Moldova (2001) | Kenya (2006) | |
Administrative divisions | 10 juletule (singular - juletul), 1 municipality*, and 1 autonomous territorial unit**; Balti, Cahul, Chisinau, Chisinau*, Dubasari, Edinet, Gagauzia**, Lapusna, Orhei, Soroca, Tighina, Ungheni | 7 provinces and 1 area*; Central, Coast, Eastern, Nairobi Area*, North Eastern, Nyanza, Rift Valley, Western |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
22.44% (male 506,303; female 488,311) 15-64 years: 67.62% (male 1,437,492; female 1,559,090) 65 years and over: 9.94% (male 163,473; female 276,901) (2001 est.) |
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 | vegetables, fruits, wine, grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, tobacco; beef, milk | tea, coffee, corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruit, vegetables; dairy products, beef, pork, poultry, eggs |
Airports | 30 (2000 est.) | 225 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
7 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
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:
23 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 14 (2000 est.) |
total: 210
1,524 to 2,437 m: 11 914 to 1,523 m: 115 under 914 m: 84 (2006) |
Area | total:
33,843 sq km land: 33,371 sq km water: 472 sq km |
total: 582,650 sq km
land: 569,250 sq km water: 13,400 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Maryland | slightly more than twice the size of Nevada |
Background | Formerly ruled by Romania, Moldova became part of the Soviet Union at the close of World War II. Although independent from the USSR since 1991, Russian forces have remained on Moldovan territory east of the Nistru (Dnister) River supporting the Slavic majority population, mostly Ukrainians and Russians, who have proclaimed a "Transnistria" republic. One of the poorest nations in Europe and plagued by a moribund economy, in 2001 Moldova became the first former Soviet state to elect a communist as its president. | 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. |
Birth rate | 13.35 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 39.72 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$536 million expenditures: $594 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.) |
revenues: $3.715 billion
expenditures: $3.88 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
Capital | Chisinau | name: Nairobi
geographic coordinates: 1 17 S, 36 49 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | moderate winters, warm summers | varies from tropical along coast to arid in interior |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 536 km |
Constitution | new constitution adopted 28 July 1994; replaces old Soviet constitution of 1979 | 12 December 1963; amended as a republic 1964; reissued with amendments 1979, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1997, 2001 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Moldova conventional short form: Moldova local long form: Republica Moldova local short form: none former: Soviet Socialist Republic of Moldova; Moldavia |
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 |
Currency | Moldovan leu (MDL) | - |
Death rate | 12.6 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 14.02 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $900 million (2000) | $7.391 billion (2005 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Rudolf Vilem PERINA embassy: Strada Alexei Mateevicie, #103, Chisinau 2009 mailing address: use embassy street address; pouch address - American Embassy Chisinau, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-7080 telephone: [373] (2) 23-37-72 FAX: [373] (2) 23-30-44 |
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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Ceslav CIOBANU chancery: 2101 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 667-1130 FAX: [1] (202) 667-1204 |
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 |
Disputes - international | separatist Transnistria region, comprising the area between the Nistru (Dniester) River and Ukraine, has its own de facto government, dominated by Moldovan Slavs | 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 |
Economic aid - recipient | $100.8 million (1995); note - $547 million from the IMF and World Bank (1992-99) | $453 million (1997) |
Economy - overview | Moldova enjoys a favorable climate and good farmland but has no major mineral deposits. As a result, the economy depends heavily on agriculture, featuring fruits, vegetables, wine, and tobacco. Moldova must import all of its supplies of oil, coal, and natural gas, largely from Russia. Energy shortages contributed to sharp production declines after the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. As part of an ambitious reform effort, Moldova introduced a convertible currency, freed all prices, stopped issuing preferential credits to state enterprises, backed steady land privatization, removed export controls, and freed interest rates. Yet these efforts could not offset the impact of political and economic difficulties, both internal and regional. In 1998, the economic troubles of Russia, by far Moldova's leading trade partner, were a major cause of the 8.6% drop in GDP. In 1999, GDP fell again, by 4.4%, the fifth drop in the past seven years; exports were down, and energy supplies continued to be erratic. GDP declined slightly in 2000, with a serious drought hurting agriculture. Growth should turn positive in 2001. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 5.78 billion kWh (1999) | 4.238 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 1.916 billion kWh (1999) | 200 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 4.155 billion kWh (1999) | 4.342 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
93.62% hydro: 6.38% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Nistru (Dnister) River 2 m highest point: Dealul Balanesti 430 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Kenya 5,199 m |
Environment - current issues | heavy use of agricultural chemicals, including banned pesticides such as DDT, has contaminated soil and groundwater; extensive soil erosion from poor farming methods | 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 |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Moldovan/Romanian 64.5%, Ukrainian 13.8%, Russian 13%, Gagauz 3.5%, Jewish 1.5%, Bulgarian 2%, other 1.7% (1989 est.)
note: internal disputes with ethnic Slavs in the Transnistrian region |
Kikuyu 22%, Luhya 14%, Luo 13%, Kalenjin 12%, Kamba 11%, Kisii 6%, Meru 6%, other African 15%, non-African (Asian, European, and Arab) 1% |
Exchange rates | lei per US dollar - 12.3728 (January 2001), 12.4342 (2000), 10.5158 (1999), 5.3707 (1998), 4.6236 (1997), 4.6045 (1996); note - lei is the plural form of leu | Kenyan shillings per US dollar - 75.554 (2005), 79.174 (2004), 75.936 (2003), 78.749 (2002), 78.563 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Vladimir VORONIN (since 4 April 2001) head of government: Prime Minister Vasile TARLEV (since 15 April 2001), three Deputy Prime Ministers: Valerian CRISTEA, Andrei CUCU, and Dmitri TODOROGLO (all since 19 April 2001) cabinet: selected by prime minister, subject to approval of Parliament elections: president elected by Parliament for a four-year term; election last held 4 April 2001; presidential elections were scheduled for December 2000, but in July 2000, Parliament canceled direct popular elections; Parliament's failure to chose a new president in December 2000 led to early parliamentary elections (moved up a year to February 2001); according to the Moldovan constitution, the president, on consulting with Parliament, will designate a candidate for the office of prime minister; within 15 days from designation, the prime minister-designate will request a vote of confidence from the Parliament regarding his/her work program and entire cabinet; prime minister designated on 15 April 2001, cabinet received vote of confidence on 19 April 2001 election results: Vladimir VORONIN elected president; parliamentary votes - Vladimir VORONIN 71, Dumitru BRAGHIS 15, Valerian CHRISTEA 3; Vasile TARLEV elected Prime Minister; parliamentary votes of confidence - 75 of 101 |
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% |
Exports | $500 million (f.o.b., 2000) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | foodstuffs 57%, wine, tobacco; textiles and footwear, machinery (1999) | tea, horticultural products, coffee, petroleum products, fish, cement |
Exports - partners | Russia 41%, Romania 9%, Germany 8%, Ukraine 7%, Italy, Belarus (1999) | Uganda 13.9%, UK 10.5%, US 9.5%, Netherlands 8.2%, Egypt 5.1%, Tanzania 4.7%, Pakistan 4.5% (2005) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
Flag description | same color scheme as Romania - three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red; emblem in center of flag is of a Roman eagle of gold outlined in black with a red beak and talons carrying a yellow cross in its beak and a green olive branch in its right talons and a yellow scepter in its left talons; on its breast is a shield divided horizontally red over blue with a stylized ox head, star, rose, and crescent all in black-outlined yellow | 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 |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $11.3 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
31% industry: 35% services: 34% (1998) |
agriculture: 16.3%
industry: 18.8% services: 65.1% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,500 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | -1.5% (2000 est.) | 5.8% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 47 00 N, 29 00 E | 1 00 N, 38 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked | 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 |
Highways | total:
20,000 km paved: 13,900 km (these roads are said to be hard-surfaced, and include, in addition to conventionally paved roads, some that are surfaced with gravel or other coarse aggregate, making them trafficable in all weather) unpaved: 6,100 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1990) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
2.7% highest 10%: 25.8% (1992) |
lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 37.2% (2000) |
Illicit drugs | limited cultivation of opium poppy and cannabis, mostly for CIS consumption; transshipment point for illicit drugs from Southwest Asia via Central Asia to Russia, Western Europe, and possibly the US | 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 | $761 million (f.o.b., 2000) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | mineral products and fuel 38%, machinery and equipment, chemicals, textiles (1999) | machinery and transportation equipment, petroleum products, motor vehicles, iron and steel, resins and plastics |
Imports - partners | Russia 21%, Romania 16%, Ukraine 14%, Germany 12%, Italy 6%, Belarus (1999) | 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 | 27 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) | 12 December 1963 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3% (2000 est.) | 4.6% (2005 est.) |
Industries | food processing, agricultural machinery, foundry equipment, refrigerators and freezers, washing machines, hosiery, sugar, vegetable oil, shoes, textiles | small-scale consumer goods (plastic, furniture, batteries, textiles, soap, cigarettes, flour), agricultural products, oil refining; aluminum, steel, lead; cement, commercial ship repair, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 42.74 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 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) | 32% (2000 est.) | 10.3% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) | 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 |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 2 (1999) | - |
Irrigated land | 3,110 sq km (1993 est.) | 1,030 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court (the sole authority for constitutional judicature) | Court of Appeal (chief justice is appointed by the president); High Court |
Labor force | 1.7 million (1998) | 11.85 million (2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 40%, industry 14%, other 46% (1998) | agriculture: 75%
industry and services: 25% (2003 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
1,389 km border countries: Romania 450 km, Ukraine 939 km |
total: 3,477 km
border countries: Ethiopia 861 km, Somalia 682 km, Sudan 232 km, Tanzania 769 km, Uganda 933 km |
Land use | arable land:
53% permanent crops: 14% permanent pastures: 13% forests and woodland: 13% other: 7% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 8.01%
permanent crops: 0.97% other: 91.02% (2005) |
Languages | Moldovan (official, virtually the same as the Romanian language), Russian, Gagauz (a Turkish dialect) | English (official), Kiswahili (official), numerous indigenous languages |
Legal system | based on civil law system; Constitutional Court reviews legality of legislative acts and governmental decisions of resolution; it is unclear if Moldova accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction but accepts many UN and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) documents | 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 |
Legislative branch | unicameral Parliament or Parlamentul (101 seats; parties and electoral blocs, as well as independent candidates, elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 25 February 2001 (next to be held NA 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - PCM 50.1%, Braghis Alliance 13.4%, PPCD 8.2%, other parties 28.3%; seats by party - PCM 71, Braghis Alliance 19, PPCD 11 |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
64.6 years male: 60.15 years female: 69.26 years (2001 est.) |
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: 96% male: 99% female: 94% (1989 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 85.1% male: 90.6% female: 79.7% (2003 est.) |
Location | Eastern Europe, northeast of Romania | Eastern Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean, between Somalia and Tanzania |
Map references | Commonwealth of Independent States | Africa |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
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 branches | Ground Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces, Republic Security Forces (internal and border troops) | Kenyan Army, Kenyan Navy, Kenyan Air Force (2006) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $6 million (FY99) | $280.5 million (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1% (FY99) | 1.6% (2005 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,164,018 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
921,210 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
42,268 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 27 August (1991) | Independence Day, 12 December (1963) |
Nationality | noun:
Moldovan(s) adjective: Moldovan |
noun: Kenyan(s)
adjective: Kenyan |
Natural hazards | landslides (57 cases in 1998) | recurring drought; flooding during rainy seasons |
Natural resources | lignite, phosphorites, gypsum, arable land | limestone, soda ash, salt, gemstones, fluorspar, zinc, diatomite, gypsum, wildlife, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -0.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 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 | natural gas 310 km (1992) | refined products 894 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | Braghis Alliance [Dumitru BRAGHIS]; Popular Christian Democratic Party or PPCD [Iurie ROSCA]; Communist Party or PCM [Vladimir VORONIN, first chairman] | 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) |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | 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] |
Population | 4,431,570 (July 2001 est.) | 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.) |
Population below poverty line | 75% (1999 est.) | 50% (2000 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.05% (2001 est.) | 2.57% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 7, FM 50, shortwave 3 (1998) | AM 24, FM 18, shortwave 6 (2001) |
Radios | 3.22 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
1,328 km broad gauge: 1,328 km 1.520-m gauge (1992) |
total: 2,778 km
narrow gauge: 2,778 km 1.000-m gauge (2005) |
Religions | Eastern Orthodox 98.5%, Jewish 1.5%, Baptist (only about 1,000 members) (1991) | 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 |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.59 male(s)/female total population: 0.91 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
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 | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
inadequate, outmoded, poor service outside Chisinau, some effort to modernize is under way domestic: new subscribers face long wait for service; mobile cellular telephone service being introduced international: service through Romania and Russia via landline; satellite earth stations - Intelsat, Eutelsat, and Intersputnik |
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 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 627,000 (1997) | 281,800 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,200 (1997) | 4.612 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus 30 repeaters) (1995) | 8 (2002) |
Terrain | rolling steppe, gradual slope south to Black Sea | low plains rise to central highlands bisected by Great Rift Valley; fertile plateau in west |
Total fertility rate | 1.67 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 4.91 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 1.9% (includes only officially registered unemployed; large numbers of underemployed workers) (November 2000) | 40% (2001 est.) |
Waterways | 424 km (1994) | part of Lake Victoria system is within boundaries of Kenya (2003) |