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Kenya

By Prof. Raju Vatsavayi

Name

Official nameRepublic of Kenya — Jamhuri ya Kenya
Former namesThe East Africa Protectorate (1895–1920); the Colony and Protectorate of Kenya (1920–1963); the Dominion of Kenya (1963–1964)
DemonymKenyan
Meaning of the nameFrom Mount Kenya — Kirinyaga to the Kikuyu, Kiinyaa to the Kamba, "the mountain of whiteness" or of the ostrich, for the snow and black rock; the European spelling since the 1860s
Motto"Harambee" — "all pull together," in Swahili; on the arms and in Kenyatta's speeches

Quick facts

CapitalNairobi — founded 1899, the capital since 1905; about 5 million in the county, 6 million in the metropolitan area; at 1,795 m
Largest citiesNairobi; Mombasa, about 1.3 million; Kisumu; Nakuru, a city since 2021; Eldoret, a city since 2024; Ruiru; Kikuyu; Thika; Malindi
Official languagesSwahili — Kiswahili, the national and official language — and English, the language of the courts and the schools; some 60 languages, Kikuyu, Luhya, Kalenjin, Luo and Kamba the largest; Sheng, the slang of Nairobi
CurrencyKenyan shilling — ISO code KES, KSh; 100 cents; about 129 to the U.S. dollar
Time zoneEast Africa Time, UTC+3, all year
Calling code+254
Internet domain.ke
ISO 3166 codesKE · KEN · 404
Vehicle registration codeEAK
Driving sideLeft
Electricity240 V, 50 Hz; plug type G
Independence12 December 1963, from the United Kingdom — Jomo Kenyatta prime minister; the republic 12 December 1964, Kenyatta president
National days12 December, Jamhuri Day — independence and the republic; 1 June, Madaraka Day, for self-rule in 1963; 20 October, Mashujaa Day, Heroes' Day, once Kenyatta Day; 1 May; 10 October, Utamaduni Day; the Christian and Muslim feasts; 25 June marked by the young since 2024
Constitution27 August 2010 — the Constitution of Kenya, approved by the referendum of 4 August 2010 with 67%, replacing the independence constitution of 1963 as amended; the 47 counties, the Senate, the Supreme Court and the bill of rights; the "Building Bridges" amendment struck down by the courts in 2021–22
Population47,564,296 at the census of 2019; about 56 million (KNBS and UN, 2025 est.)
Area580,367 km² (224,081 sq mi) — land 569,140 km², water 11,227 km², the Kenyan share of Lake Victoria among it

Flag & national symbols

National flagThree horizontal bands of black, red and green, edged in white — the people, the blood of the struggle, the land, and peace — with a Maasai shield and two crossed spears at the center for the defense of freedom; the flag of the Kenya African National Union with the white fimbriations added; adopted 12 December 1963.Flag of Kenya
Coat of armsA Maasai shield in the flag's colors bearing a cockerel with an axe — the emblem of KANU, the dawn of independence — supported by two golden lions with spears, standing on Mount Kenya with the coffee, tea, pyrethrum, sisal, maize and pineapples of the land, over the scroll "Harambee"; adopted 15 October 1963
National anthem"Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu" ("O God of All Creation") — the Pokomo lullaby of the Tana River arranged by a commission of five, with words in Swahili and English; adopted 1963, among the first anthems written to a native melody
National motto"Harambee"
National colorsBlack, red, green and white
National animalThe lion — on the arms; the "Big Five" of the safaris, the word the Swahili gave the world; the cheetah of the Mara; widely cited
National birdThe lilac-breasted roller — widely cited and never declared; the rooster of KANU on the arms
National treeNone designated — the acacia of the savanna and the fig, the mugumo, sacred to the Kikuyu, widely cited; Wangari Maathai's Green Belt of 50 million trees
National dishUgali — the maize meal — with sukuma wiki, the collard greens, and nyama choma, the roast goat of every gathering; the pilau and biryani of the coast; the chai; widely cited
National dressNone settled — the kanga and the kitenge, the Maasai shuka, the many attempts at a national dress since 2004
Symbol statusThe flag, arms and anthem are fixed by the National Flag, Emblems and Names Act of 1963; the animal, bird, tree, dishes and dress are widely cited, none designated

Geography

LocationEast Africa on the Indian Ocean, astride the equator — Somalia to the east, Ethiopia and South Sudan to the north, Uganda to the west, Tanzania to the south; Lake Victoria in the southwest corner
Land borders3,457 km (2,148 mi) with five countries — Ethiopia 867, Uganda 814, Tanzania 775, Somalia 684, South Sudan 317; the Ilemi Triangle with South Sudan disputed; the maritime boundary with Somalia ruled by the ICJ in 2021
Coastline536 km (333 mi) — from Somalia to Tanzania, the reef and the Swahili towns
Highest pointMount Kenya, 5,199 m (17,057 ft) at Batian — the second-highest in Africa
Lowest pointThe Indian Ocean, 0 m
Mean elevation762 m (2,500 ft)
The Rift ValleyThe Great Rift Valley across the country from north to south — the lakes of Turkana, Baringo, Bogoria of the flamingos and geysers, Nakuru of the flamingos, Naivasha of the flowers, Elmenteita and Magadi of the soda; the escarpments of the Mau and the Aberdares; the volcanoes of Longonot and Suswa; the cradle of humankind on its floor
Rivers and lakesThe Tana, 1,000 km, the longest, from the Aberdares to the sea, with the dams of the Seven Forks; the Athi–Galana; the Ewaso Ng'iro of the north; the Mara of the migration; Lake Victoria, 68,800 km², the largest in Africa, a tenth of it Kenyan; Lake Turkana, 6,405 km², the largest desert lake and the largest alkaline lake in the world, a World Heritage site
TerrainThe coastal plain; the arid north and east, two-thirds of the land; the highlands of the center, the "White Highlands" of the settlers, at 1,500 to 3,000 m; the Rift; the Lake Victoria basin of the west; the Mara and the Tsavo of the parks
ClimateTropical on the coast, temperate in the highlands, arid in the north — the long rains of March to May and the short rains of October to December; the droughts of the 2020s, the worst in forty years in 2022, and the floods of 2024
Natural hazardsDrought — 2022's five failed rains and 4 million hungry; floods — April 2024, about 300 dead, the Mai Mahiu dam burst; the locusts of 2020; earthquakes of the Rift; the terrorism of al-Shabaab — Westgate 21 September 2013, Garissa University 2 April 2015, 148 dead, Dusit 2019
Natural resourcesSoda ash of Lake Magadi; fluorspar; titanium of Kwale; oil at Lokichar in Turkana, found 2012 and unproduced; gold; gemstones — the tsavorite of Tsavo; the geothermal steam of the Rift, the largest in Africa; the tea, coffee and flower land; the wildlife
Land useAgricultural land about 48%, most of it pasture; forest about 6%, the target 10% by 2030 and the 15 billion trees of the president's promise
National parks23 national parks and 28 reserves — Nairobi National Park, the only one within a capital, 1946, the first; Tsavo East and West, the largest; Amboseli under Kilimanjaro; the Maasai Mara reserve of the wildebeest migration of 1.5 million, July to October; Lake Nakuru; Meru; Samburu; the Aberdares; Ol Pejeta with the last two northern white rhinos on earth
UNESCO World Heritage8 — Mount Kenya National Park and the Lake Turkana parks (1997); Lamu Old Town (2001), the Swahili town of 700 years; the sacred Mijikenda kaya forests (2008); Fort Jesus at Mombasa (2011), the Portuguese fort of 1593; the lakes of the Rift Valley (2011); Thimlich Ohinga (2018), the stone settlement of the Luo; the historic town and archaeological site of Gedi (2024); the Isukuti dance and the Kit Mikayi shrine on the intangible list
Administrative divisions47 counties since the Constitution of 2010 — Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Kiambu, Turkana the largest, Lamu the smallest — each with an elected governor and assembly; the eight provinces of 1963 abolished; 290 constituencies; the wards

People

Population47,564,296 (census of 2019); about 56 million (2025 est.)
Population densityAbout 97 per km² (250 per sq mi) overall — the highlands and the lake basin crowded, the north empty
Population growthAbout 2% a year
Median ageAbout 20 years
Life expectancyAbout 67 years
Fertility rateAbout 3.2 births per woman — from 8 in the 1970s, the fastest fall in Africa
Urban populationAbout 30%
Adult literacyAbout 83%
Ethnic groupsKikuyu about 17%; Luhya about 14%; Kalenjin about 13%; Luo about 11%; Kamba about 10%; Somali about 6%; Kisii, Mijikenda, Meru, Maasai, Turkana and some forty others; Asians, Arabs and Europeans under 1% — the Asians recognized as the 44th tribe in 2017 (census of 2019)
LanguagesSwahili by nearly all as the common tongue, English by about half; the mother tongues of the 42 communities — Kikuyu, Dholuo, Kalenjin, Luhya, Kamba, Somali, Maa; Sheng, the Swahili-English slang of the young; Arabic on the coast
ReligionChristian about 85% — Protestant about 33%, Catholic 21%, Evangelical 20%, the African instituted churches 7%; Muslim about 11%, on the coast and in the northeast; traditional beliefs, Hindu, Baha'i; Ruto the first evangelical president (census of 2019)
Human Development Index0.628 (2023 data, 2025 report) — medium; about 146th of 193
The runnersThe Kalenjin of the Rift highlands — the most Olympic and world marathon and steeplechase titles of any people on earth: Kipchoge Keino in 1968, the steeplechase won at every Games since 1984 but one, Eliud Kipchoge's two Olympic marathons and his 1:59:40 in Vienna in 2019, the first under two hours; Faith Kipyegon's three Olympic 1500-meter golds and her mile of 2023; David Rudisha's 800 meters of 2012; the training camps of Iten at 2,400 m
SportAthletics above all; rugby sevens; football, the Harambee Stars, never at a World Cup, hosts of the 2024 African Nations Championship with Uganda and Tanzania and of the 2027 Cup of Nations; the safari rally; cricket's semifinal of 2003
DiasporaAbout 4 million Kenyans abroad by the government's count — in the United States, Britain, Uganda, Tanzania, the Gulf and Canada; the remittances above US$4 billion a year, the largest source of foreign exchange

Government

Form of governmentUnitary presidential republic under the Constitution of 2010 — the president head of state and government, elected for five years, twice, with more than half the vote and a quarter in 24 of the 47 counties; the Deputy President on the ticket; a Prime Cabinet Secretary since 2022; the National Assembly and the Senate; the 47 devolved counties
PresidentWilliam Ruto (United Democratic Alliance), since 13 September 2022 — the fifth; the Deputy President of 2013–22, minister of agriculture and home affairs before, born 21 December 1966 at Kamagut in Uasin Gishu, a chicken-seller in his own telling, the "hustler" against the dynasties; his case at the International Criminal Court over the violence of 2007–08 collapsed in 2016; elected 9 August 2022 with 50.49% against Raila Odinga's 48.85%, the Supreme Court upholding it; the first evangelical Christian in the office
Deputy PresidentKithure Kindiki (UDA), since 1 November 2024 — the 13th; the interior minister of 2022–24, a professor of law and the Senate's first majority leader, born 17 July 1972 at Tharaka; sworn in after the Senate confirmed the impeachment of Rigathi Gachagua on 17 October 2024 on eleven charges from gross violation of the constitution to money laundering, which Gachagua called a political lynching — the first impeachment of a deputy president in the country's history
Prime Cabinet SecretaryMusalia Mudavadi (Amani National Congress), since 27 October 2022 — the office created for him, with foreign affairs since 2023; the Vice President of 2002–03 and Deputy Prime Minister of 2008–13
The 2022 electionHeld 9 August 2022: Ruto 50.49% and 7,176,141 votes to Odinga 48.85% and 6,942,930 — the narrowest since 2007, with four of the seven electoral commissioners disowning the count and the Supreme Court dismissing Odinga's petition unanimously on 5 September; turnout 65%; the Kenya Kwanza coalition against Azimio la Umoja
The Gen Z protestsThe demonstrations against the Finance Bill of 2024 and its taxes, organized online by the young without leaders — parliament breached and set alight on 25 June 2024 as the bill passed, the police firing on the crowd, at least 40 dead by the count of the rights commission and 60 by the rights groups', the largest anti-government protests in the country's history; the bill withdrawn on 26 June, the cabinet dismissed on 11 July; the anniversary protests of 25 June 2025 and Saba Saba, 7 July 2025, with some 50 more dead; the abductions and disappearances of critics in 2024–25 that the rights groups laid to the security agencies and the government denied; the "shoot in the leg" order of the interior minister
The broad-based governmentThe rapprochement with Raila Odinga in the summer of 2024 and the appointment of five ODM figures to the cabinet — the "broad-based" government; the pact of March 2025 between the UDA and the ODM; Odinga, the opposition's leader since 2005, prime minister 2008–13 and the candidate of five elections, dead on 15 October 2025 at 80 in India, mourned for seven days and buried at Bondo; his brother Oburu Odinga the party's acting leader, the ODM out of the Azimio coalition, and the opposition regrouped under Kalonzo Musyoka and Gachagua for 2027
ParliamentThe National Assembly — 349 members, 290 elected from the constituencies, 47 women elected from the counties and 12 nominated, Moses Wetang'ula the Speaker; the Senate — 67, 47 elected from the counties and 20 nominated, Amason Kingi the Speaker; the two-thirds gender rule of the Constitution never met
The next electionThe general election due on 10 August 2027 — the second Tuesday of August of the fifth year — for the president, the two houses, the governors and the assemblies; Ruto seeking his second term; the first in a generation without Odinga on the ballot
The politics of the pastThe election violence of December 2007 to February 2008 — some 1,200 dead and 600,000 displaced after Kibaki's disputed win, the ICC cases against Kenyatta and Ruto that failed; the annulment of the presidential election of 8 August 2017 by the Supreme Court on 1 September, the first in Africa, and Kenyatta's rerun; the "handshake" of Kenyatta and Odinga of 2018; the rule of Moi, 1978–2002, and the one-party state of 1982–91
Legal systemCommon law from England with customary and Islamic law — the Kadhis' courts of the coast; the Supreme Court of 2010 that annulled an election and struck down a president's amendment; the Court of Appeal and the High Court; the judiciary's independence and its budget the recurring fight
Counties47 with elected governors, senators and assemblies, the Council of Governors; the devolution of 2013 sending a fifth of revenue to the counties; the county governments of Nairobi, Mombasa and the rest
SecurityThe Kenya Defence Forces in Somalia against al-Shabaab since October 2011 and within the African Union mission since; the police mission to Haiti that Kenya led from June 2024 to its end in October 2025, the first such; the Shabaab attacks of the northeast; the police reforms after 2024
United NationsMember since 16 December 1963; the UN Environment Programme and UN-Habitat headquartered at Nairobi's Gigiri, the only UN headquarters in the Global South; Security Council seats in 1973–74, 1997–98 and 2021–22
MembershipsThe East African Community, revived in 2000 and seated in Arusha; COMESA; the African Union; the Commonwealth; IGAD; the Non-Aligned Movement; the WTO; a major non-NATO ally of the United States since 2024, the first in sub-Saharan Africa

Economy

GDP (nominal)About US$130 billion (2025, IMF) — the largest economy of East Africa and the third in sub-Saharan Africa after Nigeria and South Africa by some counts
GDP per capitaAbout US$2,300 (2025)
GDP per capita (PPP)About US$7,000 (2025)
GDP growthAbout 5% a year (2023–25) — steady; inflation about 4%; the shilling recovered in 2024 after the Eurobond scare
Economy by sectorServices about 55%, agriculture about 22% — employing over half — industry about 17%
CurrencyKenyan shilling (KES)
Tea, coffee and flowersThe largest exporter of black tea in the world, about 500,000 metric tons a year from Kericho and the smallholders of the highlands, to Pakistan, Egypt and Britain; the fourth exporter of cut flowers, the roses of Naivasha flown to the auctions of Amsterdam; the coffee of the Kikuyu highlands, less each year; the avocados, the largest exporter in Africa
M-Pesa and the techM-Pesa, the mobile money of Safaricom launched in March 2007 — the world's pioneer, with some 35 million users and a half of GDP passing through it; the "Silicon Savannah" of Nairobi's startups; the call centers
TourismAbout 2.4 million visitors in 2024, a record — the safaris of the Mara, Amboseli and Tsavo, the beaches of Diani and Watamu; about 10% of GDP with the spending
RemittancesAbout US$4.9 billion in 2024 — the largest source of foreign exchange, above tea and tourism
Public financesPublic debt about 70% of GDP, about US$80 billion — the Eurobonds and the Chinese loans of the railway; the IMF program of 2021–25; the taxes that brought the young into the streets in 2024; the Finance Bill of 2025 passed without new taxes; the "hustler fund" and the housing levy
Income classificationLower-middle income (World Bank), since 2014

Transport & infrastructure

Main airportsJomo Kenyatta International Airport at Nairobi — the hub of East Africa, about 9 million passengers, the Adani deal for it cancelled in 2024; Moi International at Mombasa; Kisumu; Eldoret; Wilson Airport for the safari planes
AirlineKenya Airways, founded 1977 — "the Pride of Africa," a SkyTeam member, Air France-KLM a shareholder, the losses of a decade and the return to profit in 2024
Main portMombasa — the largest port of East Africa, Kilindini Harbour, the gateway of Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan and eastern Congo; the Lamu port of 2021 for the LAPSSET corridor; the Kisumu port on the lake
RailwaysThe Standard Gauge Railway from Mombasa to Nairobi, 472 km, opened 31 May 2017 and extended to Naivasha in 2019 — built by China for US$4.7 billion, the largest project since independence and the heaviest of the debts; the meter-gauge Uganda Railway of 1901, the "Lunatic Line" that built Nairobi; the Nairobi commuter trains
RoadsAbout 160,000 km (100,000 mi), a fifth paved; the Nairobi Expressway of 2022, the Chinese-built toll road over the city; the Thika Superhighway; the Nairobi–Mombasa road; the matatus, the minibuses of the nation
The migrationThe Mara River crossings of July to October — the wildebeest of the Serengeti–Mara ecosystem, the greatest animal migration on earth

History in dates

c. 1.6 million years agoThe Turkana Boy — Homo erectus at Nariokotome, found 1984; Koobi Fora
c. 1000The Swahili towns of the coast — Lamu, Malindi, Gedi
1498Vasco da Gama at Malindi, 15 April
1593Fort Jesus built by the Portuguese at Mombasa
1895The East Africa Protectorate, 1 July
1899The railway reaches Nairobi
1920The Colony of Kenya; the settlers of the White Highlands
1952The Mau Mau emergency declared, 20 October — some 11,000 fighters killed and 1 million Kikuyu detained by the British count, more by others
1963Self-rule, 1 June; independence, 12 December — Jomo Kenyatta
1964The Republic, 12 December
1969Tom Mboya assassinated, 5 July
1978Kenyatta dies, 22 August; Daniel arap Moi
1982The coup attempt of 1 August; the one-party state
1991Multiparty politics restored, December
1998The U.S. embassy bombed, 7 August — 213 dead
2002Mwai Kibaki elected, 27 December — KANU out after 39 years
2004Wangari Maathai's Nobel Peace Prize, the first for an African woman
2007–2008The election violence — some 1,200 dead
2010The Constitution, 27 August
2013Uhuru Kenyatta president, 9 April; Westgate, 21 September
2015Garissa University attacked, 2 April — 148 dead
2017The presidential election annulled, 1 September
2019Kipchoge's 1:59:40, 12 October
2022William Ruto president, 13 September
2024The Gen Z protests, 25 June; Gachagua impeached, 17 October; Kindiki deputy, 1 November
2025The anniversary protests, June–July; Raila Odinga dies, 15 October
2027The general election due, 10 August

Records & firsts

The cradle of humankindThe Turkana Boy and the Rift
The first marathon under two hoursKipchoge, 1:59:40, 2019
The runners of the RiftThe most distance titles of any people
The largest exporter of black teaAbout 500,000 metric tons
The pioneer of mobile moneyM-Pesa, 2007
The only capital with a national parkNairobi
The largest desert lakeTurkana
The first African woman Nobel laureateWangari Maathai, 2004
The first presidential election annulled in Africa1 September 2017
The only UN headquarters in the Global SouthGigiri, Nairobi
The greatest migration on earthThe Mara, 1.5 million wildebeest
The last two northern white rhinosOl Pejeta
The largest port of East AfricaMombasa
The first impeachment of a deputy president17 October 2024

Frequently asked questions

What is the official name of Kenya?

The Republic of Kenya — Jamhuri ya Kenya in Swahili — a republic since 12 December 1964, a year to the day after independence from Britain under Jomo Kenyatta on 12 December 1963. The name is the mountain's: Mount Kenya, which the Kikuyu call Kirinyaga and the Kamba Kiinyaa, "the mountain of whiteness," for its snows, and which the Germans and British wrote down as Kenia and Kenya; the colony of 1920 took it, and the country kept it. Its second president said it as "Keen-ya" and the first as "Ken-ya," and the second won.

What is the capital of Kenya?

Nairobi — Enkare Nyrobi, "the place of cool waters," in Maasai — a railway camp of 1899 on the line from Mombasa to Uganda, the capital of the colony from 1905 and of the republic since, at 1,795 m on the edge of the highlands; about 5 million people in the county and 6 million in its area, the largest city of East Africa, with a national park of lions and rhinos inside its boundary and the UN's African headquarters in Gigiri. Mombasa on its island, the port of a thousand years, is the second city; Kisumu on Lake Victoria, Nakuru in the Rift and Eldoret of the runners follow.

How big is Kenya, and how many people live there?

About 580,367 km² (224,081 sq mi) — a little smaller than Texas, about the size of France — on the Indian Ocean astride the equator, from the coast over the highlands split by the Great Rift Valley to Lake Victoria in the west and the deserts of the north toward Ethiopia and Somalia. The census of 2019 counted 47,564,296 people; the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics and the UN estimate about 56 million for 2025, a population that has grown sixfold since independence, three-quarters of it under 35.

What are the highest and lowest points of Kenya?

Mount Kenya, 5,199 m (17,057 ft) at Batian, its highest of three peaks — an extinct volcano on the equator with glaciers on its flanks, the second-highest mountain in Africa after Kilimanjaro across the Tanzanian border, a national park and a World Heritage site; and the Indian Ocean. The Great Rift Valley cuts the country from Lake Turkana in the north, the largest desert lake in the world, through the lakes of Baringo, Bogoria, Nakuru and Naivasha to Tanzania; Lake Victoria, the largest lake in Africa, is shared with Uganda and Tanzania.

What currency does Kenya use?

The Kenyan shilling (ISO code KES, KSh), of 100 cents, issued by the Central Bank of Kenya since 1966 in place of the East African shilling — at about 129 to the U.S. dollar, the notes since 2019 without any president's face, by the constitution's rule. M-Pesa, the mobile money of 2007, moves more of the shillings than the banks. Clocks keep East Africa Time, UTC+3, all year; Kenya drives on the left.

Who governs Kenya?

President William Ruto of the United Democratic Alliance, head of state and government since 13 September 2022, elected over Raila Odinga by 50.49 to 48.85 percent — the "hustler" of his own campaign, the first evangelical in the office — with Kithure Kindiki as Deputy President since 1 November 2024, after parliament impeached Rigathi Gachagua in the first such removal in the country's history. The Gen Z protests of June 2024 against the Finance Bill, in which the crowd breached parliament and at least forty died, forced the bill's withdrawal and the cabinet's dismissal; Ruto answered with a "broad-based" government that brought Odinga's ODM into office, and Odinga, the opposition's leader for a generation, died on 15 October 2025. The general election is due on 10 August 2027, with Ruto seeking a second term.

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