Kenya (2007) | Italy (2006) | |
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Administrative divisions | 7 provinces and 1 area*; Central, Coast, Eastern, Nairobi Area*, North Eastern, Nyanza, Rift Valley, Western | 15 regions (regioni, singular - regione) and 5 autonomous regions* (regioni autonome, singular - regione autonoma); Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Emilia-Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia*, Lazio, Liguria, Lombardia, Marche, Molise, Piemonte, Puglia, Sardegna*, Sicilia*, Toscana, Trentino-Alto Adige*, Umbria, Valle d'Aosta*, Veneto |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 42.1% (male 7,826,804/female 7,720,456)
15-64 years: 55.2% (male 10,219,575/female 10,174,922) 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 446,355/female 525,609) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 13.8% (male 4,147,149/female 3,899,980)
15-64 years: 66.5% (male 19,530,512/female 19,105,841) 65 years and over: 19.7% (male 4,771,858/female 6,678,169) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | tea, coffee, corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruit, vegetables; dairy products, beef, pork, poultry, eggs | fruits, vegetables, grapes, potatoes, sugar beets, soybeans, grain, olives; beef, dairy products; fish |
Airports | 225 (2007) | 133 (2006) |
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 (2007) |
total: 98
over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 30 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 31 under 914 m: 14 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 210
1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 914 to 1,523 m: 113 under 914 m: 85 (2007) |
total: 35
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 19 (2006) |
Area | total: 582,650 sq km
land: 569,250 sq km water: 13,400 sq km |
total: 301,230 sq km
land: 294,020 sq km water: 7,210 sq km note: includes Sardinia and Sicily |
Area - comparative | slightly more than twice the size of Nevada | slightly larger than Arizona |
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 (NARC), defeated KANU candidate Uhuru KENYATTA and assumed the presidency following a campaign centered on an anticorruption platform. KIBAKI's NARC coalition splintered in 2005 over the constitutional review process. Government defectors joined with KANU to form a new opposition coalition, the Orange Democratic Movement, which defeated the government's draft constitution in a popular referendum in November 2005. | Italy became a nation-state in 1861 when the regional states of the peninsula, along with Sardinia and Sicily, were united under King Victor EMMANUEL II. An era of parliamentary government came to a close in the early 1920s when Benito MUSSOLINI established a Fascist dictatorship. His disastrous alliance with Nazi Germany led to Italy's defeat in World War II. A democratic republic replaced the monarchy in 1946 and economic revival followed. Italy was a charter member of NATO and the European Economic Community (EEC). It has been at the forefront of European economic and political unification, joining the Economic and Monetary Union in 1999. Persistent problems include illegal immigration, organized crime, corruption, high unemployment, sluggish economic growth, and the low incomes and technical standards of southern Italy compared with the prosperous north. |
Birth rate | 38.94 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 8.72 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $4.691 billion
expenditures: $5.137 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues: $785.7 billion
expenditures: $861.5 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
Capital | name: Nairobi
geographic coordinates: 1 17 S, 36 49 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
name: Rome
geographic coordinates: 41 54 N, 12 29 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 | predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south |
Coastline | 536 km | 7,600 km |
Constitution | 12 December 1963; amended as a republic 1964; reissued with amendments 1979, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1997, 2001; note - a new draft constitution was defeated by popular referendum in 2005 | passed 11 December 1947, effective 1 January 1948; amended many times |
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: Italian Republic
conventional short form: Italy local long form: Repubblica Italiana local short form: Italia former: Kingdom of Italy |
Death rate | 10.95 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 10.4 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $6.931 billion (2006 est.) | $922.5 billion (2005 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Michael RANNEBERGER
embassy: US Embassy, United Nations Avenue, 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 Ronald P. SPOGLI
embassy: Via Vittorio Veneto 121, 00187-Rome mailing address: PSC 59, Box 100, APO AE 09624 telephone: [39] (06) 46741 FAX: [39] (06) 488-2672, 4674-2356 consulate(s) general: Florence, Milan, Naples |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Peter Rateng Oginga OGEGO
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 Giovanni CASTELLANETA
chancery: 3000 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 612-4400 FAX: [1] (202) 518-2151 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami, New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco consulate(s): Detroit |
Disputes - international | Kenya served as an important mediator in brokering Sudan's north-south separation in February 2005; Kenya provides shelter to almost 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 works hard to prevent the clan and militia fighting in Somalia from spreading across the border, which has long been open to nomadic pastoralists; the boundary that separates Kenya's and Sudan's sovereignty is unclear in the "Ilemi Triangle," which Kenya has administered since colonial times | Italy's long coastline and developed economy entices tens of thousands of illegal immigrants from southeastern Europe and northern Africa |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $1 billion (2002 est.) |
Economic aid - recipient | $768.3 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 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. Since then, however, the KIBAKI government has been rocked by high-level graft scandals. The World Bank suspended aid for most of 2006, and the IMF has delayed loans pending further action by the government on corruption. The scandals have not seemed to affect growth, with GDP growing more than 5% in 2006. | Italy has a diversified industrial economy with roughly the same total and per capita output as France and the UK. This capitalistic economy remains divided into a developed industrial north, dominated by private companies, and a less-developed, welfare-dependent, agricultural south, with 20% unemployment. Most raw materials needed by industry and more than 75% of energy requirements are imported. Over the past decade, Italy has pursued a tight fiscal policy in order to meet the requirements of the Economic and Monetary Unions and has benefited from lower interest and inflation rates. The current government has enacted numerous short-term reforms aimed at improving competitiveness and long-term growth. Italy has moved slowly, however, on implementing needed structural reforms, such as lightening the high tax burden and overhauling Italy's rigid labor market and over-generous pension system, because of the current economic slowdown and opposition from labor unions. But the leadership faces a severe economic constraint: the budget deficit has breached the 3% EU ceiling. The economy experienced almost no growth in 2005, and unemployment remained at a high level. |
Electricity - consumption | 4.464 billion kWh (2005) | 302.2 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 500 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 28 million kWh (2005) | 51.5 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 5.502 billion kWh (2005) | 270.1 billion kWh (2003) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Kenya 5,199 m |
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mont Blanc (Monte Bianco) de Courmayeur 4,748 m (a secondary peak of Mont Blanc) |
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 | air pollution from industrial emissions such as sulfur dioxide; coastal and inland rivers polluted from industrial and agricultural effluents; acid rain damaging lakes; inadequate industrial waste treatment and disposal facilities |
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: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, 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, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants |
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% | Italian (includes small clusters of German-, French-, and Slovene-Italians in the north and Albanian-Italians and Greek-Italians in the south) |
Exchange rates | Kenyan shillings per US dollar - 72.101 (2006), 75.554 (2005), 79.174 (2004), 75.936 (2003), 78.749 (2002) | euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001) |
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) 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 in 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 Giorgio NAPOLITANO (since 15 May 2006)
head of government: Prime Minister (referred to in Italy as the president of the Council of Ministers) Romano PRODI (since 17 May 2006) cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister and approved by the president elections: president elected by an electoral college consisting of both houses of parliament and 58 regional representatives for a seven-year term (no term limits); election last held 10 May 2006 (next to be held May 2013); prime minister appointed by the president and confirmed by parliament election results: Giorgio NAPOLITANO elected president on the fourth round of voting; electoral college vote - 543 |
Exports | NA bbl/day | 456,600 bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | tea, horticultural products, coffee, petroleum products, fish, cement | engineering products, textiles and clothing, production machinery, motor vehicles, transport equipment, chemicals; food, beverages and tobacco; minerals, and nonferrous metals |
Exports - partners | Uganda 15.9%, UK 10.3%, US 8.2%, Netherlands 7.9%, Tanzania 7.7%, Pakistan 4.9% (2006) | Germany 13.1%, France 12.3%, US 8.1%, Spain 7.4%, UK 6.4% (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 | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red; similar to the flag of Ireland, which is longer and is green (hoist side), white, and orange; also similar to the flag of the Cote d'Ivoire, which has the colors reversed - orange (hoist side), white, and green
note: inspired by the French flag brought to Italy by Napoleon in 1797 |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 24%
industry: 16.7% services: 59.2% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 2.1%
industry: 29.1% services: 68.8% (2005 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6.1% (2006 est.) | 0.1% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 1 00 N, 38 00 E | 42 50 N, 12 50 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 dominating central Mediterranean as well as southern sea and air approaches to Western Europe |
Heliports | - | 5 (2006) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 37.2% (2000) |
lowest 10%: 2.1%
highest 10%: 26.6% (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 | important gateway for and consumer of Latin American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin entering the European market; money laundering by organized crime and from smuggling |
Imports | NA bbl/day | 2.158 million bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transportation equipment, petroleum products, motor vehicles, iron and steel, resins and plastics | engineering products, chemicals, transport equipment, energy products, minerals and nonferrous metals, textiles and clothing; food, beverages, and tobacco |
Imports - partners | UAE 11.8%, India 8.8%, China 8.3%, Saudi Arabia 8.3%, US 7%, South Africa 6.4%, UK 5.3%, Japan 4.7% (2006) | Germany 17.2%, France 9.9%, Netherlands 5.7%, China 4.6%, Belgium 4.5%, Spain 4.2% (2005) |
Independence | 12 December 1963 (from UK) | 17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed; Italy was not finally unified until 1870) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6.3% (2006 est.) | -1% (2005 est.) |
Industries | small-scale consumer goods (plastic, furniture, batteries, textiles, clothing, soap, cigarettes, flour), agricultural products, horticulture, oil refining; aluminum, steel, lead; cement, commercial ship repair, tourism | tourism, machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor vehicles, clothing, footwear, ceramics |
Infant mortality rate | total: 57.44 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 60.44 deaths/1,000 live births female: 54.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 5.83 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 6.42 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.19 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 14.5% (2006 est.) | 2% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, COMESA, EAC, EADB, FAO, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, ONUB, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS (observer), CDB, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 7, G- 8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMOGIP, UNRWA, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC |
Irrigated land | 1,030 sq km (2003) | 27,500 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal (chief justice is appointed by the president); High Court | Constitutional Court or Corte Costituzionale (composed of 15 judges: one-third appointed by the president, one-third elected by parliament, one-third elected by the ordinary and administrative Supreme Courts) |
Labor force | 1.963 million (2006 est.) | 24.49 million (2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 75%
industry and services: 25% (2003 est.) |
agriculture: 5%
industry: 32% services: 63% (2001) |
Land boundaries | total: 3,477 km
border countries: Ethiopia 861 km, Somalia 682 km, Sudan 232 km, Tanzania 769 km, Uganda 933 km |
total: 1,932.2 km
border countries: Austria 430 km, France 488 km, Holy See (Vatican City) 3.2 km, San Marino 39 km, Slovenia 232 km, Switzerland 740 km |
Land use | arable land: 8.01%
permanent crops: 0.97% other: 91.02% (2005) |
arable land: 26.41%
permanent crops: 9.09% other: 64.5% (2005) |
Languages | English (official), Kiswahili (official), numerous indigenous languages | Italian (official), German (parts of Trentino-Alto Adige region are predominantly German speaking), French (small French-speaking minority in Valle d'Aosta region), Slovene (Slovene-speaking minority in the Trieste-Gorizia area) |
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 civil law system; appeals treated as new trials; judicial review under certain conditions in Constitutional Court; 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 in December 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 Parliament or Parlamento consists of the Senate or Senato della Repubblica (315 seats; elected by proportional vote with the winning coalition in each region receiving 55% of seats from that region; members serve five-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camera dei Deputati (630 seats; elected by popular vote with the winning national coalition receiving 54% of chamber seats; members serve five-year terms); note - electoral vote reform passed in December 2005
elections: Senate - last held 10 April 2006 (next to be held in 2011); Chamber of Deputies - last held 10 April 2006 (next to be held May 2011) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - The Union 158 (DS 62, DL 39, RC 27, Together with the Union 11, other 19), House of Freedoms 154 (FI 79, AN 41, UDC 21, LEGA 13), other 3; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - The Union 348 (DS 220, RC 41, Rose in the Fist 18, Italy of Values 17, PdCI 16, Greens Federation 15, UDEUR 10, other 11), House of Freedoms 276 (FI 140, AN 71, Union of Christian and Center Democrats 39, LEGA 26), other 6 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 55.31 years
male: 55.24 years female: 55.37 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 79.81 years
male: 76.88 years female: 82.94 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: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.6% male: 99% female: 98.3% (2003 est.) |
Location | Eastern Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean, between Somalia and Tanzania | Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia |
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 |
territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
Merchant marine | total: 1 ship (1000 GRT or over) 3,737 GRT/5,558 DWT
by type: petroleum tanker 1 registered in other countries: 5 (Bahamas 1, Comoros 1, St Vincent and The Grenadines 2, Tuvalu 1, unknown 1) (2007) |
total: 591 ships (1000 GRT or over) 11,737,175 GRT/12,573,225 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 52, cargo 45, chemical tanker 136, container 25, liquefied gas 37, livestock carrier 3, passenger 16, passenger/cargo 150, petroleum tanker 49, refrigerated cargo 4, roll on/roll off 33, specialized tanker 13, vehicle carrier 28 foreign-owned: 36 (France 1, Greece 6, Spain 1, Taiwan 10, UK 3, US 15) registered in other countries: 152 (Bahamas 5, Belize 4, Cayman Islands 12, Cyprus 2, France 2, Germany 1, Gibraltar 6, Isle of Man 5, Jamaica 1, Liberia 16, Malta 29, Marshall Islands 1, Norway 4, Panama 15, Portugal 12, Romania 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 18, Singapore 2, Spain 2, Sweden 7, Turkey 3, UK 4) (2006) |
Military branches | Kenyan Army, Kenyan Navy, Kenyan Air Force (2007) | Army (Esercito Italiano, EI), Navy (Marina Militare Italiana, MMI), Air Force (Aeronautica Militare Italiana, AMI), Carabinieri Corps (Corpo dei Carabinieri, CC) (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $28,182.8 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.8% (2006) | 1.8% (2004) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 12 December (1963) | Republic Day, 2 June (1946) |
Nationality | noun: Kenyan(s)
adjective: Kenyan |
noun: Italian(s)
adjective: Italian |
Natural hazards | recurring drought; flooding during rainy seasons | regional risks include landslides, mudflows, avalanches, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding; land subsidence in Venice |
Natural resources | limestone, soda ash, salt, gemstones, fluorspar, zinc, diatomite, gypsum, wildlife, hydropower | coal, mercury, zinc, potash, marble, barite, asbestos, pumice, fluorospar, feldspar, pyrite (sulfur), natural gas and crude oil reserves, fish, arable land |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 2.06 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | refined products 894 km (2006) | gas 17,589 km; oil 1,136 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | Forum for the Restoration of Democracy-Kenya or FORD-Kenya [Musikari KOMBO or Soita SHITANDA, disputed]; Forum for the Restoration of Democracy-People or FORD-People [Simeon NYACHAE]; Kenya African National Union or KANU [Nicholas BIWOTT or Uhuru KENYATTA, disputed]; National Rainbow Coalition-Kenya or NARC-K [Mwai KIBAKI, unofficially, since the break-up of KIBAKI's original coalition]; Orange Democratic Movement-Kenya or ODM-Kenya [Raila ODINGA, unofficially] | Center-Left Union Coalition [Romano PRODI]: Ulivo Alliance (including Democrats of the Left or DS [Piero FASSINO]; Daisy-Democracy is Freedom or DL [Francesco RUTELLI]); Rose in the Fist (including Italian Social Democrats or SDI [Enrico BOSELLI]; Italian Radical Party [Emma BONINO]); Italian Communist Party or PdCI [Oliviero DILIBERTO]; Green Federation [Alfonso PECORARO SCANIO]; Communist Renewal or RC [Fausto BERTINOTTI]; Italy of Values or IdV [Antonio DI PIETRO]; Union of Democrats for Europe or UDEUR [Clemente MASTELLA]; Republican European Movement or MRE [Luciana SBARBATI]
Center-Right Freedom House Coalition [Silvio BERLUSCONI]: Forza Italia or FI [Silvio BERLUSCONI]; National Alliance or AN [Gianfranco FINI]; Union of Christian Democrats of the Center or UDC [Pier Ferdinando CASINI]; Northern League or LEGA [Umberto BOSSI]; Christian Democracy (Per la Autonomie) [Publio FIORI] other non-allied parties: New Italian Socialist Party or New PSI [Gianni DE MICHELIS]; Italian Republican Party or PRI [Giorgio LA MALFA]; Social Alternative [Alessandra MUSSOLINI]; Social Movement-Tricolor Flame or MSI-Fiamma [Luca ROMAGNOLI]; Social Idea Movement with Rauti or MIS [Pino RAUTI]; South Tyrol People's Party or SVP (German speakers) [Elmar Pichler ROLLE]; Union of Valley Aosta Region or UV [Guido CESAL] |
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 [Ndung'u WAINANA]; 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] | Italian manufacturers and merchants associations (Confindustria, Confcommercio); organized farm groups (Confcoltivatori, Confagricoltura); Roman Catholic Church; three major trade union confederations (Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro or CGIL [Guglielmo EPIFANI] which is left wing, Confederazione Italiana dei Sindacati Lavoratori or CISL [Savino PEZZOTTA], which is Roman Catholic centrist, and Unione Italiana del Lavoro or UIL [Luigi ANGELETTI] which is lay centrist) |
Population | 36,913,721
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 2007 est.) |
58,133,509 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 50% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.799% (2007 est.) | 0.04% (2006 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 24, FM 18, shortwave 6 (2001) | AM about 100, FM about 4,600, shortwave 9 (1998) |
Railways | total: 2,778 km
narrow gauge: 2,778 km 1.000-m gauge (2006) |
total: 19,459 km
standard gauge: 18,037 km 1.435-m gauge (11,354 km electrified) narrow gauge: 123 km 1.000-m gauge (122 km electrified); 1,299 km 0.950-m gauge (161 km electrified) (2005) |
Religions | Protestant 45%, Roman Catholic 33%, Muslim 10%, indigenous beliefs 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 |
approximately 90% Roman Catholic (about one-third regularly attend services); mature Protestant and Jewish communities and a growing Muslim immigrant community |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.014 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.004 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.849 male(s)/female total population: 1.004 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal (except in senatorial elections, where minimum age is 25) |
Telephone system | general assessment: inadequate; fixed-line telephone system is small and inefficient; trunks are primarily microwave radio relay; business data commonly transferred by a very small aperture terminal (VSAT) system
domestic: no recent growth in fixed-line infrastructure and the sole provider, Telkom Kenya, is slated for privatization; multiple providers in the mobile-cellular segment of the market fostering a boom in mobile-cellular telephone usage international: country code - 254; satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat |
general assessment: modern, well developed, fast; fully automated telephone, telex, and data services
domestic: high-capacity cable and microwave radio relay trunks international: country code - 39; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (with a total of 5 antennas - 3 for Atlantic Ocean and 2 for Indian Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean region), and NA Eutelsat; 21 submarine cables |
Telephones - main lines in use | 293,400 (2006) | 25.049 million (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 6.485 million (2006) | 72.2 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 8 (2001) | 358 (plus 4,728 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | low plains rise to central highlands bisected by Great Rift Valley; fertile plateau in west | mostly rugged and mountainous; some plains, coastal lowlands |
Total fertility rate | 4.82 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.28 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 40% (2001 est.) | 7.7% (2005 est.) |
Waterways | part of Lake Victoria system is within boundaries of Kenya (2006) | 2,400 km
note: used for commercial traffic; of limited overall value compared to road and rail (2004) |