Kenya (2004) | Micronesia, Federated States of (2008) | |
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Administrative divisions | 7 provinces and 1 area*; Central, Coast, Eastern, Nairobi Area*, North Eastern, Nyanza, Rift Valley, Western | 4 states; Chuuk (Truk), Kosrae (Kosaie), Pohnpei (Ponape), Yap |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 40.6% (male 6,575,409; female 6,430,218)
15-64 years: 56.5% (male 9,126,847; female 8,962,905) 65 years and over: 2.9% (male 399,050; female 527,427) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 35.9% (male 19,726/female 19,011)
15-64 years: 61.2% (male 32,891/female 33,071) 65 years and over: 2.9% (male 1,379/female 1,784) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | tea, coffee, corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruit, vegetables; dairy products, beef, pork, poultry, eggs | black pepper, tropical fruits and vegetables, coconuts, bananas, cassava (tapioca), sakau (kava), betel nuts, sweet potatoes; pigs, chickens; fish |
Airports | 221 (2003 est.) | 6 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 15
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 6
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 206
1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 914 to 1,523 m: 110 under 914 m: 84 (2004 est.) |
- |
Area | total: 582,650 sq km
land: 569,250 sq km water: 13,400 sq km |
total: 702 sq km
land: 702 sq km water: 0 sq km (fresh water only) note: includes Pohnpei (Ponape), Chuuk (Truk) Islands, Yap Islands, and Kosrae (Kosaie) |
Area - comparative | slightly more than twice the size of Nevada | four times the size of Washington, DC (land area only) |
Background | Founding president and liberation struggle icon Jomo KENYATTA led Kenya from independence until his death in 1978, when President Daniel Toroitich arap MOI took power in a constitutional succession. The country was a de facto one-party state from 1969 until 1982 when the ruling Kenya African National Union (KANU) made itself the sole legal party in Kenya. MOI acceded to internal and external pressure for political liberalization in late 1991. The ethnically fractured opposition failed to dislodge KANU from power in elections in 1992 and 1997, which were marred by violence and fraud, but are viewed as having generally reflected the will of the Kenyan people. President MOI stepped down in December of 2002 following fair and peaceful elections. Mwai KIBAKI, running as the candidate of the multiethnic, united opposition group, the National Rainbow Coalition, defeated KANU candidate Uhuru KENYATTA and assumed the presidency following a campaign centered on an anticorruption platform. | In 1979 the Federated States of Micronesia, a UN Trust Territory under US administration, adopted a constitution. In 1986 independence was attained under a Compact of Free Association with the US, which was amended and renewed in 2004. Present concerns include large-scale unemployment, overfishing, and overdependence on US aid. |
Birth rate | 27.82 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 24.14 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.761 billion
expenditures: $3.406 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
revenues: $127.3 million ($69 million less grants)
expenditures: $144.2 million (FY05 est.) |
Capital | Nairobi | name: Palikir
geographic coordinates: 6 55 N, 158 09 E time difference: UTC+11 (16 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | varies from tropical along coast to arid in interior | tropical; heavy year-round rainfall, especially in the eastern islands; located on southern edge of the typhoon belt with occasionally severe damage |
Coastline | 536 km | 6,112 km |
Constitution | 12 December 1963, amended as a republic 1964; reissued with amendments 1979, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1997, and 2001 | 10 May 1979 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Kenya
conventional short form: Kenya former: British East Africa |
conventional long form: Federated States of Micronesia
conventional short form: none local long form: Federated States of Micronesia local short form: none former: Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, Ponape, Truk, and Yap Districts abbreviation: FSM |
Currency | Kenyan shilling (KES) | - |
Death rate | 16.31 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 4.66 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $5.916 billion (2003 est.) | $60.8 million (FY05 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador William M. BELLAMY
embassy: US Embassy, United Nations Ave., Gigiti; P. O. Box 606 Village Market Nairobi mailing address: Box 21A, Unit 64100, APO AE 09831 telephone: [254] (2) 537-800 FAX: [254] (2) 537-810 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Miriam K. HUGHES
embassy: 101 Upper Pics Road, Kolonia mailing address: P. O. Box 1286, Kolonia, Pohnpei, 96941 telephone: [691] 320-2187 FAX: [691] 320-2186 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Leonard NGAITHE
chancery: 2249 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 387-6101 FAX: [1] (202) 462-3829 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles |
chief of mission: Ambassador Jesse Bibiano MAREHALAU
chancery: 1725 N Street NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 223-4383 FAX: [1] (202) 223-4391 consulate(s) general: Honolulu, Tamuning (Guam) |
Disputes - international | Kenya's administrative boundary still extends into the Sudan, creating the "Ilemi Triangle"; Kenya has acted as an important mediator in Sudan's north-south civil war; Kenya and Uganda are working together to stem cattle rustling and violence by Lord's Resistance Army along the border | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $453 million (1997) | $106.4 million
note: under terms of the Compact of Free Association, the US pledged $1.3 billion in grant aid during the period 1986-2001; the level of aid has been subsequently reduced (2005) |
Economy - overview | The regional hub for trade and finance in East Africa, Kenya has been hampered by corruption, notably in the judicial system, and by reliance upon several primary goods whose prices have remained low. In 1997, the IMF suspended Kenya's Enhanced Structural Adjustment Program due to the government's failure to maintain reforms and curb corruption. A severe drought from 1999 to 2000 compounded Kenya's problems, causing water and energy rationing and reducing agricultural output. As a result, GDP contracted by 0.2% in 2000. The IMF, which had resumed loans in 2000 to help Kenya through the drought, again halted lending in 2001 when the government failed to institute several anticorruption measures. Despite the return of strong rains in 2001, weak commodity prices, endemic corruption, and low investment limited Kenya's economic growth to 1.2%. Growth lagged at 1.1% in 2002 because of erratic rains, low investor confidence, meager donor support, and political infighting up to the elections. In the key 27 December 2002 elections, Daniel Arap MOI's 24-year-old reign ended, and a new opposition government took on the formidable economic problems facing the nation. In 2003, progress was made in rooting out corruption, and encouraging donor support, with GDP growth edging up to 1.7%. | Economic activity consists primarily of subsistence farming and fishing. The islands have few mineral deposits worth exploiting, except for high-grade phosphate. The potential for a tourist industry exists, but the remote location, a lack of adequate facilities, and limited air connections hinder development. The Amended Compact of Free Association with the US guarantees the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) millions of dollars in annual aid through 2023, and establishes a Trust Fund into which the US and the FSM make annual contributions in order to provide annual payouts to the FSM in perpetuity after 2023. The country's medium-term economic outlook appears fragile due not only to the reduction in US assistance but also to the current slow growth of the private sector. |
Electricity - consumption | 3.981 billion kWh (2001) | 178.6 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 230 million kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 4.033 billion kWh (2001) | 192 million kWh (2002) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Kenya 5,199 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Dolohmwar (Totolom) 791 m |
Environment - current issues | water pollution from urban and industrial wastes; degradation of water quality from increased use of pesticides and fertilizers; water hyacinth infestation in Lake Victoria; deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; poaching | overfishing, climate change, pollution |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Kikuyu 22%, Luhya 14%, Luo 13%, Kalenjin 12%, Kamba 11%, Kisii 6%, Meru 6%, other African 15%, non-African (Asian, European, and Arab) 1% | Chuukese 48.8%, Pohnpeian 24.2%, Kosraean 6.2%, Yapese 5.2%, Yap outer islands 4.5%, Asian 1.8%, Polynesian 1.5%, other 6.4%, unknown 1.4% (2000 census) |
Exchange rates | Kenyan shillings per US dollar - 75.9356 (2003), 78.7491 (2002), 78.5632 (2001), 76.1755 (2000), 70.3262 (1999) | the US dollar is used |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Mwai KIBAKI (since 30 December 2002) and Vice President Moody AWORI (since 25 September 2003); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Mwai KIBAKI (since 30 December 2002) and Vice President Moody AWORI (since 25 September 2003); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; in addition to receiving the largest number of votes in absolute terms, the presidential candidate must also win 25% or more of the vote in at least five of Kenya's seven provinces and one area to avoid a runoff; election last held 27 December 2002 (next to be held NA December 2007); vice president appointed by the president election results: President Mwai KIBAKI elected; percent of vote - Mwai KIBAKI 63%, Uhuru KENYATTA 30% |
chief of state: President Emmanuel MORI (since 11 May 2007); Vice President Alik L. ALIK (11 May 2007) note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Emmanuel MORI (since 11 May 2007); Vice President Alik L. ALIK (11 May 2007) cabinet: Cabinet includes the vice president and the heads of the eight executive departments elections: president and vice president elected by Congress from among the four senators at large for a four-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 11 May 2007 (next to be held May 2011); note - a proposed constitutional amendment to establish popular elections for president and vice president failed election results: Emmanuel MORI elected president; percent of Congress vote - NA; Alik L. ALIK elected vice president; percent of Congress vote - NA |
Exports | NA (2001) | $14 million (f.o.b.) (2004 est.) |
Exports - commodities | tea, horticultural products, coffee, petroleum products, fish, cement | fish, garments, bananas, black pepper, sakau (kava), betel nut |
Exports - partners | Uganda 12.7%, UK 12.5%, US 9.4%, Netherlands 8.5%, Pakistan 5%, Egypt 4.6%, Tanzania 4.3% (2003) | Japan, US, Guam (2006) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | 1 October - 30 September |
Flag description | 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 | light blue with four white five-pointed stars centered; the stars are arranged in a diamond pattern |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $33.03 billion (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 19.7%
industry: 18.6% services: 61.8% (2003 est.) |
agriculture: 28.9%
industry: 15.2% services: 55.9% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.5% (2003 est.) | 0.3% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 1 00 N, 38 00 E | 6 55 N, 158 15 E |
Geography - note | the Kenyan Highlands comprise one of the most successful agricultural production regions in Africa; glaciers are found on Mount Kenya, Africa's second highest peak; unique physiography supports abundant and varied wildlife of scientific and economic value | four major island groups totaling 607 islands |
Highways | total: 63,942 km
paved: 7,737 km unpaved: 56,205 km (2000) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 37.2% (2000) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | widespread harvesting of small plots of marijuana; transit country for South Asian heroin destined for Europe and North America; Indian methaqualone also transits on way to South Africa; significant potential for money-laundering activity given the country's status as a regional financial center, massive corruption, and relatively high levels of narcotics-associated activities | major consumer of cannabis |
Imports | NA (2001) | $132.7 million f.o.b. (2004) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transportation equipment, petroleum products, motor vehicles, iron and steel, resins and plastics | food, manufactured goods, machinery and equipment, beverages |
Imports - partners | UAE 13.2%, Saudi Arabia 9.6%, South Africa 8.6%, UK 7.4%, China 6.3%, US 5.1%, India 5.1%, Japan 4.9%, Germany 4.2% (2003) | US, Japan, Hong Kong (2006) |
Independence | 12 December 1963 (from UK) | 3 November 1986 (from the US-administered UN trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2% (2003 est.) | NA% |
Industries | small-scale consumer goods (plastic, furniture, batteries, textiles, soap, cigarettes, flour), agricultural products processing; oil refining, cement; tourism | tourism, construction; fish processing, specialized aquaculture; craft items from shell, wood, and pearls |
Infant mortality rate | total: 62.62 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 65.55 deaths/1,000 live births female: 59.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
total: 28.15 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 31.08 deaths/1,000 live births female: 25.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 9.8% (2003 est.) | 2.2% (2005) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, EADB, FAO, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | ACP, ADB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IMF, IOC, ITSO, ITU, MIGA, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, WHO, WMO |
Irrigated land | 670 sq km (1998 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal (chief justice is appointed by the president); High Court | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 11.45 million (2003 est.) | 37,410 (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 75% (2003 est.) | agriculture: 0.9%
industry: 34.4% services: 64.7% note: two-thirds are government employees (FY05 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 3,477 km
border countries: Ethiopia 861 km, Somalia 682 km, Sudan 232 km, Tanzania 769 km, Uganda 933 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 8.08%
permanent crops: 0.98% other: 90.94% (2001) |
arable land: 5.71%
permanent crops: 45.71% other: 48.58% (2005) |
Languages | English (official), Kiswahili (official), numerous indigenous languages | English (official and common language), Trukese, Pohnpeian, Yapese, Kosrean, Ulithian, Woleaian, Nukuoro, Kapingamarangi |
Legal system | based on Kenyan statutory law, Kenyan and English common law, tribal law, and Islamic law; judicial review in High Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations; constitutional amendment of 1982 making Kenya a de jure one-party state repealed in 1991 | based on adapted Trust Territory laws, acts of the legislature, municipal, common, and customary laws |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Bunge (224 seats; 210 members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms, 12 so-called "nominated" members who are appointed by the president but selected by the parties in proportion to their parliamentary vote totals, 2 ex-officio members)
elections: last held 27 December 2002 (next to be held by early 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NARC 125, KANU 64, FORD-P 14, other 7; ex-officio 2; seats appointed by the president - NARC 7, KANU 4, FORD-P 1 |
unicameral Congress (14 seats; 4 - one elected from each state to serve four-year terms and 10 - elected from single-member districts delineated by population to serve two-year terms; members elected by popular vote)
elections: last held 6 March 2007 (next to be held in March 2009) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 14 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 44.94 years
male: 44.79 years female: 45.1 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 70.35 years
male: 68.52 years female: 72.28 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 85.1% male: 90.6% female: 79.7% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 89% male: 91% female: 88% (1980 est.) |
Location | Eastern Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean, between Somalia and Tanzania | Oceania, island group in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to Indonesia |
Map references | Africa | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,049 GRT/7,082 DWT
by type: petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 2 registered in other countries: 9 (2004 est.) |
total: 3 ships (1000 GRT or over) 3,560 GRT/2,060 DWT
by type: cargo 1, passenger/cargo 2 (2007) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the US |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | no regular military forces (2007) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $231 million (2003) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.8% (2003) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 8,313,051 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 5,150,405 (2004 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 12 December (1963) | Constitution Day, 10 May (1979) |
Nationality | noun: Kenyan(s)
adjective: Kenyan |
noun: Micronesian(s)
adjective: Micronesian; Chuukese, Kosraen(s), Pohnpeian(s), Yapese |
Natural hazards | recurring drought; flooding during rainy seasons | typhoons (June to December) |
Natural resources | gold, limestone, soda ash, salt, rubies, fluorspar, garnets, wildlife, hydropower | forests, marine products, deep-seabed minerals, phosphate |
Net migration rate | -0.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: according to UNHCR, by the end of 2001 Kenya was host to 220,000 refugees from neighboring countries, including: Somalia 145,000 and Sudan 68,000 (2004 est.) |
-21.02 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | refined products 752 km (2004) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Forum for the Restoration of Democracy-People or FORD-People [Kimaniwa NYOIKE, chairman]; Kenya African National Union or KANU [Uhuru KENYATTA]; National Rainbow Coalition or NARC [Mwai KIBAKI] - the governing party | no formal parties |
Political pressure groups and leaders | human rights groups; labor unions; Muslim organizations; National Convention Executive Council or NCEC, a proreform coalition of political parties and nongovernment organizations [Kivutha KIBWANA]; Protestant National Council of Churches of Kenya or NCCK [Mutava MUSYIMI]; Roman Catholic and other Christian churches; Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims or SUPKEM [Shaykh Abdul Gafur al-BUSAIDY] | - |
Population | 32,021,856
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2004 est.) |
107,862 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 50% (2000 est.) | 26.7% (2000) |
Population growth rate | 1.14% (2004 est.) | -0.154% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Kisumu, Lamu, Mombasa | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 24, FM 18, shortwave 6 (2001) | AM 5, FM 1, shortwave 0 (2004) |
Railways | total: 2,778 km
narrow gauge: 2,778 km 1.000-m gauge (2003) |
- |
Religions | Protestant 45%, Roman Catholic 33%, indigenous beliefs 10%, Muslim 10%, other 2%
note: a large majority of Kenyans are Christian, but estimates for the percentage of the population that adheres to Islam or indigenous beliefs vary widely |
Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 47%, other 3% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
NA (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: unreliable; little attempt to modernize except for service to business
domestic: trunks are primarily microwave radio relay; business data commonly transferred by a very small aperture terminal (VSAT) system international: country code - 254; satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat |
general assessment: adequate system
domestic: islands interconnected by shortwave radiotelephone (used mostly for government purposes), satellite (Intelsat) ground stations, and some coaxial and fiber-optic cable; cellular service available on Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Yap international: country code - 691; satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) (2002) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 328,400 (2003) | 12,400 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,590,800 (2003) | 14,100 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 8 (2002) | 3 (cable TV also available) (2004) |
Terrain | low plains rise to central highlands bisected by Great Rift Valley; fertile plateau in west | islands vary geologically from high mountainous islands to low, coral atolls; volcanic outcroppings on Pohnpei, Kosrae, and Chuuk |
Total fertility rate | 3.31 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 3.07 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 40% (2001 est.) | 22% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | part of Lake Victoria system is within boundaries of Kenya (2004) | - |