Kenya

Geography

Economics

Demographics

Military

Politics

Surface

Surface (in square kilometers)

Surface (in square miles)

Surface (water)

Water Surface (in square kilometers)

Water Surface (in square miles)

Share of water (%)

Temperature

Average temperature (in Celcius)

Average temperature (in Farenheit)

Average high temperature (in Celcius)

Average high temperature (in Farenheit)

Average low temperature (in Celcius)

Average low temperature (in Farenheit)

Rainfall

Average rainfall (mm)

Average rainfall (inch)

Distance to other capitals (kilometers)

Distance to other capitals (miles)

Proximity

Economic organizations

Gross Domestic Product (US$)

Gross Domestic Product per capita

Amount of memberships (economic organizations)

Absolute earnings for every 1$

Relative earnings

GDP in PPP per capita (in US$)

GDP in PPP per capita

Gross Domestic product (in million US$)

GDP per capita (in US$)

Surface GDP

GDP per square kilometer (in US$)

GDP per square mile(in US$)

Relative GDP in PPP

Population

Population density

Emigration

Immigration

Literacy

Health

Population density (in km2)

Population density (in mi2)

Religion

Christianity (share of the total population)

Islam (share of the total population)

Buddhism (share of the total population)

Hinduism (share of the total population)

Judaism (share of the total population)

Other religions (share of the total population)

Non-religious (share of the total population)

Military spending (in % of GDP)

Military spending

Kenya spends 1.14 percent of its GDP, or US$1.15 billion on its military which makes it the 74th highest military spender in the world and represents 0.06 percent of total global military expenditure.

The Kenyan military, called the Kenya Defence forces, consist of a Navy an Army and an Air Force. The main activities of the Kenyan military are to ensure its internal stability, its territorial integrity as well as several peacekeeping missions.

Military membership

It is also a member of five international military organizations which makes it the 75th most connected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Conference on Disarmament
Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
International Atomic Energy Agency
Non-Aligned Movement

Military membership

International wars

Kenya has partaken in one international war. This is:

Shifta War 1963-1967

Number of international wars fought

Military spending (in US$ million)

Membership (international political organizations)

It is a member of 13 international political organizations which makes it the 68th most politically interconnected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Member state of the United Nations
United Nations Security Council
International Labour Organization
Asian–African Legal Consultative Organization
African Union
East African Community
Intergovernmental Authority on Development

Political Membership

Democracy/dictatorship rating

Despite being independent for more than 60 years, Kenya has seen less than six presidents so far. Besides this, there have been instances of human rights violations as well as the murder and kidnapping of political opponents. This makes Kenya the 100th most democratic state in the world.

Democracy/Dictatorship

The politics of Kenya are in the form of a presidential democratic republic where the president of Kenya is head of state as well as head of government.

Commonwealth of Nations
International Criminal Court
Interpol
Permanent Court of Arbitration
Association of World Election Bodies
World Organization for Animal Health

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If you want to know more about other states, click on the flag on the right to discover Kiribati.

Known for its exotic food as well as being home to the largest animals known in Africa, Kenya is among the most visited states of Africa. The territory of Kenya has been inhabited for nearly 2 million years by different native African tribes. During the seventh century, Arabs arrived in Kenya which came mainly in the form of merchants and also settled in Kenya. From the seventh century until the 16th century, Kenya was a central transit route due to its location between the northern parts of Africa, the southern part of Africa and its location on the Indian Ocean. During the 16th century, it became a part of the Portuguese empire and was mainly exploited for the African slave trade during the 17th and 18th century. At the end of the 18th century, it became a part of the British Empire until its independence in 1961. Since its independence, internal instability due to inter-ethnic tensions as well as religious terrorist attacks have put a strain on the development of Kenya.

The geography of Kenya can be divided into a Western part, which is mountainous, and an eastern part that consists of a low-lying plane. Despite being located on the equator, the terrain of Kenya mainly exists of lightly forested areas to the west and a steppe environment to the east. It has South Sudan and Ethiopia to the north, Somalia to the east, Tanzania to the south and Uganda to the west.

It is the 48th largest state in the world with a total surface area of 483,269 square kilometers or 225,201 square miles. This makes Kenya smaller than Botswana, but larger than Yemen.

It is the 44th state with the highest amount of surface water which is 11,283 square kilometers or 4357 square miles.

Below, a graph is shown which displays the absolute amount of water of each state in square kilometers and square miles.

Its surface water is mainly represented by Lake Victoria which is located on its western border and Lake Turkana which is located in the north. These lakes cover proximately 1.94 percent of Kenya's surface.

Despite being located on the equator, Kenya knows several climates with a hot and oppressive tropical climate on its coast, a temperate climate in its highlands to the west and a desert climate to its northeast. Kenya has an average temperature of 22.8 degrees Celsius or 73 degrees Fahrenheit which makes it the 89th warmest state in the world.

The average high temperature is 26.8 degrees Celsius or 80.2 degrees Fahrenheit.

The average low temperature is 16 degrees Celsius or 60.8 degrees Fahrenheit.

With an annual rainfall of 109 centimetres or 42.7 inches, Kenya is the 89th state with the highest amount of rainfall. Most of its rainfall occurs during two rain seasons which are between November and December and from March to May.

The capital of Kenya, Nairobi, is home to around 2.7 million people. The capital that is closest located to Nairobi is Kampala Uganda with a distance of 514 kilometers or 320 miles. The capital that is furthest removed from Nairobi is Apia Samoa with a distance of 16,433 kilometers or 10,211 miles.

The economy of Kenya is a market-based economy that is mainly based on agricultural products. Because of a low output of commodities, the economy of Kenya was a developing economy at the start of the 21st century. As a result of widespread corruption and financial support from the international monetary fund, international investments has been limited which further dampened economic growth. Currently, Kenya exports tea related products as well as petroleum related products. These are mainly exported to Uganda, the United States and the Netherlands which combined represent 25 percent of all exports. Most of its imports comes from China which is responsible for more than 20 percent of total imports.

Kenya is a member of 14 international economic organizations ranking it the 65th most connected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Alliance for Financial Inclusion
African development Bank
International Development Law Organization
International Monetary Fund
World Bank Group
World Customs Organization
World Trade Organization
International Bamboo and Rattan Organization
Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States
International Renewable Energy Agency
Group of 15
Group of 77
Group of 24
Advisory Centre on World Trade Organization Law

Its GDP is also the 65th highest in the world. With just under US$100 billion, it represents 0.11 percent of total global GDP.

Its GDP per square kilometer is US$159,153 or US$412,203 per square mile. This makes Kenya the 135th highest in terms of GDP per surface area.

Its GDP per capita is US$1801 which is the 149th highest in the world.

The absolute earnings (GDP per capita) reflect the average yearly income. The figure below shows how much, on average, an inhabitant of another state earns for every $1 earned by a citizen of this state.

Its purchasing power is US$4338 which is the 150th highest in the world.

The relative Gross Domestic Product in Purchasing Power Parity compares the purchasing power of this state with that of the rest of the world. The graph on the left shows how much purchasing power of 1$ compared to the purchasing power of other states

With a population of more than 50 million people, Kenya is the 28th most populous state and is home to numerous tribes. The majority consists of three different tribes which are the Bantu, the Cushite and the Nilote tribes. However, English and Kiswahili are its official languages.

Kenya has the 96th highest population density with 88 people per square kilometer or 228 people per square mile.

Emigration from Kenya is represented by 1.1 percent of the population, or more than 500,000 people. These were mainly people that migrated from Kenya as a result of an economic recession at the end of the 20th century as well as high skilled labourers which search for better job opportunities. The main destinations have been the United Kingdom and the United States which each represent around 30 percent of all migrants. The reasons for migration are either due to its colonial history or because these states have English as their official language.

Immigration to Kenya is represented by nearly 1 million people, or two percent of the population. More than half of all migrants come from Somalia as a result of political and economic unrest there. The second place goes to Uganda which represents 30 percent of all migration.

Education in Kenya is provided for free, but it is not compulsory. The free education has led to an increase in its literacy rate among younger people. However, because it's not compulsory, some children do not attend school due to social reasons or economic reasons. This has led to an overall literacy rate of 79 percent which makes Kenya the 145th most literate state in the world.

There are several health threats within Kenya that can be divided up into lifestyle choices and communicable diseases. Of the communicable diseases, HIV AIDS and malaria are the most prevalent. Of the noncommunicable diseases, cardiovascular diseases as well as diabetes are the leading cause of death due to high obesity rates. On average, people in Kenya live 67.5 years which ranks it as the 146th highest life expectancy in the world. Women reach 69.9 years while men reach 65 years.

The government of Kenya provides freedom of religion towards all religions. However, due to terrorist attacks in recent years, the government of Kenya has been focusing on more on the Muslim community.

Christianity is the largest religion in Kenya and is followed by 84.9 percent of the population which makes it the 33rd most Christian state in the world. Christianity was first introduced by the Portuguese in the form of Roman Catholicism which represents 20 percent of all Christians today. Other denominations are mainly the Pentecostal denomination which is responsible for nearly 40 percent of all Christians.

On the right, the global share of Christians per state is displayed

Islam is a minority religion in Kenya and is followed by 10.2 percent of the population. Islam was introduced to Kenya during the eighth century when Arab merchants arrived along the coast of Kenya where some of these merchants settled. Today, most Muslims can also be found along the coast and are mainly from the Sunni denomination.

Buddhism is represented by 0.07 percent of the population and mainly consists of Buddhists that are located in the capital Nairobi.

Hinduism is represented by 0.1 percent of the population and has several Hindu temples spread out throughout Kenya. Most Hindus in Kenya are descendants of migrant workers that were relocated from the Indian subcontinent to Kenya in order to create large infrastructure projects for the British Empire.

Less than 1000 people, or 0.02 percent of the population adheres to Judaism. This mainly consists of Kenyans that converted to Judaism as well as Jewish settlers that arrived in Kenya at the beginning of the 20th century.

Other religions are practiced by 1.94 percent of the population. This mainly exists of tribal religions that focus on an Omnipotent god that manifests itself in nature and is often combined with ancestral worshiping and sorcery.

Around 1.67 percent of the population does not adhere to any faith.