Kenya (2005) | Northern Mariana Islands (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | 7 provinces and 1 area*; Central, Coast, Eastern, Nairobi Area*, North Eastern, Nyanza, Rift Valley, Western | none (commonwealth in political union with the US); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are four municipalities at the second order: Northern Islands, Rota, Saipan, Tinian |
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: 19.9% (male 8,332/female 7,646)
15-64 years: 78.5% (male 26,121/female 36,982) 65 years and over: 1.6% (male 646/female 635) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | tea, coffee, corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruit, vegetables; dairy products, beef, pork, poultry, eggs | coconuts, fruits, vegetables; cattle |
Airports | 221 (2004 est.) | 5 (2004 est.) |
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: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
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.) |
total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 582,650 sq km
land: 569,250 sq km water: 13,400 sq km |
total: 477 sq km
land: 477 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes 14 islands including Saipan, Rota, and Tinian |
Area - comparative | slightly more than twice the size of Nevada | 2.5 times 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. | Under US administration as part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific, the people of the Northern Mariana Islands decided in the 1970s not to seek independence but instead to forge closer links with the US. Negotiations for territorial status began in 1972. A covenant to establish a commonwealth in political union with the US was approved in 1975. A new government and constitution went into effect in 1978. |
Birth rate | 40.13 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 19.51 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.89 billion
expenditures: $3.443 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
revenues: $193 million
expenditures: $223 million, including capital expenditures of NA (FY01/02 est.) |
Capital | Nairobi | Saipan |
Climate | varies from tropical along coast to arid in interior | tropical marine; moderated by northeast trade winds, little seasonal temperature variation; dry season December to June, rainy season July to October |
Coastline | 536 km | 1,482 km |
Constitution | 12 December 1963; amended as a republic 1964; reissued with amendments 1979, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1997, and 2001 | Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands effective 1 January 1978; Covenant Agreement effective 4 November 1986 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Kenya
conventional short form: Kenya former: British East Africa |
conventional long form: Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
conventional short form: Northern Mariana Islands former: Mariana Islands District (Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands) |
Death rate | 14.65 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 2.3 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $6.792 billion (2004 est.) | NA |
Dependency status | - | commonwealth in political union with the US; federal funds to the Commonwealth administered by the US Department of the Interior, Office of Insular Affairs |
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 |
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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 |
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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 | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $453 million (1997) | extensive funding from US |
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. | The economy benefits substantially from financial assistance from the US. The rate of funding has declined as locally generated government revenues have grown. The key tourist industry employs about 50% of the work force and accounts for roughly one-fourth of GDP. Japanese tourists predominate. Annual tourist entries have exceeded one-half million in recent years, but financial difficulties in Japan have caused a temporary slowdown. The agricultural sector is made up of cattle ranches and small farms producing coconuts, breadfruit, tomatoes, and melons. Garment production is by far the most important industry with employment of 17,500 mostly Chinese workers and sizable shipments to the US under duty and quota exemptions. |
Electricity - consumption | 4.337 billion kWh (2002) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh |
Electricity - imports | 175 million kWh (2002) | 0 kWh |
Electricity - production | 4.475 billion kWh (2002) | NA kWh |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Kenya 5,199 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Agrihan 965 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 | contamination of groundwater on Saipan may contribute to disease; clean-up of landfill; protection of endangered species conflicts with development |
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 |
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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% | Asian 56.3%, Pacific islander 36.3%, Caucasian 1.8%, other 0.8%, mixed 4.8% (2000 census) |
Exchange rates | Kenyan shillings per US dollar - 79.174 (2004), 75.936 (2003), 78.749 (2002), 78.563 (2001), 76.176 (2000) | 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 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 George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001)
head of government: Governor Juan N. BABAUTA (since 14 January 2002); Lieutenant Governor Diego T. BENAVENTE (since 14 January 2002) cabinet: NA elections: US president and vice president elected on the same ticket for four-year terms; governor and lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 3 November 2001 (next to be held November 2005) election results: Juan N. BABAUTA elected governor in a four-way race; percent of vote - Juan N. BABAUTA (Republican Party) 42.8% |
Exports | NA | NA |
Exports - commodities | tea, horticultural products, coffee, petroleum products, fish, cement | garments |
Exports - partners | Uganda 13.3%, UK 11.4%, US 10.6%, Netherlands 8.2%, Egypt 4.9%, Tanzania 4.5%, Pakistan 4.3% (2004) | US (2000) |
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 | blue, with a white, five-pointed star superimposed on the gray silhouette of a latte stone (a traditional foundation stone used in building) in the center, surrounded by a wreath |
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 - $12,500 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.2% (2004 est.) | NA |
Geographic coordinates | 1 00 N, 38 00 E | 15 12 N, 145 45 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 | strategic location in the North Pacific Ocean |
Heliports | - | 1 (2004 est.) |
Highways | total: 63,942 km
paved: 7,737 km unpaved: 56,205 km (2000) |
total: 362 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (1991) |
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 | NA |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transportation equipment, petroleum products, motor vehicles, iron and steel, resins and plastics | food, construction equipment and materials, petroleum products |
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) | US, Japan (2000) |
Independence | 12 December 1963 (from UK) | none (commonwealth in political union with the US) |
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 | tourism, construction, garments, handicrafts |
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.) |
total: 7.11 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 7.05 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.17 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 9% (2004 est.) | 1.2% (1997 est.) |
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 | Interpol (subbureau) |
Irrigated land | 670 sq km (1998 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal (chief justice is appointed by the president); High Court | Commonwealth Supreme Court; Superior Court; Federal District Court |
Labor force | 11.4 million (2004 est.) | 6,006 total indigenous labor force; 2,699 unemployed; 28,717 foreign workers (June 1995) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 75% (2003 est.) | NA |
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: 13.04%
permanent crops: 4.35% other: 82.61% (2001) |
Languages | English (official), Kiswahili (official), numerous indigenous languages | Philippine languages 24.4%, Chinese 23.4%, Chamorro 22.4%, English 10.8%, other Pacific island languages 9.5%, other 9.6% (2000 census) |
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 US system, except for customs, wages, immigration laws, and taxation |
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 |
bicameral Legislature consists of the Senate (9 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year staggered terms) and the House of Representatives (18 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 1 November 2003 (next to be held 5 November 2005); House of Representatives - last held 1 November 2003 (next to be held 5 November 2005) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Covenant Party 9, Republican Party 7, Democratic Party 1, independent 1 note: the Northern Mariana Islands does not have a nonvoting delegate in the US Congress; instead, it has an elected official or "resident representative" located in Washington, DC; seats by party - Republican Party 1 (Pedro A. TENORIO) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 47.99 years
male: 48.87 years female: 47.09 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 75.88 years
male: 73.31 years female: 78.61 years (2005 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: 97% male: 97% female: 96% (1980 est.) |
Location | Eastern Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean, between Somalia and Tanzania | Oceania, islands in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines |
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: cargo 2, petroleum tanker 1 registered in other countries: 6 (2005) |
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Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the US |
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) | Commonwealth Day, 8 January (1978) |
Nationality | noun: Kenyan(s)
adjective: Kenyan |
noun: NA
adjective: NA |
Natural hazards | recurring drought; flooding during rainy seasons | active volcanoes on Pagan and Agrihan; typhoons (especially August to November) |
Natural resources | limestone, soda ash, salt, gemstones, fluorspar, zinc, diatomite, gypsum, wildlife, hydropower | arable land, fish |
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.) |
8.92 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 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 Party [Dr. Carlos S. CAMACHO]; Republican Party [NA]; Covenant Party [Benigno R. FITIAL] |
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.) |
80,362 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 50% (2000 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | 2.56% (2005 est.) | 2.61% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Mombasa | Saipan, Tinian |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 24, FM 18, shortwave 6 (2001) | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Railways | total: 2,778 km
narrow gauge: 2,778 km 1.000-m gauge (2004) |
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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 |
Christian (Roman Catholic majority, although traditional beliefs and taboos may still be found) |
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: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.09 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.71 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.02 male(s)/female total population: 0.78 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal; indigenous inhabitants are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections |
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: NA
domestic: NA international: country code - 1-670; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 328,400 (2003) | 21,000 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,590,800 (2003) | 3,000 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 8 (2002) | 1 (on Saipan and one station planned for Rota; in addition, two cable services on Saipan provide varied programming from satellite networks) (1997) |
Terrain | low plains rise to central highlands bisected by Great Rift Valley; fertile plateau in west | southern islands are limestone with level terraces and fringing coral reefs; northern islands are volcanic |
Total fertility rate | 4.96 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 1.27 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 40% (2001 est.) | NA |
Waterways | part of Lake Victoria system is within boundaries of Kenya (2004) | - |