:
People. Over 31 million people live in Kenya. Both English and Swahili are official languages of Kenya, while numerous indigenous languages are spoken as well. Ethnically, Kenya is comprised primarily of Africans (99%) including the following groups: Kikuyu (22%) Luhya (14%) Luo (13%) Kalenjin (12%) and Kamba (11%). The country's religious groups include Protestant (38%) Roman Catholic (28%) indigenous beliefs (8%) and others.
31,140,000 people; Kikuyu (22%); Luhya (14%); Luo (13%); Kalenjin (12%); Kamba (11%)
Annual growth rate: 1.15%
Major languages are English; Kiswahili; Maasai
Religions: Protestant (38%); Catholic (28%); indigenous beliefs (26%)
Kenya Government:
Government. In December 2002, Miwai Kibaki ended the 24 year rule of Kenya’s second president, Daniel arap Moi in a landslide. Moi’s earlier designation of the son of the first president as his successor, caused a number of cabinet resignations and solidified the opposition. The elections took place against a backdrop of economic adversity caused by a recession which was due to drop in tourism. International terrorist activities, and spiraling criminal and political violence account for the drop in tourism.
Kenya is a republic and gained its independence from the United Kingdom on December 12, 1963
President Miwai Kibaki is both head of state and government
3 major political parties
Universal suffrage at 18
Kenya Communication:
Communication and transportation
310,000 main telephone lines
400,000 Internet users (2002)
38,198 miles of highway
1,654 miles of railroad
231 airfields
357,000 motor vehicles
Kenya Economy:
Economy. The strength of the tourist industry coupled with years of growth in manufacturing and services has made Kenya, especially Nairobi, the commercial center of East Africa. But after 4 decades of independence, most Kenyans remain impoverished citizens of a struggling state. The richest 10% of the population own an estimated 40% of the wealth. The poorest 30% own only 10%. In the past, economic growth has not greatly improved poverty rates. Kenya has a relatively large middle class that resents repression and corruption from government sources but is fearful of anarchy especially in the face of interethnic clashes.
The social structure has been burdened by the influx of some 300,000 refugees from the neighboring states of Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan. In addition, the population growth rate has only recently been reduced from 3.0%. More than half of all Kenyans are younger than 15 years old. Pressure on arable land is enormous. Creating employment for the number of agrarian workers relocated to urban settings will also be difficult.
Currency: shillings
Per capita GDP: $1,000
GDP: $ 31 billion
GDP growth rate: 1%
Inflation rate: 3.3%
Labor force: 75-80% agriculture
Kenya Information:
www.kenyaweb.com
www.kenyaembassy.com
www.kentimes.com |
