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Republic Of Kenya
History
Formerly known as British East Africa, modern day Kenya gained independence from Britain on 12 December 1963. This was achieved only after a bitter war with the British. Led by Jomo Kenyatta who was the prominent member of the Mau Mau Movement, there were many similarities with other African countries striving to break free from British rule, Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) and South Africa being the most noticeable. After being a single party state from independence to 1991, Kenya is now a multi-party democracy. The Kenyan legal system is based on Kenyan and English common law, Kenyan statutory law, tribal and Islamic law. The two official languages are English and Swahili. When visiting Kenya, you will always hear the friendly greeting "jambo" (hello) being called out. The currency is the Kenyan shilling.
Geography
Kenya is an east African country bordering the Indian Ocean on the east, Somalia to the north-east, Ethiopia to the north, Uganda and Lake Victoria to the west, and Tanzania to the south. The total surface area is about 225,000 square miles. Mount Kenya which is situated 110 miles north of Nairobi is the second tallest mountain in Africa at just over 17,000 feet. The incredibly beautiful Masai Mara National Reserve lies on the southern border with the Serengeti National Park of Tanzania. Having no fences between them, these parks are home to the world's largest natural game migration routes of wildebeest. Situated on the equator, the climate is tropical. The arable land is only 8% of the total surface area. Agricultural products include tea, coffee, corn, wheat, fruit and vegetables, sugarcane, dairy and poultry products.
People
The total population is 34 million people. The tribal representation is 22% Kikuyu, 14% Luhya, 13% Luo, 12% Kalenjin, 11% Kamba, 6% Kisii, 6% Meru, 15% other African, 1% Asian, European and Arab.
The estimated labor force is 12.0 million people, and the estimated prevalence of HIV/AIDS amongst the adult population is 6,7%.
Roughly 50% of Kenyans live below the poverty line, and the unemployment rate is estimated at 40%.
Language
National or official languages of Kenya: Swahili, English. Literacy rate: 45% (1987 official government figure). Also includes Hadrami Spoken Arabic (10,000), Hindi, Ta'izzi-Adeni Spoken Arabic (10,000). Information mainly from W. Whiteley 1969, 1974; Heine and Möhlig 1980; J. Bendor-Samuel 1989; BTL 1983–1999. Blind population: 70,000. Deaf institutions: 25. The number of languages listed for Kenya is 61. Of those, all are living languages.
For more information about each of the 61 different languages of Kenya, please click the link below:
Languages of Kenya
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