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Kenya Country Profile!

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Kenya Country Profile is about Kenya's geography, location, economy, population, ethnic groups, human resources, natural resources, political system and much more. If you found something missed here in Kenya Country Profile, please complete it in the form below. Thank you.

Form of state: Kenya is a republic. The official name of Kenya is Republic of Kenya.

Geographical location: Kenya is in East Africa, along the Indian Ocean and at the equator. The Republic of Kenya has borders with many countries like Ethiopia at the north, Somalia at the northeast, Sudan at the northwest, Tanzania at the south and Uganda and Lake Victoria at the west.

Capital city: Nairobi is the capital city of Kenya and it is the second largest city in Africa. The first largest city is Cairo.

Independence: Kenya gained independence from Britain on December 12, 1963 and the republic was declared exactly after one year.

Geographical area: Kenya occupies 580,367 sq km = 224,080 sq miles.

Population: the population reached 38.5 million in 2009 census.

Government: Semi-Presidential Republic. Jomo Kenyatta was president after the independence in 1963 until Daniel Toroitich Arab Moi who held power for 24 years succeeded him in 1978. The Kenya African National Union, KANU was the only legal political party in the 1980s.

Internal and external pressures forced Moi to move towards political changes in late 1991. Violence and unrest led to the restoration of multi-party atmosphere that time. A decade later, multiethnic, united opposition group, the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC), candidate Mwai Kibaki ended nearly 40 years of Kanu rule in 2002's general election.

Therefore, Moi stepped down in December 2002. Kibaki won under an anticorruption campaign. Kibaki's coalition dissolved in 2005 over constitutional review process. Government defectors joined with KANU to form the Orange Democratic Movement, as a new opposition coalition, which defeated the government's draft constitution in a popular referendum in November 2005.

Kibaki's re-election 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 power sharing accord, bringing ODINGA into the government in the restored position of prime minister.

Constitution: the 12 December 1963 constitution was amended as a republic in 1964, reissued with amendments 1979, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1997, 2001.

Legal system: the legal system is based on Kenyan statutory law, Kenyan and British law, tribal law, and Islamic law; judicial review in High Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; constitutional amendment of 1982 making a de jure one-party state repealed in 1991.

Government structure: President Mwai Kibaki was in office since 30 December 2002 and vice president Stephene Kalonzo Musyoka took office since 10 January 2008. Constitutionally, the president remains chief of state and head of government, but prime minister coordinates government business.

Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president and headed by the prime minister, who is the leader of the largest party in parliament. The President elects by popular vote for a five-year term and is eligible for a second term. Vice president appointed by the president.

Legislatives: the National Assembly or (Bunge) is usually referred to as Parliament with 224 seats; 210 members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms, 12 nominated members who are appointed by the president but selected by the parties in proportion to their parliamentary vote totals, and 2 ex-officio members. Last elections held in 27 December 2007 and the next will be in December 2012.

Political parties: the following are the political parties in Kenya:

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) 14 seats in parliament;
National Rainbow Coalition-Kenya or NARC-Kenya (Martha Karua);Orange Democratic Movement or ODM (Raila Odinga) 99 seats in parliament;
Orange Democratic Movement-Kenya or ODM-K (Kalonza Musyoka) 16 seats in parliament;
Party of National Unity or PNU (Mwai Kibaki) 46 seats in parliament;
Shirikisho Party of Kenya or SPK (Chirau Ali Mwakwere).

Political pressure groups: Here are the political pressure groups in Kenya:

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 Pro-reform Coalition of Political Parties and Nongovernmental Organizations (Ndung'u Wainana);
National Muslim Leaders Forum or NAMLEF (Abdullah 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 (Sheikh Abdul Gafur al-Busaidy)

Coast line: 536 km

Climate: tropical along the coast and arid interior.

Natural resources: limestone, soda ash, salt, gemstones, fluorspar, zinc, diatomite, gypsum, wildlife, hydropower.

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

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

Languages: English and Kiswahili are official. There are also numerous indigenous languages.

Literacy: 85.1%. 90.6% male and 79.7% female.

Administrative divisions: there are 7 provinces and 1 area. Central, Coast, Eastern, Nairobi Area, North Eastern, Nyanza, Rift Valley, Western.

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