# The World Factbook (1990)/Kenya

pages 167–168
​Kenya
See regional map VII
Geography
Total area: 582,650 km²; land area: 569,250 km²
Comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of Nevada
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
Disputes: international boundary and Administrative Boundary with Sudan; possible claim by Somalia based on unification of ethnic Somalis
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
Environment: unique physiography supports abundant and varied wildlife of scientific and economic value; deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; glaciers on Mt. Kenya
Note: Kenyan Highlands one of the most successful agricultural production regions in Africa
People
Population: 24,639,261 (July 1990), growth rate 3.8% (1990)
Birth rate: 45 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 60 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 62 years male, 67 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 6.5 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun—Kenyan(s); adjective—Kenyan
Ethnic divisions: 21% Kikuyu, 14% Luhya, 13% Luo, 11% Kalenjin, 11% Kamba, 6% Kisii, 6% Meru, 1% Asian, European, and Arab
Religion: 38% Protestant, 28% Roman Catholic, 26% indigenous beliefs, 6% Muslim
Language: English and Swahili (official); numerous indigenous languages
Literacy: 59.2%
Labor force: 9,003,000; 78% agriculture, 22% nonagriculture (1987 est.)
Organized labor: 390,000 (est.)
Government
Long-form name: Republic of Kenya
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)
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
National holiday: Independence Day, 12 December (1963)
Executive branch: president, vice president, Cabinet
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly
Judicial branch: Court of Appeal, High Court
Leaders: Chief of State and Head of Government—President Daniel Teroitich arap MOI (since 14 October 1978); Vice President George SAITOTI (since 10 May 1989)
Political parties and leaders: only party Kenya African National Union (KANU), Daniel T. arap Moi, president
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections: President—last held on 21 March 1988 (next to be held February 1993); results—President Daniel T. arap Moi was reelected;
​National Assembly—last held on 21 March 1988 (next to be held March 1993); results—KANU is the only party; seats—(202 total, 188 elected) KANU 200
Communists: may be a few Communists and sympathizers
Other political or pressure groups: labor unions; exile opposition—Mwakenya and other groups
Member of: 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: Ambassador Denis Daudi AFANDE; Chancery at 2249 R Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 387-6101; 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 30137, Nairobi or APO New York 09675); telephone [254](2) 334141; there is a US Consulate in Mombasa
Flag: 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.
GDP: $8.5 billion, per capita $360; real growth rate 4.9% (1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8.3% (1988)
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)
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)
External debt: $6.2 billion (December 1989 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 4.8% (1987 est.)
Electricity: 587,000 kW capacity; 2,250 million kWh produced, 90 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: small-scale consumer goods (plastic, furniture, batteries, textiles, soap, cigarettes, flour), agricultural processing, oil refining, cement, tourism
Agriculture: 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
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
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $771 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $6.0 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $74 million; Communist countries (1970-88), $83 million
Currency: Kenyan shilling (plural—shillings); 1 Kenyan shilling (KSh) = 100 cents
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)
Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June
Communications
Railroads: 2,040 km 1.000-meter gauge
Highways: 64,590 km total; 7,000 km paved, 4,150 km gravel, remainder improved earth
Inland waterways: part of Lake Victoria system is within boundaries of Kenya; principal inland port is at Kisumu
Pipelines: refined products, 483 km
Ports: Mombasa, Lamu
Civil air: 14 major transport aircraft
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
Telecommunications: in top group of African systems; consists of radio relay links, open-wire lines, and radiocommunication stations; 260,000 telephones; stations—11 AM, 4 FM, 4 TV; satellite earth stations—1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 1 Indian Ocean INTLESAT
Defense Forces
Branches: Kenya Army, Kenya Navy, Air Force; paramilitary General Service Unit
Military manpower: males 15-49, 5,240,551; 3,235,557 fit for military service; no conscription
Defense expenditures: 1.0% of GDP, or $100 million (1989 est.)