Kenya
Republic of Kenya
republicIndependence 12 December 1963 (from UK)
Kenya as the 2005 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 122 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.
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Introduction
1 fieldBackground
Founding president and liberation struggle icon Jomo KENYATTA led Kenya from independence 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 are viewed as having generally reflected the will of the Kenyan people. President MOI stepped down in December of 2002 following fair and peaceful elections. Mwai KIBAKI, running as the candidate of the multiethnic, united opposition group, the National Rainbow Coalition, defeated KANU candidate Uhuru KENYATTA and assumed the presidency following a campaign centered on an anticorruption platform.
Geography
Eastern Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean, between Somalia and Tanzania
18 fieldsLand useshare of 582,650 sq km
Natural resources
limestone, soda ash, salt, gemstones, fluorspar, zinc, diatomite, gypsum, wildlife, hydropower
Environment - current issues
- 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
Environment - international agreements
- party to:
- Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
- signed, but not ratified:
- none of the selected agreements
Geography - note
- 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
People
20 fieldsAge structuremale left, female right · (2005 est.)
Note
Per 1,000 population
Male · female
Net migration rate
0.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population note: according to UNHCR, by the end of 2001 Kenya was host to 220,000 refugees from neighboring countries, including: Somalia 145,000 and Sudan 68,000 (2005 est.)
Sex ratio
- at birth:
- 1.02 male(s)/female
- under 15 years:
- 1.02 male(s)/female
- 15-64 years:
- 1.01 male(s)/female
- 65 years and over:
- 0.84 male(s)/female
- total population:
- 1.01 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Major infectious diseases
- degree of risk:
- very high
- food or waterborne diseases:
- bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
- vectorborne disease:
- malaria is a high risk in some locations
- water contact disease:
- schistosomiasis (2004)
Government
Republic; President Mwai KIBAKI (since 30 December 2002) and Vice President Moody AWORI (since 25 September 2003); President Mwai KIBAKI (since 30 December 2002) and Vice President Moody AWORI (since 25 September 2003)
18 fieldsPresidential electionpercent of vote
National Assembly or Bunge, 87 seats, elected 27 December 2002one dot, one seat
Country name
- conventional long form:
- Republic of Kenya
- conventional short form:
- Kenya
- former:
- British East Africa
Administrative divisions
7 provinces and 1 area*; Central, Coast, Eastern, Nairobi Area*, North Eastern, Nyanza, Rift Valley, Western
Constitution
- 12 December 1963;
- amended as a republic 1964;
- reissued with amendments 1979, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1997, and 2001
Legal system
- 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
Executive branch
- chief of state:
- President Mwai KIBAKI (since 30 December 2002) and Vice President Moody AWORI (since 25 September 2003);
- note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
- head of government:
- President Mwai KIBAKI (since 30 December 2002) and Vice President Moody AWORI (since 25 September 2003);
- note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
- cabinet:
- Cabinet appointed by the president
- elections:
- president elected by popular vote for a five-year term;
- in addition to receiving the largest number of votes in absolute terms, the presidential candidate must also win 25% or more of the vote in at least five of Kenya's seven provinces and one area to avoid a runoff;
- election last held 27 December 2002 (next to be held December 2007);
- vice president appointed by the president
- election results:
- President Mwai KIBAKI elected; percent of vote - Mwai KIBAKI 63%, Uhuru KENYATTA 30%
Legislative branch
unicameral National Assembly or Bunge (224 seats; 210 members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms, 12 so-called "nominated" members who are appointed by the president but selected by the parties in proportion to their parliamentary vote totals, 2 ex-officio members)
- elections:
- last held 27 December 2002 (next to be held by early 2007)
- election results:
- percent of vote by party - NA%;
- seats by party - NARC 125, KANU 64, FORD-P 14, other 7;
- ex-officio 2;
- seats appointed by the president - NARC 7, KANU 4, FORD-P 1
Political parties and leaders
- Forum for the Restoration of Democracy-People or FORD-People [Kimaniwa NYOIKE, chairman];
- Kenya African National Union or KANU [Uhuru KENYATTA];
- National Rainbow Coalition or NARC [Mwai KIBAKI] - the governing party
Political pressure groups and leaders
- human rights groups;
- labor unions;
- Muslim organizations;
- National Convention Executive Council or NCEC, a proreform coalition of political parties and nongovernment organizations [Kivutha KIBWANA];
- Protestant National Council of Churches of Kenya or NCCK [Mutava MUSYIMI];
- Roman Catholic and other Christian churches;
- Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims or SUPKEM [Shaykh Abdul Gafur al-BUSAIDY]
International organization participation
ACP, AfDB, AU, C, EADB, FAO, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador Leonard NGAITHE
- chancery:
- 2249 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
- telephone:
- [1] (202) 387-6101
- FAX:
- [1] (202) 462-3829
- consulate(s) general:
- Los Angeles
Diplomatic representation from the US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador William M. BELLAMY
- embassy:
- US Embassy, United Nations Ave., Gigiri; P. O. Box 606 Village Market Nairobi
- mailing address:
- Box 21A, Unit 64100, APO AE 09831
- telephone:
- [254] (20) 537-800
- FAX:
- [254] (20) 537-810
Flag description
- three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and green;
- the red band is edged in white;
- a large warrior's shield covering crossed spears is superimposed at the center
Economy
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.
39 fieldsGDP - composition by sector(2004 est.)
Trading partnersexports left, imports right
Electricity
Economy - overview
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 27 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. In 2003, progress was made in rooting out corruption and encouraging donor support, with GDP growth edging up to 1.7%. GDP grew a moderate 2.2% in 2004.
Agriculture - products
tea, coffee, corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruit, vegetables; dairy products, beef, pork, poultry, eggs
Industries
- small-scale consumer goods (plastic, furniture, batteries, textiles, soap, cigarettes, flour), agricultural products;
- oil refining, aluminum, steel, lead, cement;
- commercial ship repair, tourism
Imports - commodities
machinery and transportation equipment, petroleum products, motor vehicles, iron and steel, resins and plastics
Exchange rates
Kenyan shillings per US dollar - 79.174 (2004), 75.936 (2003), 78.749 (2002), 78.563 (2001), 76.176 (2000)
Communications
8 fieldsTelephone system
- general assessment:
- unreliable; little attempt to modernize except for service to business
- domestic:
- trunks are primarily microwave radio relay; business data commonly transferred by a very small aperture terminal (VSAT) system
- international:
- country code - 254; satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat
Transportation
9 fieldsAirports by runway lengthpaved left, unpaved right
Networkskm
Merchant marine
- total:
- 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,049 GRT/7,082 DWT
- by type:
- cargo 2, petroleum tanker 1
- registered in other countries:
- 6 (2005)
Military
Army, Navy, Air Force
6 fieldsTransnational Issues
3 fieldsDisputes - international
- Kenya served as an important mediator in brokering Sudan's north-south separation in February 2005;
- Kenya provides shelter to approximately 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's administrative limits extend beyond the treaty border into the Sudan, creating the Ilemi Triangle
Refugees and internally displaced persons
- refugees (country of origin):
- 154,272 (Somalia) 11,139 (Ethiopia) 63,197 (Sudan)
- IDPs:
- 350,000 (KANU attacks on opposition tribal groups in 1990s) (2004)
Illicit drugs
- 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
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Kenya.” The World Factbook 2005. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/kenya/2005.