Background: Revered president and liberation struggle icon Jomo KENYATTA led Kenya from independence until his death in 1978 when current 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.

Land boundaries: 3,477 km total; Ethiopia 861 km, Somalia 682 km, Sudan 232 km, Tanzania 769 km, Uganda 933 km

Coastline: 536 km

Maritime claims
Extended economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: varies from tropical along coast to arid in interior

Terrain: low plains rise to central highlands bisected by Great Rift Valley; fertile plateau in west

Natural resources: gold, limestone, diotomite, salt barytes, magnesite, feldspar, sapphires, fluorspar, garnets, wildlife

Land use: 3% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 7% meadows and pastures; 4% forest and woodland; 85% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Geography
Note: Kenyan Highlands one of the most successful agricultural production regions in Africa

Population: 24,639,261 (July 1990), growth rate 3.8% (1990)

Nationality: noun--Kenyan(s; adjective--Kenyan

Ethnic groups: 21% Kikuyu, 14% Luhya, 13% Luo, 11% Kalenjin, 11% Kamba, 6% Kisii, 6% Meru, 1% Asian, European, and Arab

Languages: English and Swahili (official; numerous indigenous languages

Religions: 38% Protestant, 28% Roman Catholic, 26% indigenous beliefs, 6% Muslim

Birth rate: 45 births/1000 population (1990)

Death rate: 7 deaths/1000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1000 population (1990)

Environment
Current issues: unique physiography supports abundant and varied wildlife of scientific and economic value; deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; glaciers on Mt. Kenya

Infant mortality rate: 60 deaths/1000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 62 years male, 67 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 6.5 children born/woman (1990)

Literacy: 59.2%

Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Kenya

Government type: republic

Capital: Nairobi

Administrative divisions: 7 provinces and 1 area*; Central, Coast, Eastern, Nairobi Area*, North-Eastern, Nyanza, Rift Valley, Western

Independence: 12 December 1963 (from UK; formerly British East Africa)

National holiday: Independence Day, 12 December (1963)

Constitution: 12 December 1963, amended as a republic 1964; reissued with amendments 1979, 1983, 1986, and 1988

Legal system: based on English common law, tribal law, and Islamic law; judicial review in High Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations; constitutional amendment in 1982 made Kenya a de jure one-party state

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Executive branch: Chief of State and Head of Government--President Daniel Teroitich arap MOI (since 14 October 1978; Vice President George SAITOTI (since 10 May 1989)

Legislative branch: Kenya Army, Kenya Navy, Air Force; paramilitary General Service Unit

Judicial branch: Court of Appeal, High Court

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, CCC, Commonwealth, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IRC, ISO, ITU, IWC--International Wheat Council, NAM, OAU, UN, UNDP, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us: Ambassador Denis Daudi AFANDE; Chancery at 2,249 R Street NW, Washington DC 20,008; telephone (202) 387-6,101; there are Kenyan Consulates General in Los Angeles and New York; US--Ambassador Smith HEMPSTONE; Embassy at the corner of Moi Avenue and Haile Selassie Avenue, Nairobi (mailing address is P. O. Box 30,137, Nairobi or APO New York 9,675; telephone p254o (2) 334,141; there is a US Consulate in Mombasa

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 overview: A serious underlying economic problem is Kenya's 3.8% annual population growth rate--one of the highest in the world. In the meantime, GDP growth in the near term has kept slightly ahead of population--annually averaging 5.2% in the 1986-88 period. Undependable weather conditions and a shortage of arable land: hamper long-term growth in agriculture, the leading economic sector.

Agriculture products: most important sector, accounting for 30% of GDP, about 80% of the work force, and over 50% of exports; cash crops--coffee, tea, sisal, pineapple; food products--corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruit, vegetables, dairy products; food output not keeping pace with population growth

Industries: small-scale consumer goods (plastic, furniture, batteries, textiles, soap, cigarettes, flour), agricultural processing, oil refining, cement, tourism

Industrial production growth rate: 4.8% (1987 est.)

Labor force: 9,003,000; 78% agriculture, 22% nonagriculture (1987 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%, but there is a high level of unemployment and underemployment

Budget: revenues $2.3 billion; expenditures $2.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $0.71 billion (FY87)

Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June

Exports: $1.0 billion (f.o.b., 1988)
Commodities: coffee 20%, tea 18%, manufactures 15%, petroleum products 10% (1987)
Partners: Western Europe 45%, Africa 22%, Far East 10%, US 4%, Middle East 3% (1987)

Imports: $1.8 billion (f.o.b., 1988)
Commodities: machinery and transportation equipment 36%, raw materials 33%, fuels and lubricants 20%, food and consumer goods 11% (1987)
Partners: Western Europe 49%, Far East 20%, Middle East 19%, US 7% (1987)

Debt external: $6.2 billion (December 1989 est.)

Exchange rates: Kenyan shillings (KSh) per US$1--21.749 (December 1989), 20.572 (1989), 17.747 (1988), 16.454 (1987), 16.226 (1986), 16.432 (1985)

Electricity
Capacity: 587,000 kW capacity; 2,250 million kWh produced, 90 kWh per capita (1989)

Military expenditures
Percent of gdp: 1.0% of GDP, or $100 million (1989 est.)

Airports: 247 total, 211 usable; 18 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 45 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Pipelines: refined products, 483 km

Waterways: part of Lake Victoria system is within boundaries of Kenya; principal inland port is at Kisumu

Disputes international: international boundary and Administrative Boundary with Sudan; possible claim by Somalia based on unification of ethnic Somalis

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis used mostly for domestic consumption; widespread cultivation of cannabis and qat on small plots; transit country for heroin and methaqualone en route from Southwest Asia to West Africa, Western Europe, and the US