Kenya Facts

The Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa. It shares its borders with Somalia to the northeast, Ethiopia to the north, South Sudan to the northwest, Uganda to the west, Tanzania to the south, and Indian Ocean to the southeast. The Equator passes through the country. Kenya is named after Mount Kenya, the second-highest mountain peak of the continent.

Nairobi is the capital of Kenya. The name of the capital is derived from the Massai phrase "Enkare Nyirobi", which translates to " the place of cool waters". It is also known as the "Green City in the Sun". It was founded in 1899 as a rail depot connecting Mombasa to Uganda. The city rapidly expanded and became the capital of British East Africa in 1907.

The Kenyan shilling is the currency of Kenya. Its ISO 4217 code is KES. It is further divided into 100 cents. In 1966, it replaced the East African shilling at par.

Nairobi is the largest city of Kenya. It is the most populous city in East Africa, with an estimated population of 3,138,295. The total area of the city is 268.7 square miles. It is a major commercial and cultural hub. It is the twelfth-largest city in Africa. The Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network defines Nairobi as a prominent social center.

Kenya is a multilingual country. According to Enthologue, 69 languages are spoken in Kenya. English and Bantu Swahili language are the two official languages of the country. Two major languages spoken in Kenya are Bantu and the Nilotic groups.

Majority of the population in Kenya are Christians. There are a sizable number of Muslims and indigenous beliefs in the country.

Average literacy rate of Kenya 78.1%.

Coat of arms of Kenya depicts a traditional East African Shield which is supported by lions holding spears on both sides. The shield contains the national colours black, red and green. The middle red strip bears a rooster holding an axe. The shield and lions stand on Mount Kenya. The emblem is supported by a scroll on which " Harambee" is written. In Swahili, Harambee translates to "pulling together" or "all for one". It was adopted in 1963

Kenya is a presidential representative democratic republic. President is both the head of the state and the head of the government. Legislative power is vested in both the parliament and the government while Executive power is exercised only by the government. The current president of Kenya is Emilio Mwai Kibaki. He assumed office on December 30, 2002. He was previously the Vice-President of the country for ten years. Raila Amollo Odinga, also known as Agwambo, is the current Prime Minister of the country. He assumed office on April 7, 2008

The National Day of Kenya is celebrated on December 12. It is called Jamuhri Day or Independence Day. Kenya was granted independence by United Kingdom on December 12, 1963 and it was declared a republic on December 12,1964.

Kenya's economy is market-based economy. It is the largest by GDP in East and Central Africa. The GDP of the country is 32.163 billion dollars. Service sector is the largest component of GDP at 64.1% followed by agriculture(21.4%) and industry (16.3%). It has a liberalized external trade systems. The largest trade flows are with United Kingdom, Netherlands, Uganda, Tanzania, Pakistan, India, South Africa, UAE, China and Saudi Arabia. Kenya exports tea, coffee, petroleum products, fish and cement while it imports machinery, motor vehicles, iron and steel, plastics and resins.