Kenya (2005) | Mayotte (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | 7 provinces and 1 area*; Central, Coast, Eastern, Nairobi Area*, North Eastern, Nyanza, Rift Valley, Western | none (territorial collectivity of France) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 42.5% (male 7,252,075/female 7,124,034)
15-64 years: 55.2% (male 9,378,428/female 9,295,471) 65 years and over: 2.3% (male 356,116/female 423,466) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 46.6% (male 39,927; female 39,628)
15-64 years: 51.7% (male 48,237; female 40,210) 65 years and over: 1.7% (male 1,429; female 1,448) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | tea, coffee, corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruit, vegetables; dairy products, beef, pork, poultry, eggs | vanilla, ylang-ylang (perfume essence), coffee, copra |
Airports | 221 (2004 est.) | 1 (2001) |
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: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
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: 374 sq km
land: 374 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than twice the size of Nevada | slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC |
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. | Mayotte was ceded to France along with the other islands of the Comoros group in 1843. It was the only island in the archipelago that voted in 1974 to retain its link with France and forego independence. |
Birth rate | 40.13 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 43.59 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.89 billion
expenditures: $3.443 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $73 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1991 est.) |
Capital | Nairobi | Mamoutzou |
Climate | varies from tropical along coast to arid in interior | tropical; marine; hot, humid, rainy season during northeastern monsoon (November to May); dry season is cooler (May to November) |
Coastline | 536 km | 185.2 km |
Constitution | 12 December 1963; amended as a republic 1964; reissued with amendments 1979, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1997, and 2001 | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Kenya
conventional short form: Kenya former: British East Africa |
conventional long form: Territorial Collectivity of Mayotte
conventional short form: Mayotte |
Currency | - | euro (EUR); French franc (FRF) |
Death rate | 14.65 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 8.58 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $6.792 billion (2004 est.) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | territorial collectivity of France |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador William M. BELLAMY
embassy: US Embassy, United Nations Ave., Gigiri; P. O. Box 606 Village Market Nairobi mailing address: Box 21A, Unit 64100, APO AE 09831 telephone: [254] (20) 537-800 FAX: [254] (20) 537-810 |
none (territorial collectivity of France) |
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 |
none (territorial collectivity of France) |
Disputes - international | Kenya served as an important mediator in brokering Sudan's north-south separation in February 2005; Kenya provides shelter to approximately a quarter of a million refugees including Ugandans who flee across the border periodically to seek protection from Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels; Kenya's administrative limits extend beyond the treaty border into the Sudan, creating the Ilemi Triangle | claimed by Comoros |
Economic aid - recipient | $453 million (1997) | $107.7 million (1995); note - extensive French financial assistance |
Economy - overview | The regional hub for trade and finance in East Africa, Kenya has been hampered by corruption 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%. GDP grew a moderate 2.2% in 2004. | Economic activity is based primarily on the agricultural sector, including fishing and livestock raising. Mayotte is not self-sufficient and must import a large portion of its food requirements, mainly from France. The economy and future development of the island are heavily dependent on French financial assistance, an important supplement to GDP. Mayotte's remote location is an obstacle to the development of tourism. |
Electricity - consumption | 4.337 billion kWh (2002) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | - |
Electricity - imports | 175 million kWh (2002) | - |
Electricity - production | 4.475 billion kWh (2002) | NA kWh |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: NA%
hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Kenya 5,199 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Benara 660 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 | NA |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, 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 |
- |
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% | NA |
Exchange rates | Kenyan shillings per US dollar - 79.174 (2004), 75.936 (2003), 78.749 (2002), 78.563 (2001), 76.176 (2000) | euros per US dollar - 1.1324 (January 2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.8995 (1998), 5.8367 (1997) |
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 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 Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Jean-Jacques BROT (since 3 July 2002)
head of government: President of the General Council Younoussa BAMANA (since NA 1977) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; president of the General Council elected by the members of the General Council for a six-year term |
Exports | NA | $3.44 million f.o.b. (1997) |
Exports - commodities | tea, horticultural products, coffee, petroleum products, fish, cement | ylang-ylang (perfume essence), vanilla, copra, coconuts, coffee, cinnamon |
Exports - partners | Uganda 13.3%, UK 11.4%, US 10.6%, Netherlands 8.2%, Egypt 4.9%, Tanzania 4.5%, Pakistan 4.3% (2004) | France 80%, Comoros 15%, Reunion |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
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 | the flag of France is used |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $85 million (1998 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 19.3%
industry: 18.5% services: 62.4% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $600 (1998 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.2% (2004 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 1 00 N, 38 00 E | 12 50 S, 45 10 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 | part of Comoro Archipelago; 18 islands |
Highways | total: 63,942 km
paved: 7,737 km unpaved: 56,205 km (2000) |
total: 93 km
paved: 72 km unpaved: 21 km |
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 | - |
Imports | NA | $141.3 million f.o.b. (1997) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transportation equipment, petroleum products, motor vehicles, iron and steel, resins and plastics | food, machinery and equipment, transportation equipment, metals, chemicals |
Imports - partners | UAE 12.6%, Saudi Arabia 9.1%, South Africa 8.8%, US 7.7%, India 7.2%, UK 6.7%, China 6.4%, Japan 5% (2004) | France 66%, Africa 14%, Southeast Asia 11% (1997) |
Independence | 12 December 1963 (from UK) | none (territorial collectivity of France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2.6% (2004 est.) | NA% |
Industries | small-scale consumer goods (plastic, furniture, batteries, textiles, soap, cigarettes, flour), agricultural products; oil refining, aluminum, steel, lead, cement; commercial ship repair, tourism | newly created lobster and shrimp industry, construction |
Infant mortality rate | total: 61.47 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 64.26 deaths/1,000 live births female: 58.62 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
67.76 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 9% (2004 est.) | NA% |
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 | FZ |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | NA |
Irrigated land | 670 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal (chief justice is appointed by the president); High Court | Supreme Court or Tribunal Superieur d'Appel |
Labor force | 11.4 million (2004 est.) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 75% (2003 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: NA%
permanent crops: NA% other: NA% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English (official), Kiswahili (official), numerous indigenous languages | Mahorian (a Swahili dialect), French (official language) spoken by 35% of the population |
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 | French law |
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 General Council or Conseil General (19 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 7 October 2000 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA note: Mayotte elects one member of the French Senate; elections last held 24 September 2001 (next to be held NA September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Mayotte also elects one member to the French National Assembly; elections last held 16 June 2002 (next to be held as a special election on NA June 2005); results - percent of vote by party - UMP-RPR 55.08%, UDF 44.92%; seats by party - UMP-RPR 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 47.99 years
male: 48.87 years female: 47.09 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 60.21 years
male: 58.12 years female: 62.37 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 85.1% male: 90.6% female: 79.7% (2003 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Eastern Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean, between Somalia and Tanzania | Southern Africa, island in the Mozambique Channel, about one-half of the way from northern Madagascar to northern Mozambique |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,049 GRT/7,082 DWT
by type: cargo 2, petroleum tanker 1 registered in other countries: 6 (2005) |
none (2002 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France; small contingent of French forces stationed on the island |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $177.1 million (2004) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.3% (2004) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 12 December (1963) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun: Kenyan(s)
adjective: Kenyan |
noun: Mahorais (singular and plural)
adjective: Mahoran |
Natural hazards | recurring drought; flooding during rainy seasons | cyclones during rainy season |
Natural resources | limestone, soda ash, salt, gemstones, fluorspar, zinc, diatomite, gypsum, wildlife, hydropower | NEGL |
Net migration rate | 0.08 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 (2005 est.) |
9.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 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 | Democratic Front or FD [Youssouf MOUSSA]; Mahoran Popular Movement or MPM [Younoussa BAMANA]; Federation of Mahorans or RPR [Moustoifa MOHAMED]; Movement for Department Status Mayotte or MDM [Younoussa BEN ALI]; Socialist Party or PS (local branch of French Parti Socialiste) [Ibrahim ABUBACAR]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Henri JEAN-BAPTISTE]; note - may no longer be in existence |
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] | NA |
Population | 33,829,590
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 2005 est.) |
170,879 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 50% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.56% (2005 est.) | 4.41% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Mombasa | Dzaoudzi |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 24, FM 18, shortwave 6 (2001) | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2001) |
Radios | - | NA |
Railways | total: 2,778 km
narrow gauge: 2,778 km 1.000-m gauge (2004) |
0 km (2002) |
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 |
Muslim 97%, Christian (mostly Roman Catholic) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.2 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.99 male(s)/female total population: 1.1 male(s)/female (2002 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: small system administered by French Department of Posts and Telecommunications
domestic: NA international: microwave radio relay and HF radiotelephone communications to Comoros (2001) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 328,400 (2003) | 12,000 (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,590,800 (2003) | 0 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 8 (2002) | 3 (2001) |
Terrain | low plains rise to central highlands bisected by Great Rift Valley; fertile plateau in west | generally undulating, with deep ravines and ancient volcanic peaks |
Total fertility rate | 4.96 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 6.15 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 40% (2001 est.) | 45% (1997) (1997) |
Waterways | part of Lake Victoria system is within boundaries of Kenya (2004) | none |