Kenya (2006) | Holy See (Vatican City) (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | 7 provinces and 1 area*; Central, Coast, Eastern, Nairobi Area*, North Eastern, Nyanza, Rift Valley, Western | - |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 42.6% (male 7,454,765/female 7,322,130)
15-64 years: 55.1% (male 9,631,488/female 9,508,068) 65 years and over: 2.3% (male 359,354/female 432,012) (2006 est.) |
- |
Agriculture - products | tea, coffee, corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruit, vegetables; dairy products, beef, pork, poultry, eggs | - |
Airports | 225 (2006) | none |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 15
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
- |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 210
1,524 to 2,437 m: 11 914 to 1,523 m: 115 under 914 m: 84 (2006) |
- |
Area | total: 582,650 sq km
land: 569,250 sq km water: 13,400 sq km |
total:
0.44 sq km land: 0.44 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than twice the size of Nevada | about 0.7 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC |
Background | Founding president and liberation struggle icon Jomo KENYATTA led Kenya from independence in 1963 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 were viewed as having generally reflected the will of the Kenyan people. President MOI stepped down in December 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. | Popes in their secular role ruled much of the Italian peninsula for more than a thousand years until the mid 19th century, when many of the Papal States were seized by the newly united Kingdom of Italy. In 1870, the pope's holdings were further circumscribed when Rome itself was annexed. Disputes between a series of "prisoner" popes and Italy were resolved in 1929 by three Lateran Treaties, which established the independent state of Vatican City and granted Roman Catholicism special status in Italy. In 1984, a concordat between the Vatican and Italy modified certain of the earlier treaty provisions, including the primacy of Roman Catholicism as the Italian state religion. Present concerns of the Holy See include the failing health of Pope John Paul II, interreligious dialogue and reconciliation, and the adjustment of church doctrine in an era of rapid change and globalization. About 1 billion people worldwide profess the Catholic faith. |
Birth rate | 39.72 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | - |
Budget | revenues: $3.715 billion
expenditures: $3.88 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
revenues:
$209.6 million expenditures: $198.5 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997) |
Capital | name: Nairobi
geographic coordinates: 1 17 S, 36 49 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Vatican City |
Climate | varies from tropical along coast to arid in interior | temperate; mild, rainy winters (September to mid-May) with hot, dry summers (May to September) |
Coastline | 536 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 12 December 1963; amended as a republic 1964; reissued with amendments 1979, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1997, 2001 | Apostolic Constitution of 1967 (effective 1 March 1968) |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Kenya
conventional short form: Kenya local long form: Republic of Kenya/Jamhuri y Kenya local short form: Kenya former: British East Africa |
conventional long form:
The Holy See (State of the Vatican City) conventional short form: Holy See (Vatican City) local long form: Santa Sede (Stato della Citta del Vaticano) local short form: Santa Sede (Citta del Vaticano) |
Currency | - | Italian lira (ITL); euro (EUR) |
Death rate | 14.02 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | - |
Debt - external | $7.391 billion (2005 est.) | - |
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 (vacant) embassy: Villa Domiziana, Via delle Terme Deciane 26, 00162 Rome mailing address: PSC 59, Box F, APO AE 09624 telephone: [39] (06) 4674-3428 FAX: [39] (06) 5758346 |
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:
Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Gabriele MONTALVO chancery: 3339 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 333-7121 |
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; the Kenya-Somalia border is open to pastoralists and is susceptible to cross-border clan insurgencies; Kenya's administrative limits extend beyond the treaty border into the Sudan, creating the Ilemi Triangle | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $453 million (1997) | none |
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 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. GDP grew more than 5% in 2005. | This unique, noncommercial economy is supported financially by contributions (known as Peter's Pence) from Roman Catholics throughout the world, the sale of postage stamps and tourist mementos, fees for admission to museums, and the sale of publications. The incomes and living standards of lay workers are comparable to, or somewhat better than, those of counterparts who work in the city of Rome. |
Electricity - consumption | 4.238 billion kWh (2003) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | - |
Electricity - imports | 200 million kWh (2003) | NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by Italy |
Electricity - production | 4.342 billion kWh (2003) | - |
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:
unnamed location 19 m highest point: unnamed location 75 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 |
party to:
none of the selected agreements signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution, Environmental Modification |
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% | Italians, Swiss, other |
Exchange rates | Kenyan shillings per US dollar - 75.554 (2005), 79.174 (2004), 75.936 (2003), 78.749 (2002), 78.563 (2001) | euros per US dollar - 1.0659 (January 2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); Vatican lire per US dollar - 2,099 (2000), 1817.2 (1999), 1,736.2 (1998), 1,703.1 (1997), 1,542.9 (1996); note - the Vatican lira is at par with the Italian lira; the Vatican will start using euros in 2002 in conjunction with Italy at a fixed rate of 1,936.17 lire per euro |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Mwai KIBAKI (since 30 December 2002); 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); 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 (eligible for a second 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:
Pope JOHN PAUL II (since 16 October 1978) head of government: Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo SODANO (since 2 December 1990) cabinet: Pontifical Commission appointed by the pope elections: pope elected for life by the College of Cardinals; election last held 16 October 1978 (next to be held after the death of the current pope); secretary of state appointed by the pope election results: Karol WOJTYLA elected pope |
Exports | NA bbl/day | - |
Exports - commodities | tea, horticultural products, coffee, petroleum products, fish, cement | - |
Exports - partners | Uganda 13.9%, UK 10.5%, US 9.5%, Netherlands 8.2%, Egypt 5.1%, Tanzania 4.7%, Pakistan 4.5% (2005) | - |
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 | two vertical bands of yellow (hoist side) and white with the crossed keys of Saint Peter and the papal miter centered in the white band |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 16.3%
industry: 18.8% services: 65.1% (2004 est.) |
- |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.8% (2005 est.) | - |
Geographic coordinates | 1 00 N, 38 00 E | 41 54 N, 12 27 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 | urban; landlocked; enclave of Rome, Italy; world's smallest state; outside the Vatican City, 13 buildings in Rome and Castel Gandolfo (the pope's summer residence) enjoy extraterritorial rights |
Heliports | - | 1 (2000 est.) |
Highways | - | none; all city streets |
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 bbl/day | NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by Italy |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transportation equipment, petroleum products, motor vehicles, iron and steel, resins and plastics | - |
Imports - partners | UAE 13.6%, Saudi Arabia 9.9%, US 9.8%, India 8.3%, South Africa 7.9%, China 7.1%, UK 5.4% (2005) | - |
Independence | 12 December 1963 (from UK) | 11 February 1929 (from Italy) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.6% (2005 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 | printing and production of a small amount of mosaics and staff uniforms; worldwide banking and financial activities |
Infant mortality rate | total: 59.26 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 61.92 deaths/1,000 live births female: 56.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
- |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 10.3% (2005 est.) | - |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, COMESA, EADB, FAO, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, ONUB, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | CE (observer), IAEA, ICFTU, Intelsat, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM (guest), OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, UN (observer), UNCTAD, UNHCR, UPU, WHO (observer), WIPO, WToO (observer), WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 93 (Holy See and Italy) (2000) |
Irrigated land | 1,030 sq km (2003) | 0 sq km (1993) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal (chief justice is appointed by the president); High Court | none; normally handled by Italy |
Labor force | 11.85 million (2005 est.) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 75%
industry and services: 25% (2003 est.) |
agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA%; note - dignitaries, priests, nuns, guards, and 3,000 lay workers live outside the Vatican |
Land boundaries | total: 3,477 km
border countries: Ethiopia 861 km, Somalia 682 km, Sudan 232 km, Tanzania 769 km, Uganda 933 km |
total:
3.2 km border countries: Italy 3.2 km |
Land use | arable land: 8.01%
permanent crops: 0.97% other: 91.02% (2005) |
arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 100% (urban area) |
Languages | English (official), Kiswahili (official), numerous indigenous languages | Italian, Latin, French, various other languages |
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 | NA |
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 Pontifical Commission |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 48.93 years
male: 49.78 years female: 48.07 years (2006 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: 100% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Eastern Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean, between Somalia and Tanzania | Southern Europe, an enclave of Rome (Italy) |
Map references | Africa | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 3 ships (1000 GRT or over) 6,049 GRT/7,082 DWT
by type: passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 1 registered in other countries: 6 (Bahamas 1, Comoros 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2, Tuvalu 1, unknown 1) (2006) |
- |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of Italy; Swiss Papal Guards are posted at entrances to the Vatican City to provide security and protect the Pope |
Military branches | Kenyan Army, Kenyan Navy, Kenyan Air Force (2006) | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $280.5 million (2005 est.) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.6% (2005 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 12 December (1963) | Coronation Day of Pope JOHN PAUL II, 22 October (1978) |
Nationality | noun: Kenyan(s)
adjective: Kenyan |
noun:
none adjective: none |
Natural hazards | recurring drought; flooding during rainy seasons | NA |
Natural resources | limestone, soda ash, salt, gemstones, fluorspar, zinc, diatomite, gypsum, wildlife, hydropower | none |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: according to the UNHCR, by the end of 2005 Kenya was host to 233,778 refugees from neighboring countries, including Somalia 153,627, Sudan 67,556, Ethiopia 12,595 (2006 est.) |
- |
Pipelines | refined products 894 km (2006) | - |
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) | none |
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] | none (exclusive of influence exercised by church officers) |
Population | 34,707,817
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 2006 est.) |
890 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 50% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.57% (2006 est.) | 1.15% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 24, FM 18, shortwave 6 (2001) | AM 3, FM 4, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | - | NA |
Railways | total: 2,778 km
narrow gauge: 2,778 km 1.000-m gauge (2005) |
total:
862 m; note - a spur of the Italian Railways system, serving Rome's Saint Peter's station standard gauge: 862 m 1.435-m gauge (1999) |
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 |
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: 0.83 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
- |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | limited to cardinals less than 80 years old |
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:
automatic exchange domestic: tied into Italian system international: uses Italian system |
Telephones - main lines in use | 281,800 (2005) | NA |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 4.612 million (2005) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 8 (2002) | 1 (1996) |
Terrain | low plains rise to central highlands bisected by Great Rift Valley; fertile plateau in west | low hill |
Total fertility rate | 4.91 children born/woman (2006 est.) | - |
Unemployment rate | 40% (2001 est.) | - |
Waterways | part of Lake Victoria system is within boundaries of Kenya (2003) | none |