Romania (2002) | Kenya (2006) | |
Administrative divisions | 41 counties (judete, singular - judet) and 1 municipality* (municipiu); Alba, Arad, Arges, Bacau, Bihor, Bistrita-Nasaud, Botosani, Braila, Brasov, Bucuresti*, Buzau, Calarasi, Caras-Severin, Cluj, Constanta, Covasna, Dimbovita, Dolj, Galati, Gorj, Giurgiu, Harghita, Hunedoara, Ialomita, Iasi, Ilfov, Maramures, Mehedinti, Mures, Neamt, Olt, Prahova, Salaj, Satu Mare, Sibiu, Suceava, Teleorman, Timis, Tulcea, Vaslui, Vilcea, Vrancea | 7 provinces and 1 area*; Central, Coast, Eastern, Nairobi Area*, North Eastern, Nyanza, Rift Valley, Western |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 17.4% (male 1,992,505; female 1,898,122)
15-64 years: 68.8% (male 7,618,801; female 7,726,300) 65 years and over: 13.8% (male 1,274,881; female 1,807,121) (2002 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 | wheat, corn, sugar beets, sunflower seed, potatoes, grapes; eggs, sheep | tea, coffee, corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruit, vegetables; dairy products, beef, pork, poultry, eggs |
Airports | 61 (2001) | 225 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 25
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 (2002) |
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: 37
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 23 (2002) |
total: 210
1,524 to 2,437 m: 11 914 to 1,523 m: 115 under 914 m: 84 (2006) |
Area | total: 237,500 sq km
land: 230,340 sq km water: 7,160 sq km |
total: 582,650 sq km
land: 569,250 sq km water: 13,400 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Oregon | slightly more than twice the size of Nevada |
Background | Soviet occupation following World War II led to the formation of a Communist "peoples republic" in 1947 and the abdication of the king. The decades-long rule of dictator Nicolae CEAUSESCU and his Securitate police state became increasingly oppressive and draconian through the 1980s. CEAUSESCU was overthrown and executed in late 1989. Former communists dominated the government until 1996 when they were swept from power by a fractious coalition of center-right parties. Currently, the Social Democratic Party forms a nominally minority government, which governs with the support of the opposition Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania. Much economic restructuring remains to be carried out before Romania can achieve its hope of joining the European Union. | 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 | 10.81 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 39.72 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $11.7 billion
expenditures: $12.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
revenues: $3.715 billion
expenditures: $3.88 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
Capital | Bucharest | name: Nairobi
geographic coordinates: 1 17 S, 36 49 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | temperate; cold, cloudy winters with frequent snow and fog; sunny summers with frequent showers and thunderstorms | varies from tropical along coast to arid in interior |
Coastline | 225 km | 536 km |
Constitution | 8 December 1991 | 12 December 1963; amended as a republic 1964; reissued with amendments 1979, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1997, 2001 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Romania local long form: none local short form: Romania |
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 | leu (ROL) | - |
Death rate | 12.27 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 14.02 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $11.6 billion (2001 est.) | $7.391 billion (2005 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Michael GUEST
embassy: Strada Tudor Arghezi 7-9, Bucharest mailing address: American Embassy Bucharest, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-5260 (pouch) telephone: [40] (21) 210-4042 FAX: [40] (21) 210-0395 branch office(s): Cluj-Napoca |
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 Sorin Dumitru DUCARU
chancery: 1607 23rd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-4846, 4848, 4851 FAX: [1] (202) 232-4748 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York |
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 | Romania and Ukraine have yet to resolve claims over Ukrainian-administered Zmiyinyy (Snake) Island and delimitation of Black Sea maritime boundary, despite 1997 bilateral treaty to find a solution in two years and numerous talks; because of a shift in the Danube course since the last correction of the boundary in 1920, a joint Bulgarian-Romanian team will recommend sovereignty changes to several islands and redefine the boundary | 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 | - | $453 million (1997) |
Economy - overview | Romania, one of the poorest countries of Central and Eastern Europe, began the transition from Communism in 1989 with a largely obsolete industrial base and a pattern of output unsuited to the country's needs. Over the past decade economic restructuring has lagged behind most other countries in the region. Consequently, living standards have continued to fall - real wages are down perhaps 40%. The country emerged in 2000 from a punishing three-year recession thanks to strong demand in EU export markets, and despite the global slowdown in 2001, strong domestic activity in construction, agriculture, and consumption led to 4.8% growth. A standby agreement with the IMF - covering the period October 2001 to March 2003 - provides a key opportunity for vigorous privatization, regulatory reform, deficit reduction, and the curbing of inflation. The government in the past has not been able to fully implement IMF agreements; its degree of success in this case will affect prospects for joining the EU. | 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 | 45.677 billion kWh (2000) | 4.238 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 1.4 billion kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 775 million kWh (2000) | 200 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 49.787 billion kWh (2000) | 4.342 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 53%
hydro: 37% nuclear: 10% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Black Sea 0 m
highest point: Moldoveanu 2,544 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Kenya 5,199 m |
Environment - current issues | soil erosion and degradation; water pollution; air pollution in south from industrial effluents; contamination of Danube delta wetlands | 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, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol |
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 | Romanian 89.5%, Hungarian 6.6%, Roma 2.5%, Ukrainian 0.3%, German 0.3%, Russian 0.2%, Turkish 0.2%, other 0.4% (2002) | 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 - 35,052.0 (January 2002), 29,060.8 (2001), 21,708.7 (2000), 15,332.8 (1999), 8,875.6 (1998), 7,167.9 (1997); 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 Ion ILIESCU (since 20 December 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Adrian NASTASE (since 29 December 2000) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 26 November 2000, with runoff between the top two candidates held 10 December 2000 (next to be held NA November/December 2004); prime minister appointed by the president election results: percent of vote - Ion ILIESCU 66.84%, Corneliu Vadim TUDOR 33.16% |
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 | $11.5 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | textiles and footwear 26%, metals and metal products 15%, machinery and equipment 11%, minerals and fuels 6% (1999) | tea, horticultural products, coffee, petroleum products, fish, cement |
Exports - partners | Italy 22%, Germany 16%, France 7%, Turkey 6%, US (2000) | 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 | three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red; the national coat of arms that used to be centered in the yellow band has been removed; now similar to the flag of Chad, also resembles the flags of Andorra and Moldova | 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 - $152.7 billion (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 15%
industry: 30% services: 55% (2000) |
agriculture: 16.3%
industry: 18.8% services: 65.1% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $6,800 (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.8% (2001 est.) | 5.8% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 46 00 N, 25 00 E | 1 00 N, 38 00 E |
Geography - note | controls most easily traversable land route between the Balkans, Moldova, and Ukraine | 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 |
Heliports | 1 (2002) | - |
Highways | total: 153,359 km
paved: 103,671 km (including 133 km of expressways) unpaved: 49,688 km (1998 est.) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 4%
highest 10%: 23% (1994) |
lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 37.2% (2000) |
Illicit drugs | major transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin transiting the Balkan route and small amounts of Latin American cocaine bound for Western Europe | 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 | $14.4 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment 23%, fuels and minerals 12%, chemicals 9%, textile and products 19% (1999) | machinery and transportation equipment, petroleum products, motor vehicles, iron and steel, resins and plastics |
Imports - partners | Italy 19%, Germany 15%, Russia 9%, France 6% (2000) | 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 | 9 May 1877 (independence proclaimed from Turkey; independence recognized 13 July 1878 by the Treaty of Berlin; kingdom proclaimed 26 March 1881; republic proclaimed 30 December 1947) | 12 December 1963 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6.5% (2001) | 4.6% (2005 est.) |
Industries | textiles and footwear, light machinery and auto assembly, mining, timber, construction materials, metallurgy, chemicals, food processing, petroleum refining | 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 | 18.88 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 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) | 34.5% (2001 est.) | 10.3% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, G- 9, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MONUC, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UPU, WCL, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC | 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) | 38 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 28,800 sq km (1998 est.) | 1,030 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Justice (judges are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the Superior Council of Magistrates) | Court of Appeal (chief justice is appointed by the president); High Court |
Labor force | 9.9 million (1999 est.) | 11.85 million (2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 40%, industry 25%, services 35% (1998) | agriculture: 75%
industry and services: 25% (2003 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 2,508 km
border countries: Bulgaria 608 km, Hungary 443 km, Moldova 450 km, Serbia and Montenegro 476 km, Ukraine (north) 362 km, Ukraine (east) 169 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: 40.57%
permanent crops: 2.4% other: 57.03% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 8.01%
permanent crops: 0.97% other: 91.02% (2005) |
Languages | Romanian, Hungarian, German | English (official), Kiswahili (official), numerous indigenous languages |
Legal system | former mixture of civil law system and communist legal theory; is now based on the constitution of France's Fifth Republic | 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 | bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Senate or Senat (140 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote on a proportional representation basis to serve four-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Adunarea Deputatilor (345 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote on a proportional representation basis to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 26 November 2000 (next to be held in the fall of 2004); Chamber of Deputies - last held 26 November 2000 (next to be held in the fall of 2004) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - PDSR 37.1%, PRM 21.0%, PD 7.6%, PNL 7.5%, UDMR 6.9%; seats by party - PDSR 65, PRM 37, PD 13, PNL 13, UDMR 12; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - PDSR 36.6%, PRM 19.5%, PD 7.0%, PNL, 6.9%, UDMR 6.8%; seats by party - PDSR 155, PRM 84, PD 31, PNL 30, UDMR 27, ethnic minorities 18 |
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: 70.39 years
male: 66.62 years female: 74.39 years (2002 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: 97% male: 98% female: 95% (1992 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 85.1% male: 90.6% female: 79.7% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Ukraine | Eastern Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean, between Somalia and Tanzania |
Map references | Europe | Africa |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
Merchant marine | total: 70 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 561,470 GRT/754,836 DWT
ships by type: bulk 11, cargo 47, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 4, railcar carrier 2, roll on/roll off 4 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Greece 1, Italy 5 (2002 est.) |
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 | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces (AMR), Paramilitary Forces, Civil Defense, Border Guards | Kenyan Army, Kenyan Navy, Kenyan Air Force (2006) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $985 million (2002) | $280.5 million (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.47% (2002) | 1.6% (2005 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 5,906,601 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 4,970,496 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - military age | 20 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 179,951 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Unification Day (of Romania and Transylvania), 1 December (1918) | Independence Day, 12 December (1963) |
Nationality | noun: Romanian(s)
adjective: Romanian |
noun: Kenyan(s)
adjective: Kenyan |
Natural hazards | earthquakes, most severe in south and southwest; geologic structure and climate promote landslides | recurring drought; flooding during rainy seasons |
Natural resources | petroleum (reserves declining), timber, natural gas, coal, iron ore, salt, arable land, hydropower | limestone, soda ash, salt, gemstones, fluorspar, zinc, diatomite, gypsum, wildlife, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -0.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 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 | crude oil 2,800 km; petroleum products 1,429 km; natural gas 6,400 km (1992) | refined products 894 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party or PD [Traian BASESCU]; Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania or UDMR [Bela MARKO]; National Liberal Party or PNL [Valeriu STOICA]; Romania Mare Party (Greater Romanian Party) or PRM [Corneliu Vadim TUDOR]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Adrian NASTASE], formerly known as the Party of Social Democracy in Romania or PDSR | 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 | various human rights and professional associations | 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 | 22,317,730 (July 2002 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 | 45% (2000) | 50% (2000 est.) |
Population growth rate | -0.21% (2002 est.) | 2.57% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Braila, Constanta, Galati, Mangalia, Sulina, Tulcea | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 40, FM 202, shortwave 3 (1998) | AM 24, FM 18, shortwave 6 (2001) |
Radios | 7.2 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total: 11,385 km (3,888 km electrified)
standard gauge: 10,898 km 1.435-m gauge broad gage: 60 km 1.524-m gauge narrow gauge: 427 km 0.760-m gauge (2001) |
total: 2,778 km
narrow gauge: 2,778 km 1.000-m gauge (2005) |
Religions | Eastern Orthodox (including all sub-denominations) 87%, Protestant 6.8%, Catholic 5.6%, other (mostly Muslim) 0.4%, unaffiliated 0.2% (2002) | 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: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 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: poor domestic service, but improving
domestic: 90% of telephone network is automatic; trunk network is mostly microwave radio relay, with some fiber-optic cable; about one-third of exchange capacity is digital; roughly 3,300 villages have no service international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat; new digital, international, direct-dial exchanges operate in Bucharest; note - Romania is an active participant in several international telecommunication network projects (1999) |
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 | 3.777 million (1997) | 281,800 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 645,500 (1999) | 4.612 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 48 (plus 392 repeaters) (1995) | 8 (2002) |
Terrain | central Transylvanian Basin is separated from the Plain of Moldavia on the east by the Carpathian Mountains and separated from the Walachian Plain on the south by the Transylvanian Alps | low plains rise to central highlands bisected by Great Rift Valley; fertile plateau in west |
Total fertility rate | 1.35 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 4.91 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 9.1% (2001) | 40% (2001 est.) |
Waterways | 1,724 km (1984) | part of Lake Victoria system is within boundaries of Kenya (2003) |