CIA - The World Factbook

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. KIBAKI's NARC coalition splintered in 2005 over the constitutional review process. Government defectors joined with KANU to form a new opposition coalition, the Orange Democratic Movement, which defeated the government's draft constitution in a popular referendum in November 2005. KIBAKI's reelection in December 2007 brought charges of vote rigging from ODM candidate Raila ODINGA and unleashed two months of violence in which as many as 1,500 people died. UN-sponsored talks in late February produced a powersharing accord bringing ODINGA into the government in the restored position of prime minister.

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

slightly more than twice the size of Nevada

varies from tropical along coast to arid in interior

low plains rise to central highlands bisected by Great Rift Valley; fertile plateau in west

limestone, soda ash, salt, gemstones, fluorspar, zinc, diatomite, gypsum, wildlife, hydropower

recurring drought; flooding during rainy seasons

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

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

35.14 births/1,000 population (2010 est.)

9.26 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.)

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.)

4.38 children born/woman (2010 est.)

1.2 million (2003 est.)

Kikuyu 22%, Luhya 14%, Luo 13%, Kalenjin 12%, Kamba 11%, Kisii 6%, Meru 6%, other African 15%, non-African (Asian, European, and Arab) 1%

Protestant 45%, Roman Catholic 33%, Muslim 10%, indigenous beliefs 10%, other 2%

English (official), Kiswahili (official), numerous indigenous languages

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

12 December 1963 (from the UK)

Independence Day, 12 December (1963)

12 December 1963; amended as a republic 1964; reissued with amendments 1979, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1997, 2001, 2008; note - the 2008 amendments established the coalition government and the position of prime minister

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

18 years of age; universal

unicameral National Assembly or Bunge usually referred to as Parliament (224 seats; 210 members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms, 12 nominated members appointed by the president but selected by the parties in proportion to their parliamentary vote totals, 2 ex-officio members)

Court of Appeal (chief justice is appointed by the president); High Court

Forum for the Restoration of Democracy-Kenya or FORD-Kenya [Musikari KOMBO]; Forum for the Restoration of Democracy-People or FORD-People [Reuben OYONDI]; Kenya African National Union or KANU [Uhuru KENYATTA]; National Rainbow Coalition-Kenya or NARC-Kenya [Martha KARUA]; Orange Democratic Movement or ODM [Raila ODINGA]; Orange Democratic Movement-Kenya or ODM-K [Kalonzo MUSYOKA]; Party of National Unity or PNU [Mwai KIBAKI]; Shirikisho Party of Kenya or SPK [Chirau Ali MWAKWERE]

Council of Islamic Preachers of Kenya or CIPK [Sheikh Idris MOHAMMED]; Kenya Human Rights Commission [L. Muthoni WANYEKI]; Muslim Human Rights Forum [Ali-Amin KIMATHI]; National Convention Executive Council or NCEC, a proreform coalition of political parties and nongovernment organizations [Ndung'u WAINANA]; National Muslim Leaders Forum or NAMLEF [Abdullahi ABDI]; Protestant National Council of Churches of Kenya or NCCK [Canon Peter Karanja MWANGI]; Roman Catholic and other Christian churches; Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims or SUPKEM [Shaykh Abdul Gafur al-BUSAIDY]

ACP, AfDB, AU, C, COMESA, EAC, EADB, FAO, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURCAT, MONUC, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and green; the red band is edged in white; a large Maasai warrior's shield covering crossed spears is superimposed at the center; black symbolizes the majority population, red the blood shed in the struggle for freedom, green stands for natural wealth, and white for peace; the shield and crossed spears symbolize the defense of freedom

The regional hub for trade and finance in East Africa, Kenya has been hampered by corruption and by reliance upon several primary goods whose prices have remained low. In 1997, the IMF suspended Kenya's Enhanced Structural Adjustment Program due to the government's failure to maintain reforms and curb corruption. A severe drought from 1999 to 2000 compounded Kenya's problems, causing water and energy rationing and reducing agricultural output. As a result, GDP contracted by 0.2% in 2000. The IMF, which had resumed loans in 2000 to help Kenya through the drought, again halted lending in 2001 when the government failed to institute several anticorruption measures. Despite the return of strong rains in 2001, weak commodity prices, endemic corruption, and low investment limited Kenya's economic growth to 1.2%. Growth lagged at 1.1% in 2002 because of erratic rains, low investor confidence, meager donor support, and political infighting up to the elections. In the key December 2002 elections, Daniel Arap MOI's 24-year-old reign ended, and a new opposition government took on the formidable economic problems facing the nation. After some early progress in rooting out corruption and encouraging donor support, the KIBAKI government was rocked by high-level graft scandals in 2005 and 2006. In 2006, the World Bank and IMF delayed loans pending action by the government on corruption. The international financial institutions and donors have since resumed lending, despite little action on the government's part to deal with corruption. Post-election violence in early 2008, coupled with the effects of the global financial crisis on remittance and exports, reduced estimated GDP growth to 2% and lower in 2008 and 2009.

$63.73 billion (2009 est.)

$62.48 billion (2008 est.)

$61.44 billion (2007 est.)

$30.57 billion (2009 est.)

17.47 million (2009 est.)

21.5% of GDP (2009 est.)

54.1% of GDP (2009 est.)

60.1% of GDP (2008 est.)

14.02% (31 December 2008)

13.34% (31 December 2007)

$6.068 billion (31 December 2008)

$5.912 billion (31 December 2007)

$5.468 billion (31 December 2008)

$6.464 billion (31 December 2007)

$10.83 billion (31 December 2008)

$10.67 billion (31 December 2007)

$10.92 billion (31 December 2008)

$13.39 billion (31 December 2007)

$11.38 billion (31 December 2006)

tea, coffee, corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruit, vegetables; dairy products, beef, pork, poultry, eggs

small-scale consumer goods (plastic, furniture, batteries, textiles, clothing, soap, cigarettes, flour), agricultural products, horticulture, oil refining; aluminum, steel, lead; cement, commercial ship repair, tourism

5.223 billion kWh (2008 est.)

4.863 billion kWh (2008 est.)

58.3 million kWh (2007 est.)

22.5 million kWh (2007 est.)

0 bbl/day (2008 est.)

75,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)

7,270 bbl/day (2007 est.)

80,530 bbl/day (2007 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2009 est.)

0 cu m (1 January 2009 est.)

-$1.859 billion (2009 est.)

-$1.978 billion (2008 est.)

$4.479 billion (2009 est.)

$5.04 billion (2008 est.)

tea, horticultural products, coffee, petroleum products, fish, cement

UK 10.2%, Netherlands 9.4%, Uganda 9.1%, Tanzania 8.9%, US 6.4%, Pakistan 5.7% (2008)

$9.031 billion (2009 est.)

$10.69 billion (2008 est.)

machinery and transportation equipment, petroleum products, motor vehicles, iron and steel, resins and plastics

UAE 11.9%, India 11.8%, China 10.3%, Saudi Arabia 8.3%, South Africa 5.9%, Japan 5.3%, US 4% (2008)

$2.601 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$2.879 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

$7.729 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$7.855 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

$2.053 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$2.541 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

$42 million (31 December 2009 est.)

$12.4 million (31 December 2008 est.)

Kenyan shillings (KES) per US dollar - 78.042 (2009), 68.358 (2008), 68.309 (2007), 72.101 (2006), 75.554 (2005)

16.304 million (2008)

AM 24, FM 82, shortwave 6 (2008)

oil 4 km; refined products 928 km (2009)

part of Lake Victoria system is within boundaries of Kenya (2007)

Kenya Armed Forces: Kenya Army, Kenya Navy, Kenya Air Force (2010)

18 years of age (est.) for voluntary service, with a 9-year obligation (2007)

Kenya served as an important mediator in brokering Sudan's north-south separation in February 2005; Kenya provides shelter to almost a quarter of a million refugees, including Ugandans who flee across the border periodically to seek protection from Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels; Kenya works hard to prevent the clan and militia fighting in Somalia from spreading across the border, which has long been open to nomadic pastoralists; the boundary that separates Kenya's and Sudan's sovereignty is unclear in the "Ilemi Triangle," which Kenya has administered since colonial times

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