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 a 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. Kenya in August 2010 adopted a new constitution that eliminates the role of prime minister after the next presidential election.

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

41,070,934 (July 2011 est.)

33.54 births/1,000 population (2011 est.)

8.93 deaths/1,000 population (July 2011 est.)

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2011 est.)

NAIROBI (capital) 3.375 million; Mombassa 966,000 (2009)

4.19 children born/woman (2011 est.)

1.5 million (2009 est.)

urban: 83% of population

rural: 52% of population

total: 59% of population

urban: 17% of population

rural: 48% of population

total: 41% of population (2008)

urban: 27% of population

rural: 32% of population

total: 31% of population

urban: 73% of population

rural: 68% of population

total: 69% of population (2008)

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; note - the constitution promulgated in August 2010 designates 47 yet-to-be-defined counties as first-order administrative units

12 December 1963 (from the UK)

Independence Day, 12 December (1963); Madaraka Day, 1 June; Mashujaa Day, 20 October

27 August 2010; the new constitution abolishes the position of prime minister and establishes a bicameral legislature; many details have yet to be finalized and will require significant legislative action

mixed legal system of English common law, Islamic law, and customary law; judicial review in High Court

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

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); note - the constitution promulgated in August 2010 changes the legislature to a bicameral parliament consisting of a 290 member National Assembly and a 94 member Senate; parliament members will serve five year terms

Court of Appeal (chief justice is appointed by the president); High Court; note - the constitution promulgated in August 2010 specifies three superior courts consisting of a Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and High Court, and three subordinate courts consisting of Magistrate courts, Kadhis courts (sentences according to Muslim law), and Courts Martial

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 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, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MONUSCO, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, 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

Although 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. The IMF, which had resumed loans in 2000 to help Kenya through a drought, again halted lending in 2001 when the government failed to institute several anticorruption measures. 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 GDP growth to 1.7 in 2008, but the economy rebounded in 2009-10.

$66.03 billion (2010 est.)

$62.9 billion (2009 est.)

$61.31 billion (2008 est.)

$32.16 billion (2010 est.)

17.94 million (2010 est.)

21.3% of GDP (2010 est.)

50.9% of GDP (2010 est.)

46.3% of GDP (2009 est.)

14.8% (31 December 2009 est.)

14.02% (31 December 2008 est.)

$6.333 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$5.717 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$15.38 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$13.5 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$14.11 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$13.17 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$10.76 billion (31 December 2009)

$10.92 billion (31 December 2008)

$13.39 billion (31 December 2007)

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.)

76,000 bbl/day (2009 est.)

7,270 bbl/day (2007 est.)

80,530 bbl/day (2007 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2010 est.)

0 cu m (1 January 2010 est.)

$-1.414 billion (2010 est.)

$-1.611 billion (2009 est.)

$5.141 billion (2010 est.)

$4.459 billion (2009 est.)

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

UK 11.31%, Netherlands 9.81%, Uganda 9.07%, Tanzania 8.83%, US 5.93%, Pakistan 5.63% (2009)

$10.4 billion (2010 est.)

$9.715 billion (2009 est.)

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

India 11.67%, China 10.58%, UAE 9.32%, South Africa 8.36%, Saudi Arabia 6.53%, US 6.25%, Japan 5.1% (2009)

$4.585 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$3.85 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$7.935 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$7.795 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$2.337 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$2.129 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$338 million (31 December 2010 est.)

$288 million (31 December 2009 est.)

Kenyan shillings (KES) per US dollar -

19.365 million (2009)

about a half-dozen privately-owned TV stations and a state-owned television broadcaster that operates 2 channels; satellite and cable TV subscription services are available; state-owned radio broadcaster operates 2 national radio channels and provides regional and local radio services in multiple languages; a large number of private radio broadcasters, including provincial stations broadcasting in local languages; transmissions of several international broadcasters are available (2007)

3.996 million (2009)

oil 4 km; refined products 928 km (2010)

(the only significant inland waterway in the country is the part of Lake Victoria within the boundaries of Kenya; Kisumu is the main port and has ferry connections to Uganda and Tanzania) (2010)

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

18-26 years of age for voluntary service (under 18 with parental consent), with a 9-year obligation (7 years for Kenyan Navy); applicants must be Kenyan citizens and provide a national identity card (obtained at age 18) and a school-leaving certificate (2010)

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