Kenya (2005) | Tunisia (2008) | |
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Administrative divisions | 7 provinces and 1 area*; Central, Coast, Eastern, Nairobi Area*, North Eastern, Nyanza, Rift Valley, Western | 24 governorates; Ariana (Aryanah), Beja (Bajah), Ben Arous (Bin 'Arus), Bizerte (Banzart), Gabes (Qabis), Gafsa (Qafsah), Jendouba (Jundubah), Kairouan (Al Qayrawan), Kasserine (Al Qasrayn), Kebili (Qibili), Kef (Al Kaf), Mahdia (Al Mahdiyah), Manouba (Manubah), Medenine (Madanin), Monastir (Al Munastir), Nabeul (Nabul), Sfax (Safaqis), Sidi Bou Zid (Sidi Bu Zayd), Siliana (Silyanah), Sousse (Susah), Tataouine (Tatawin), Tozeur (Tawzar), Tunis, Zaghouan (Zaghwan) |
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: 24% (male 1,270,208/female 1,191,619)
15-64 years: 69.2% (male 3,571,228/female 3,538,458) 65 years and over: 6.9% (male 333,801/female 370,844) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | tea, coffee, corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruit, vegetables; dairy products, beef, pork, poultry, eggs | olives, olive oil, grain, tomatoes, citrus fruit, sugar beets, dates, almonds; beef, dairy products |
Airports | 221 (2004 est.) | 30 (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: 14
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (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.) |
total: 16
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 7 (2007) |
Area | total: 582,650 sq km
land: 569,250 sq km water: 13,400 sq km |
total: 163,610 sq km
land: 155,360 sq km water: 8,250 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than twice the size of Nevada | slightly larger than Georgia |
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. | Rivalry between French and Italian interests in Tunisia culminated in a French invasion in 1881 and the creation of a protectorate. Agitation for independence in the decades following World War I was finally successful in getting the French to recognize Tunisia as an independent state in 1956. The country's first president, Habib BOURGUIBA, established a strict one-party state. He dominated the country for 31 years, repressing Islamic fundamentalism and establishing rights for women unmatched by any other Arab nation. In November 1987, BOURGUIBA was removed from office and replaced by Zine el Abidine BEN ALI in a bloodless coup. BEN ALI is currently serving his fourth consecutive five-year term as president; the next elections are scheduled for October 2009. Tunisia has long taken a moderate, non-aligned stance in its foreign relations. Domestically, it has sought to defuse rising pressure for a more open political society. |
Birth rate | 40.13 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 15.54 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.89 billion
expenditures: $3.443 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
revenues: $8.355 billion
expenditures: $9.476 billion (2007 est.) |
Capital | Nairobi | name: Tunis
geographic coordinates: 36 48 N, 10 11 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Climate | varies from tropical along coast to arid in interior | temperate in north with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers; desert in south |
Coastline | 536 km | 1,148 km |
Constitution | 12 December 1963; amended as a republic 1964; reissued with amendments 1979, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1997, and 2001 | 1 June 1959; amended 1988, 2002 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Kenya
conventional short form: Kenya former: British East Africa |
conventional long form: Tunisian Republic
conventional short form: Tunisia local long form: Al Jumhuriyah at Tunisiyah local short form: Tunis |
Death rate | 14.65 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 5.17 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $6.792 billion (2004 est.) | $18.56 billion (December 2007) |
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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Robert F. GODEC
embassy: Zone Nord-Est des Berges du Lac Nord de Tunis 1053 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [216] 71 107-000 FAX: [216] 71 107-090 |
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 Nejib HACHANA
chancery: 1515 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 862-1850 FAX: [1] (202) 862-1858 |
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) | $376.5 million (2005) |
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. | Tunisia has a diverse economy, with important agricultural, mining, tourism, and manufacturing sectors. Governmental control of economic affairs while still heavy has gradually lessened over the past decade with increasing privatization, simplification of the tax structure, and a prudent approach to debt. Progressive social policies also have helped raise living conditions in Tunisia relative to the region. Real growth, which averaged almost 5% over the past decade, reached 6.3% in 2007 because of development in non-textile manufacturing, a recovery in agricultural production, and strong growth in the services sector. However, Tunisia will need to reach even higher growth levels to create sufficient employment opportunities for an already large number of unemployed as well as the growing population of university graduates. Broader privatization, further liberalization of the investment code to increase foreign investment, improvements in government efficiency, and reduction of the trade deficit are among the challenges ahead. |
Electricity - consumption | 4.337 billion kWh (2002) | 11.17 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 175 million kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 4.475 billion kWh (2002) | 12.85 billion kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Kenya 5,199 m |
lowest point: Shatt al Gharsah -17 m
highest point: Jebel ech Chambi 1,544 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 | toxic and hazardous waste disposal is ineffective and poses health risks; water pollution from raw sewage; limited natural fresh water resources; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification |
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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation |
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% | Arab 98%, European 1%, Jewish and other 1% |
Exchange rates | Kenyan shillings per US dollar - 79.174 (2004), 75.936 (2003), 78.749 (2002), 78.563 (2001), 76.176 (2000) | Tunisian dinars per US dollar - 1.2776 (2007), 1.331 (2006), 1.2974 (2005), 1.2455 (2004), 1.2885 (2003) |
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 Zine el Abidine BEN ALI (since 7 November 1987)
head of government: Prime Minister Mohamed GHANNOUCHI (since 17 November 1999) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (no term limits); election last held on 24 October 2004 (next to be held in October 2009); prime minister appointed by the president election results: President Zine El Abidine BEN ALI reelected for a fourth term; percent of vote - Zine El Abidine BEN ALI 94.5%, Mohamed BOUCHIHA 3.8%, Mohamed Ali HALOUANI 1% |
Exports | NA | 75,060 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | tea, horticultural products, coffee, petroleum products, fish, cement | clothing, semi-finished goods and textiles, agricultural products, mechanical goods, phosphates and chemicals, hydrocarbons, electrical equipment |
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 28.9%, Italy 20.4%, Germany 8.6%, Spain 6.1%, Libya 4.9%, US 4% (2006) |
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 | red with a white disk in the center bearing a red crescent nearly encircling a red five-pointed star; the crescent and star are traditional symbols of Islam |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 19.3%
industry: 18.5% services: 62.4% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 11.5%
industry: 30% services: 58.5% (2007 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2004 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.2% (2004 est.) | 6.3% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 1 00 N, 38 00 E | 34 00 N, 9 00 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 central Mediterranean; Malta and Tunisia are discussing the commercial exploitation of the continental shelf between their countries, particularly for oil exploration |
Highways | total: 63,942 km
paved: 7,737 km unpaved: 56,205 km (2000) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 37.2% (2000) |
lowest 10%: 2.3%
highest 10%: 31.5% (2000) |
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 | 85,680 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transportation equipment, petroleum products, motor vehicles, iron and steel, resins and plastics | textiles, machinery and equipment, hydrocarbons, chemicals, foodstuffs |
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 25%, Italy 21.9%, Germany 9.7%, Spain 4.9% (2006) |
Independence | 12 December 1963 (from UK) | 20 March 1956 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2.6% (2004 est.) | 4.1% (2007 est.) |
Industries | small-scale consumer goods (plastic, furniture, batteries, textiles, soap, cigarettes, flour), agricultural products; oil refining, aluminum, steel, lead, cement; commercial ship repair, tourism | petroleum, mining (particularly phosphate and iron ore), tourism, textiles, footwear, agribusiness, beverages |
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: 22.94 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 25.75 deaths/1,000 live births female: 19.92 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 9% (2004 est.) | 2.9% (2007 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 | ABEDA, ACCT, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AMU, AU, BSEC (observer), FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAS, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OAPEC (suspended), OAS (observer), OIC, OIF, OPCW, OSCE (partner), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 670 sq km (1998 est.) | 3,940 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal (chief justice is appointed by the president); High Court | Court of Cassation or Cour de Cassation |
Labor force | 11.4 million (2004 est.) | 3.591 million (2007 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 75% (2003 est.) | agriculture: 55%
industry: 23% services: 22% (1995 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 3,477 km
border countries: Ethiopia 861 km, Somalia 682 km, Sudan 232 km, Tanzania 769 km, Uganda 933 km |
total: 1,424 km
border countries: Algeria 965 km, Libya 459 km |
Land use | arable land: 8.08%
permanent crops: 0.98% other: 90.94% (2001) |
arable land: 17.05%
permanent crops: 13.08% other: 69.87% (2005) |
Languages | English (official), Kiswahili (official), numerous indigenous languages | Arabic (official and one of the languages of commerce), French (commerce) |
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 French civil law system and Islamic law; some judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court in joint session; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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 system consists of the Chamber of Deputies or Majlis al-Nuwaab (189 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and the Chamber of Advisors (126 seats; 85 members elected by municipal counselors, deputies, mayors, and professional associations and trade unions; 41 members are presidential appointees; members serve six-year terms)
elections: Chamber of Deputies - last held on 24 October 2004 (next to be held in October 2009); Chamber of Advisors - last held on 3 July 2005 (next to be held in July 2011) election results: Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RCD 152, MDS 14, PUP 11, UDU 7, Al-Tajdid 3, PSL 2; Chamber of Advisors - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RCD 71 (14 trade union seats vacant (boycotted)) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 47.99 years
male: 48.87 years female: 47.09 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 75.34 years
male: 73.6 years female: 77.21 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: 74.3% male: 83.4% female: 65.3% (2004 census) |
Location | Eastern Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean, between Somalia and Tanzania | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Algeria and Libya |
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 |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 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) |
total: 8 ships (1000 GRT or over) 130,475 GRT/91,013 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 1, chemical tanker 2, passenger/cargo 4 foreign-owned: 1 (Libya 1) (2007) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | Army, Navy, Republic of Tunisia Air Force (Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Jamahiriyah At'tunisia) (2007) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $177.1 million (2004) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.3% (2004) | 1.4% (2006) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 12 December (1963) | Independence Day, 20 March (1956); also the anniversary of BEN ALI's assumption of the presidency, 7 November (1987) |
Nationality | noun: Kenyan(s)
adjective: Kenyan |
noun: Tunisian(s)
adjective: Tunisian |
Natural hazards | recurring drought; flooding during rainy seasons | NA |
Natural resources | limestone, soda ash, salt, gemstones, fluorspar, zinc, diatomite, gypsum, wildlife, hydropower | petroleum, phosphates, iron ore, lead, zinc, salt |
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.) |
-0.47 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | refined products 752 km (2004) | gas 2,665 km; oil 1,235 km; refined products 353 km (2007) |
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 | Al-Tajdid Movement [Ahmed IBRAHIM]; Constitutional Democratic Rally Party (Rassemblement Constitutionnel Democratique) or RCD (official ruling party) [President Zine El Abidine BEN ALI]; Democratic Forum for Labor and Liberties or FDTL [Mustapha Ben JAFAAR]; Green Party for Progress or PVP [Mongi KHAMASSI]; Liberal Social Party or PSL [Mondher THABET]; Movement of Socialist Democrats or MDS [Ismail BOULAHYA]; Popular Unity Party or PUP [Mohamed BOUCHIHA]; Progressive Democratic Party [Maya JERIBI]; Unionist Democratic Union or UDU [Ahmed INOUBLI] |
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] | 18 October Group [collective leadership]; Tunisian League for Human Rights or LTDH [Mokhtar TRIFI]; note - the Islamist Party, Al Nahda (Renaissance), is outlawed |
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.) |
10,276,158 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 50% (2000 est.) | 7.4% (2005 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.56% (2005 est.) | 0.989% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Mombasa | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 24, FM 18, shortwave 6 (2001) | AM 7, FM 38, shortwave 2 (2007) |
Railways | total: 2,778 km
narrow gauge: 2,778 km 1.000-m gauge (2004) |
total: 2,153 km
standard gauge: 471 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 1,674 km 1.000-m gauge (65 km electrified) dual gauge: 8 km 1.435 m and 1.000-m gauges (three rails) (2006) |
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 98%, Christian 1%, Jewish and other 1% |
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: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.066 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.009 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female total population: 1.015 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal except for active government security forces (including the police and the military), people with mental disabilities, people who have served more than three months in prison (criminal cases only), and people given a suspended sentence of more than six months |
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: above the African average and continuing to be upgraded; key centers are Sfax, Sousse, Bizerte, and Tunis; Internet access available
domestic: in an effort jumpstart expansion of the fixed-line network, the government has awarded a concession to build and operate a VSAT network with international connectivity; competition between the two mobile-cellular service providers has resulted in lower activation and usage charges and a strong surge in subscribership; overall fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity is about 85 telephones per 100 persons international: country code - 216; a landing point for the SEA-ME-WE-4 submarine cable system that provides links to Europe, Middle East, and Asia; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Arabsat; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Algeria and Libya; participant in Medarabtel; 2 international gateway digital switches |
Telephones - main lines in use | 328,400 (2003) | 1.268 million (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,590,800 (2003) | 7.339 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 8 (2002) | 26 (plus 76 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | low plains rise to central highlands bisected by Great Rift Valley; fertile plateau in west | mountains in north; hot, dry central plain; semiarid south merges into the Sahara |
Total fertility rate | 4.96 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 1.73 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 40% (2001 est.) | 13.9% (2007 est.) |
Waterways | part of Lake Victoria system is within boundaries of Kenya (2004) | - |