The nation takes its name from Mt. Kenya, the second highest mountain in Africa. Kenya spans more than 224,000 sq. miles (582,000 sq. Km), and situated on the equator bordered by five countries: Uganda (to the west), South Sudan (to the northwest), Ethiopia (to the north), Somalia (to the northeast), and Tanzania (to the south). Along its southeast edge, Kenya’s tropical coastline connects the country to the Indian Ocean.

The capital of Kenya is Nairobi, a cosmopolitan and thriving city that has the largest GDP in all of East & Central Africa.

Kenya Government

The Republic of Kenya is a multi-party democracy with a bicameral legislature consisting the National Assembly and the Senate. The constitution declares the president as both the head of state and the head of government. Kenya’s government has been stable and the recent administration has worked hard to improve the country on many levels, from education, technology to health care to economic growth.

Pre-Colonial Kenya

Kenyan history dates back as to as far as 20 million years when early primates roamed the area. Recent fossil evidence of Homo habilis and Homo erectus activity in the region has lead to many believing that Kenya is the ‘The Cradle of Mankind’.

Kenya’s first inhabitants were hunter-gatherers who were later replaced by agriculturally minded people from the Horn of Africa. Over the centuries, other farming and pastoral people migrated into the region including the Nilotic speakers from the North and Bantu-speaking people from the West.

The Kenyan Coast’s proximity to ancient trade routes from the 1st century AD onwards meant exposure to the Arabic world. This gave rise to the Swahili culture – a fusion of Arabic and African beliefs and behaviours.

Kenya under British rule

Kenya’s colonial history started in 1885 when Germany took over the coastal holdings as a German protectorate. This situation was short-lived, with Germany handing over their Kenyan holdings to the British Commonwealth in 1890.

One of the Imperial British East Africa Company’s first moves was to begin construction of a railway connecting Kenya and Uganda. Construction of the railway took unnecessarily long necessitating introduction of Indian workers who would go on to form the foundations of Kenya’s modern-day Indian population.

The railway’s construction steadied Britain’s influence in the area. In the years following the World I, an increasing number of wealthy Europeans resettled in the region and became successful managing coffee and tea plantations. This influx of wealthy landowners would displace the traditional land-holders and force them to move away from their ancestral homes and into the cities.

1952 marked the beginning of the end for British rule, as the Mau Mau uprising would began that same year.

The Mau Mau Uprising

The Mau Mau Uprising of 1952-1959 can be seen as a culmination of years of frustration at colonial rule.

Independent Kenya

Mau Mau Uprising prompted great change in Kenya at governmental levels. The first elections were held in 1963, with the Kenya African National Union Party of Jomo Kenyatta forming government. He is considered Father of the Nation.

At the same time, the Sultan of Zanzibar ceded sovereignty of his claims to Kenya’s coastal strip, allowing the nation to be unified under its new government.

Geography & Climate of Kenya

Kenya is the 47th largest country in the world, and boasts some of the richest agricultural production regions in all of Africa. Indeed, it was this rich agricultural soil that first drew the British to the country.

Starting from the Indian Ocean coast, Kenya rises slowly to the central highlands. Dominated by towering Mt. Kenya and bisected by the Great Rift Valley, these highlands tend to be cooler than the subtropical coast.

Being an equatorial country, Kenya enjoys higher than average temperatures throughout the year and experiences alternating wet and dry seasons.

Kenya experience both long and short wet and dry seasons, this sequence is however changing due to golbal warming.

Long Rain: March/April to May/June.

Long Dry: July to October.

Short Wet: October to November/December.

Short Dry: December to March.

Population:- (Based on 2019 Kenya Population Census)

Total Population 47.5 million –

Households – 12.2 million.

Average Household Size (Kenya) – 3.9.

Growth rate – 2.3%

Religion

The majority (83%) of Kenyans identify as Christian, with 47.7% of these being Protestant and 23.5% Catholic. Other Christian churches also have a presence in Kenya, as follows –

Muslim (11.2%), indigenous beliefs (1.7%), and nonreligious (2.4%) make up the rest of the religious tapestry.

The nation is also home to approximately 300,000 Hindus, many of whom are descendants of the people brought over to construct the Kenya-Uganda railway in the 1800s-1900s.

Language

Kenya has two national languages, English and Swahili. While some 42 distinct languages are still spoke in Kenya today, it is in English (British English rather than US English) that the majority of commerce, business, and schooling is conducted.

Major Cities

Nairobi

The capital and largest city of Kenya, Nairobi is far more than a simple transit destination. A tourist attraction in its own right, Nairobi has Nairobi National Park on its doorstep as well as a number of other attractions such as the Animal Orphanage, the world-famous Giraffe centre, and many more.

Mombasa

Kenya’s second largest city, Mombasa’s long history as a crucial trade port has been surpassed in recent years by its emerging status as a tourism destination. While the city remains an important port and transit center, it is also one of Kenya’s most popular tourist destinations regionally unrivalled in both beauty and amenities.

Tourism

Game Safaris and wildlife tours are Kenya’s biggest attractions, drawing many visitors to the country each year. Kenya manages more than 20 national parks and national game reserves, where visitors can view some of the country’s most spectacular wildlife, including the “Big Five” animals. In fact, the “Big Five” are the central focus of the majority of safari tours and wildlife expeditions offered within the parks. Kenya’s most popular game park is the Masaai Mara, which borders the Serengeti plains in Tanzania. Between July and September, visitors can witness the remarkable annual wildebeest migration which takes place at the Mara.

Kenya’s many beaches along the Indian Ocean are the country’s second biggest tourist attraction. Visitors can enjoy clean beaches lined with palm trees and studded with luxury resorts, with coral reefs located just offshore. The City of Mombasa is the entry point to the coast, with beaches extending south to Malindi and north to Lamu Archipelago, a world heritage site.

Agriculture and Products

Kenya is one of the top agricultural producers in Africa thanks to the rich soil of the Kenyan highlands. Coffee, tea, tobacco, cotton, pyrethrum, flowers, cashew nuts and sisal are Kenya’s cash crops, with fruit, vegetables, beans, and cassava emerging as key crops for subsistence. Cattle, goats and sheep are also important agricultural products. Major export markets include Kenya’s neighboring countries, as well as several European and Asian countries, and the United States.

Sport

The world is accustomed to seeing Kenyan athletes regularly win major marathons and long distance races. Many of these famous runners come from a specific area of Kenya in the Northern Rift Valley region. Football is however the most popular sport, while the most famous Sport even in Kenya is the annual Safari Rally, a world famous motor rallying event that is considered to be a supreme test of man and machine.

Kenya’s Challenges

As a developing nation, Kenya has many challenges to overcome. The government is still striving to provide adequate services to the rural communities. Unemployment is a constant challenge, as well as crime, disease and poverty.

However, as Kenya continues to make a place for itself on the world stage, its abundant agricultural and natural resources, educated manpower, diverse yet cohesive population and vision for the future will see it emerge as a leader among African nations.