View Intelligence Dossier Back to 1990 CSV Excel Print All Years

Communications

Airports [time series]

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

Civil air [time series]

14 major transport aircraft

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

64,590 km total; 7,000 km paved, 4,150 km gravel, remainder improved earth

Waterways (Inland waterways) [time series]

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

Pipelines [time series]

refined products, 483 km

Ports [time series]

Mombasa, Lamu

Railways (Railroads) [time series]

2,040 km 1.000-meter gauge

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

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

Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]

Kenya Army, Kenya Navy, Air Force; paramilitary General Service Unit

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

1.0% of GDP, or $100 million (1989 est.)

Military manpower [time series]

males 15-49, 5,240,551; 3,235,557 fit for military service; no conscription

Economy

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

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

Aid [time series]

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

Budget [time series]

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

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

Kenyan shilling (plural--shillings); 1 Kenyan shilling (KSh) = 100 cents

Electricity [time series]

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

Exchange rates [time series]

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)

Exports [time series]

$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)

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$6.2 billion (December 1989 est.)

Fiscal year [time series]

1 July-30 June

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (GDP) [time series]

$8.5 billion, per capita $360; real growth rate 4.9% (1989 est.)

Illicit drugs [time series]

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

Imports [time series]

$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)

Industrial production growth rate (Industrial production) [time series]

growth rate 4.8% (1987 est.)

Industries [time series]

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

8.3% (1988)

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

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.

Unemployment rate [time series]

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

Geography

Climate [time series]

varies from tropical along coast to arid in interior

Coastline [time series]

536 km

Area - comparative (Comparative area) [time series]

slightly more than twice the size of Nevada

Disputes - international (Disputes) [time series]

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

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

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

Extended economic zone [time series]

200 nm;

Land boundaries [time series]

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

Land use [time series]

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

Natural resources [time series]

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

Note [time series]

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

Terrain [time series]

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

Maritime claims (Territorial sea) [time series]

12 nm

Area (Total area) [time series]

582,650 km2; land area: 569,250 km2

Government

Administrative divisions [time series]

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

Capital [time series]

Nairobi

Political parties (Communists) [time series]

may be a few Communists and sympathizers

Constitution [time series]

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

Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation) [time series]

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

Executive branch [time series]

president, vice president, Cabinet

Flag [time series]

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

Independence [time series]

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

Judicial branch [time series]

Court of Appeal, High Court Chief of State and Head of Government--President Daniel Teroitich arap MOI (since 14 October 1978); Vice President George SAITOTI (since 10 May 1989)

Legal system [time series]

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

Legislative branch [time series]

unicameral National Assembly

Country name (Long-form name) [time series]

Republic of Kenya

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

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

National holiday [time series]

Independence Day, 12 December (1963)

Political parties (Other political or pressure groups) [time series]

labor unions; exile opposition--Mwakenya and other groups

Political parties (Political parties and leaders) [time series]

only party--Kenya African National Union (KANU), Daniel T. arap Moi, president

Suffrage [time series]

universal at age 18 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

Government type (Type) [time series]

republic

People

Birth rate [time series]

45 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate [time series]

7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

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

Infant mortality rate [time series]

60 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Labor force [time series]

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

Languages (Language) [time series]

English and Swahili (official); numerous indigenous languages

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

62 years male, 67 years female (1990)

Literacy [time series]

59.2%

Nationality [time series]

noun--Kenyan(s); adjective--Kenyan

Net migration rate [time series]

0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Organized labor [time series]

390,000 (est.)

Population [time series]

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

Religions (Religion) [time series]

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

Total fertility rate [time series]

6.5 children born/woman (1990)