Country Summary: Kenya (Republic of Kenya)
Country Name: Kenya (Republic of Kenya)
Capital: Nairobi
Government Type: presidential republic
Background: Trade centers such as Mombasa have existed along the Kenyan and Tanzanian coastlines, known as the Land of Zanj, since at least the 2nd century. These centers traded with the outside world, including China, India, Indonesia, the Middle East, North Africa, and Persia. By around the 9th century, the mix of Africans, Arabs, and Persians who lived and traded there became known as Swahili ("people of the coast") with a distinct language (KiSwahili) and culture. The Portuguese arrived in the 1490s and, using Mombasa as a base, sought to monopolize trade in the Indian Ocean. The Portuguese were pushed out in the late 1600s by the combined forces of Oman and Pate, an island off the coast. In 1890, Germany and the UK divided up the region, with the UK taking the north and the Germans the south, including present-day Tanzania, Burundi, and Rwanda. The British established the East Africa Protectorate in 1895, which in 1920 was converted into a colony and named Kenya after its highest mountain. Numerous political disputes between the colony and the UK subsequently led to the violent Mau Mau Uprising, which began in 1952, and the eventual declaration of independence in 1963.
Jomo KENYATTA, the founding president and an icon of the liberation struggle, led Kenya from independence in 1963 until his death in 1978, when Vice President Daniel Arap MOI took power in a constitutional succession. The country was a de facto one-party state from 1969 until 1982, after which time the ruling Kenya African National Union (KANU) changed the constitution to make itself the sole legal political 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. 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, the son of founding president Jomo KENYATTA, and assumed the presidency following a campaign centered on an anticorruption platform.
KIBAKI's reelection in 2007 resulted in two months of post-election ethnic violence that caused the death of more than 1,100 people and the dislocation of hundreds of thousands. Opposition candidate, Raila ODINGA, accused the government of widespread vote rigging. African Union-sponsored mediation led by former UN Secretary General Kofi ANNAN resulted in a power-sharing accord that brought ODINGA into the government in the restored position of prime minister. The power sharing accord included a broad reform agenda, the centerpiece of which was constitutional reform. In 2010, Kenyans overwhelmingly adopted a new constitution in a national referendum. The new constitution introduced additional checks and balances to executive power and devolved power and resources to 47 newly created counties. It also eliminated the position of prime minister. Uhuru KENYATTA won the first presidential election under the new constitution in March 2013. KENYATTA won a second and final term in office in November 2017 following a contentious, repeat election. In August 2022, William RUTO won a close presidential election; he assumed the office the following month after the Kenyan Supreme Court upheld the victory.
Continent: Africa
Population: 57,052,004 (2023 est.)
Ethnic Groups: Kikuyu 17.1%, Luhya 14.3%, Kalenjin 13.4%, Luo 10.7%, Kamba 9.8%, Somali 5.8%, Kisii 5.7%, Mijikenda 5.2%, Meru 4.2%, Maasai 2.5%, Turkana 2.1%, non-Kenyan 1%, other 8.2% (2019 est.)
Languages: English (official), Kiswahili (official), numerous indigenous languages
Religions: Christian 85.5% (Protestant 33.4%, Catholic 20.6%, Evangelical 20.4%, African Instituted Churches 7%, other Christian 4.1%), Muslim 10.9%, other 1.8%, none 1.6%, don't know/no answer 0.2% (2019 est.)
Economic Overview: fast growing, third largest Sub-Saharan economy; strong agriculture and emerging services and tourism industries; current account deficit and high debt; broadband and mobile-money platform investments; surging inflation due to oil and food hikes; new investor-friendly incentives; environmentally fragile economy
Currency: Kenyan Shilling (KES)
Reserves of Foreign Exchange & Gold: $7.969 billion (2022 est.) note: holdings of gold (year-end prices)/foreign exchange/special drawing rights in current dollars
Real GDP (Purchasing Power Parity): $263.737 billion (2022 est.) note: data in 2017 dollars
Real GDP Growth Rate: 4.85% (2022 est.) note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency
Real GDP per Capita: $4,900 (2022 est.) note: data in 2017 dollars
Exports:
$13.859 billion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars
Comparison Ranking: 100
Export Commodities: tea, cut flowers, coffee, refined petroleum, titanium (2021)
Export Partners: Uganda 14%, Pakistan 8%, Netherlands 8%, United States 8%, United Kingdom 7% (2020)
Imports:
$24.406 billion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars
Comparison Ranking: 87
Import Commodities: refined petroleum, palm oil, broadcasting equipment, packaged medicines, cars (2020)
Import Partners: China 27%, India 11%, United Arab Emirates 7%, Japan 4%, Saudi Arabia 3% (2020)
Natural Resources: limestone, soda ash, salt, gemstones, fluorspar, zinc, diatomite, gypsum, wildlife, hydropower
Agricultural Products: milk, tea, beef, maize, sugar cane, tomatoes, mangoes/guavas, potatoes, beans, bananas
Industries: agriculture, transportation, services, manufacturing, construction, telecommunications, tourism, retail
Industrial Production Growth Rate:
3.87% (2022 est.) note: annual % change in industrial value added based on constant local currency
Comparison Ranking: 101
Labor Force: 24.75 million (2022 est.)
Unemployment Rate: 5.64% (2022 est.) note: % of labor force seeking employment
Natural Hazards: recurring drought; flooding during rainy seasons
Volcanism: limited volcanic activity; the Barrier (1,032 m) last erupted in 1921; South Island is the only other historically active volcano
Geography:
Total: 580,367 sq km
Land: 569,140 sq km
Water: 11,227 sq km
(Country Summary, The World Factbook, CIA.gov)
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