Alternative titles: Jamhuri Ya Kenya; Republic of Kenya
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Kenya, country in East Africa famed for its scenic landscapes and vast wildlife preserves. Its Indian Ocean coast provided historically important ports by which goods from Arabian and Asian traders have entered the continent for many centuries. Along that coast, which holds some of the finest beaches in Africa, are predominantly Muslim Swahili cities such as Mombasa, a historic centre that has contributed much to the musical and culinary heritage of the country. Inland are populous highlands famed for both their tea plantations, an economic staple during the British colonial era, and their variety of animal species, including lions, elephants, cheetahs, rhinoceroses, and hippopotamuses. Kenya’s western provinces, marked by lakes and rivers, are forested, while a small portion of the north is desert and semidesert. The country’s diverse wildlife and panoramic geography draw large numbers of European and North American visitors, and tourism is an important contributor to Kenya’s economy.

jacaranda: trees on parkland in Nairobi, Kenya [Credit: Adrian Arbib/Corbis]jacaranda: trees on parkland in Nairobi, KenyaAdrian Arbib/CorbisThe capital of Kenya is Nairobi, a sprawling city that, like many other African metropolises, is a study in contrasts, with modern skyscrapers looking out over vast shantytowns in the distance, many harbouring refugees fleeing civil wars in neighbouring countries. Older neighbourhoods, some of them prosperous, tend to be ethnically mixed and well served by utilities and other amenities, while the tents and hastily assembled shacks that ring the city tend to be organized tribally and even locally, inasmuch as in some instances whole rural villages have removed themselves to the more promising city.

With a long history of musical and artistic expression, Kenya enjoys a rich tradition of oral and written literature, including many fables that speak to the virtues of determination and perseverance, important and widely shared values, given the country’s experience during the struggle for independence. Kikuyu writer Ngugi wa Thiong’o, one of the country’s best-known authors internationally, addresses these concerns in his remarks on one folkloric figure:

Hare being small, weak, but full of innovative wit, was our hero. We identified with him as he struggled against the brutes of prey like lion, leopard, and hyena. His victories were our victories and we learnt that the apparently weak can outwit the strong.

Kenya’s many peoples are well known to outsiders, largely because of the British colonial administration’s openness to study. Anthropologists and other social scientists have documented for generations the lives of the Maasai, Luhya, Luo, Kalenjin, and Kikuyu peoples, to name only some of the groups. Adding to the country’s ethnic diversity are European and Asian immigrants from many nations. Kenyans proudly embrace their individual cultures and traditions, yet they are also cognizant of the importance of national solidarity; a motto of “Harambee” (Swahili: “Pulling together”) has been stressed by Kenya’s government since independence.


Kenya: Kenyan national parks and reserves [Credit: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]Kenya: Kenyan national parks and reservesEncyclopædia Britannica, Inc.Bisected horizontally by the Equator and vertically by longitude 38° E, Kenya is bordered to the north by South Sudan and Ethiopia, to the east by Somalia and the Indian Ocean, to the south by Tanzania, and to the west by Lake Victoria and Uganda.


The 38th meridian divides Kenya into two halves of striking contrast. While the eastern half slopes gently to the coral-backed seashore, the western portion rises more abruptly through a series of hills and plateaus to the Eastern Rift Valley, known in Kenya as the Central Rift. West of the Rift is a westward-sloping plateau, the lowest part of which is occupied by Lake Victoria. Within this basic framework, Kenya is divided into the following geographic regions: the Lake Victoria basin, the Rift Valley and associated highlands, the eastern plateau forelands, the semiarid and arid areas of the north and south, and the coast.

The Lake Victoria basin is part of a plateau rising eastward from the lakeshore to the Rift highlands. The lower part, forming the lake basin proper, is itself a plateau area lying between 3,000 and 4,000 feet (900 and 1,200 metres) above sea level. The rolling grassland of this plateau is cut almost in half by the Kano Plain, into which an arm of the lake known as Winam Gulf (Kavirondo Gulf) extends eastward for 50 miles (80 km). The floor of the Kano Plain merges north and south into highlands characterized by a number of extinct volcanoes. These include Mount Elgon, rising to 14,178 feet (4,321 metres) at the Ugandan border on the extreme north of the basin.

flamingo: pink flamingos at Lake Nakuru, Kenya [Credit: © Alan Ward/]flamingo: pink flamingos at Lake Nakuru, Kenya© Alan Ward/Shutterstock.comThe Rift Valley splits the highland region into two sections: the Mau Escarpment to the west and the Aberdare Range to the east. The valley itself is 30 to 80 miles (50 to 130 km) wide, and its floor rises from about 1,500 feet (450 metres) in the north around Lake Turkana (Lake Rudolf) to over 7,000 feet (2,100 metres) at Lake Naivasha but then drops to 2,000 feet (600 metres) at the Tanzanian border in the south. The floor of the Rift is occupied by a chain of shallow lakes separated by extinct volcanoes. Lake Naivasha is the largest of these; the others include Lakes Magadi, Nakuru, Bogoria, and Baringo. West of the valley the diverse highland area runs from the thick lava block of the Mau Escarpment–Mount Tinderet complex northward to the Uasin Gishu Plateau. East of the Rift the Aberdare Range rises to nearly 10,000 feet (3,000 metres). The eastern highlands extend from the Ngong Hills and the uplands bordering Tanzania northward to the Laikipia Escarpment. Farther east they are linked by the Nyeri saddle to Mount Kenya, the country’s highest peak, at 17,058 feet (5,199 metres). The relief of both highlands is complex and includes plains, deep valleys, and mountains. Important in the historic and economic development of Kenya, the region was the focus of European settlement.

acacia [Credit: © Pixeltheater/Fotolia]acacia© Pixeltheater/FotoliaThe eastern plateau forelands, located just east of the Rift highlands, constitute a vast plateau of ancient rocks gently sloping to the coastal plain. They are a region of scattered hills and striking elevated formations, the most prominent being the hills of Taita, Kasigau, Machakos, and Kitui. These hills, containing the area of more favourable climate, are surrounded by regions historically prone to famine.

The semiarid and arid areas in the north and northeast are part of a vast region extending from the Ugandan border through Lake Rudolf to the plateau area between the Ethiopian and Kenyan highlands. (The area from Lake Magadi southward, though not as arid, has the same characteristics.) Although tree and grass cover is scanty there, the areas of true desert are limited to the Chalbi Desert east of Lake Rudolf. The movement of people and livestock is strictly limited by the availability of water.

The coastal plain proper, which runs for about 250 miles (400 km) along the Indian Ocean, is a narrow strip only about 10 miles (16 km) wide in the south, but in the Tana River lowlands to the north it broadens to about 100 miles (160 km). Farther northeast it merges into the lowlands of Somalia. The excellent natural harbours include that of Mombasa, which is one of the best in East Africa.


Kenya’s drainage pattern originated when a large oval dome of rock arose in the west-central part of the country and created the Central Rift. This dome produced a primeval watershed from which rivers once drained eastward to the Indian Ocean and westward to the Congo River system and the Atlantic Ocean. Still following this ancient pattern are the Tana and Galana rivers, which rise in the eastern highlands and flow roughly southeast to the Indian Ocean. West of the Central Rift, however, the major streams now drain into Lake Victoria. These include the Nzoia, Yala, Mara, and Nyando rivers. Between the eastern and western systems, the rifting of the dome’s crust has created a complex pattern of internal streams that feed the major lakes.

There are no major groundwater basins, and, apart from the Tana River, most of the rivers in Kenya are short and often disappear during the dry season. Lake Victoria, with a surface area of 26,828 square miles (69,484 square km), is the largest lake in Africa, the second largest freshwater body in the world, and a major reservoir of the Nile River. Lake Rudolf, some 150 miles (240 km) long and 20 miles (30 km) wide, is the largest of the country’s Rift Valley lakes. Other lakes are rather small, and their surface areas fluctuate considerably.


In the Lake Victoria basin, lava deposits have produced fertile and sandy loam soils in the plateaus north and south of Winam Bay, while the volcanic pile of Mount Elgon produces highly fertile volcanic soils well known for coffee and tea production. The Rift Valley and associated highlands are composed of fertile dark brown loams developed on younger volcanic deposits.

The most widespread soils in Kenya, however, are the sandy soils of the semiarid regions between the coast and the Rift highlands. To the north of the Rift are vast areas covered by red desert soils, mainly sandy loams. Kenya’s soils are subject to widespread erosion largely because of the lack of forest cover; overgrazing and cultivation, especially in the arid and semiarid regions, also contribute to soil loss.

Kenya Flag

1A new constitution promulgated Aug. 27, 2010, provided for the establishment of a 68-seat Senate in 2013.

2Includes 16 nonelective seats reserved for women, 2 reserved for youth, 2 reserved for people with disabilities, and 1 ex officio member.

3Includes 12 nonelective seats and 1 ex officio member.

4The 2010 constitution abolished the post of Prime Minister effective from the 2013 presidential election.

Official nameJamhuri ya Kenya (Swahili); Republic of Kenya (English)
Form of governmentunitary multiparty republic with two legislative houses1 (Senate [682]; National Assembly [3503])
Head of state and governmentPresident: Uhuru Kenyatta4
Official languagesSwahili; English
Official religionnone
Monetary unitKenyan shilling (K Sh)
Population(2014 est.) 45,010,000
Total area (sq mi)224,961
Total area (sq km)582,646
Urban-rural populationUrban: (2011) 24%
Rural: (2011) 76%
Life expectancy at birthMale: (2012) 61.6 years
Female: (2012) 64.6 years
Literacy: percentage of population age 15 and over literateMale: (2008) 90.3%
Female: (2008) 82.8%
GNI per capita (U.S.$)(2013) 930
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