Taiwan (2005) | Kenya (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | includes central island of Taiwan plus numerous smaller islands near central island and off coast of China's Fujian Province; Taiwan is divided into 18 counties (hsien, singular and plural), 5 municipalities (shih, singular and plural), and 2 special municipalities (chuan-shih, singular and plural)
counties: Chang-hua, Chia-i, Hsin-chu, Hua-lien, I-lan, Kao-hsiung county, Kin-men, Lien-chiang, Miao-li, Nan-t'ou, P'eng-hu, P'ing-tung, T'ai-chung, T'ai-nan, T'ai-pei county, T'ai-tung, T'ao-yuan, and Yun-lin municipalities: Chia-i, Chi-lung, Hsin-chu, T'ai-chung, T'ai-nan special municipalities: Kao-hsiung city, T'ai-pei city note: Taiwan generally uses Wade-Giles system for romanization; special municipality of Taipei adopted standard pinyin romanization for street and place names within city boundaries, other local authorities have selected a variety of romanization systems |
7 provinces and 1 area*; Central, Coast, Eastern, Nairobi Area*, North Eastern, Nyanza, Rift Valley, Western |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 19.7% (male 2,349,077/female 2,156,755)
15-64 years: 70.7% (male 8,205,933/female 7,980,056) 65 years and over: 9.6% (male 1,107,708/female 1,094,855) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 41.1% (male 6,462,430; female 6,327,457)
15-64 years: 56.1% (male 8,769,546; female 8,694,329) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 385,361; female 499,612) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, corn, vegetables, fruit, tea; pigs, poultry, beef, milk; fish | coffee, tea, corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruit, vegetables; dairy products, beef, pork, poultry, eggs |
Airports | 40 (2004 est.) | 231 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 37
over 3,047 m: 8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 19
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
total: 211
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 113 under 914 m: 83 (2002) |
Area | total: 35,980 sq km
land: 32,260 sq km water: 3,720 sq km note: includes the Pescadores, Matsu, and Quemoy |
total: 582,650 sq km
land: 569,250 sq km water: 13,400 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland and Delaware combined | slightly more than twice the size of Nevada |
Background | In 1895, military defeat forced China to cede Taiwan to Japan. Taiwan reverted to Chinese control after World War II. Following the Communist victory on the mainland in 1949, 2 million Nationalists fled to Taiwan and established a government using the 1946 constitution drawn up for all of China. Over the next five decades, the ruling authorities gradually democratized and incorporated the native population within the governing structure. In 2000, Taiwan underwent its first peaceful transfer of power from the Nationalist to the Democratic Progressive Party. Throughout this period, the island prospered and became one of East Asia's economic "Tigers." The dominant political issues continue to be the relationship between Taiwan and China - specifically the question of eventual unification - as well as domestic political and economic reform. | Founding president and liberation struggle icon Jomo KENYATTA led Kenya from independence until his death in 1978, when current President Daniel Toroitich arap MOI took power in a constitutional succession. The country was a de facto one-party state from 1969 until 1982 when the ruling Kenya African National Union (KANU) made itself the sole legal party in Kenya. MOI acceded to internal and external pressure for political liberalization in late 1991. The ethnically fractured opposition failed to dislodge KANU from power in elections in 1992 and 1997, which were marred by violence and fraud, but are viewed as having generally reflected the will of the Kenyan people. President MOI stepped down in December of 2002 following fair and peaceful elections. Mwai KIBAKI of the Democratic Party of Kenya defeated KANU candidate Uhuru KENYATTA and assumed the presidency following a campaign centered on an anticorruption platform. |
Birth rate | 12.64 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 27.61 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $67.41 billion
expenditures: $76.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $14.4 billion (2004 est.) |
revenues: $2.91 billion
expenditures: $2.97 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) (2000 est.) |
Capital | Taipei | Nairobi |
Climate | tropical; marine; rainy season during southwest monsoon (June to August); cloudiness is persistent and extensive all year | varies from tropical along coast to arid in interior |
Coastline | 1,566.3 km | 536 km |
Constitution | 25 December 1946; amended in 1992, 1994, 1997, 1999, and 2000 | 12 December 1963, amended as a republic 1964; reissued with amendments 1979, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1997, and 2001 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Taiwan local long form: none local short form: T'ai-wan former: Formosa |
conventional long form: Republic of Kenya
conventional short form: Kenya former: British East Africa |
Currency | - | Kenyan shilling (KES) |
Death rate | 6.38 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 14.68 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $55.5 billion (2004 est.) | $8 billion (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none; unofficial commercial and cultural relations with the people on Taiwan are maintained through an unofficial instrumentality - the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) - which has offices in the US and Taiwan; US office at 1700 N. Moore St., Suite 1700, Arlington, VA 22209-1996, telephone: [1] (703) 525-8474, FAX: [1] (703) 841-1385); Taiwan offices at #7 Lane 134, Hsin Yi Road, Section 3, Taipei, Taiwan, telephone: [886] (2) 2162-2000, FAX: [886] (2) 2162-2251; #2 Chung Cheng 3rd Road, 5th Floor, Kao-hsiung, Taiwan, telephone: [886] (7) 238-7744, FAX: [886] (7) 238-5237; and the American Trade Center, Room 3208 International Trade Building, Taipei World Trade Center, 333 Keelung Road Section 1, Taipei, Taiwan 10548, telephone: [886] (2) 2720-1550, FAX: [886] (2) 2757-7162 | chief of mission: Ambassador Johnnie CARSON
embassy: US Embassy, P. O. Box 30137 Mombasa Road (near St. James Hospital), Nairobi mailing address: Box 21A, Unit 64100, APO AE 09831 telephone: [254] (2) 537-800 FAX: [254] (2) 537-810 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none; unofficial commercial and cultural relations with the people of the US are maintained through an unofficial instrumentality, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) in the US with headquarters in Taipei and field offices in Washington and 12 other US cities | chief of mission: Ambassador Yusuf Abdulraham NZIBO
chancery: 2249 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 387-6101 FAX: [1] (202) 462-3829 consulate(s) general: offices in Los Angeles and New York are closed; mission to the UN remains open |
Disputes - international | involved in complex dispute with China, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei over the Spratly Islands; the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea" has eased tensions but falls short of a legally binding "code of conduct" desired by several of the disputants; Paracel Islands are occupied by China, but claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam; in 2003, China and Taiwan became more vocal in rejecting both Japan's claims to the uninhabited islands of the Senkaku-shoto (Diaoyu Tai) and Japan's unilaterally declared exclusive economic zone in the East China Sea where all parties engage in hydrocarbon prospecting | since colonial times, Kenya's administrative boundary has extended beyond its treaty boundary into Sudan creating the "Ilemi Triangle"; arms smuggling and Oromo rebel activities prompt strict border regime with Somalia |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $457 million (1997) (1997) |
Economy - overview | Taiwan has a dynamic capitalist economy with gradually decreasing guidance of investment and foreign trade by government authorities. In keeping with this trend, some large government-owned banks and industrial firms are being privatized. Exports have provided the primary impetus for industrialization. The trade surplus is substantial, and foreign reserves are the world's third largest. Agriculture contributes less than 2% to GDP, down from 32% in 1952. Taiwan is a major investor throughout Southeast Asia. China has overtaken the US to become Taiwan's largest export market. Because of its conservative financial approach and its entrepreneurial strengths, Taiwan suffered little compared with many of its neighbors from the Asian financial crisis in 1998. The global economic downturn, combined with problems in policy coordination by the administration and bad debts in the banking system, pushed Taiwan into recession in 2001, the first year of negative growth ever recorded. Unemployment also reached record levels. Output recovered moderately in 2002 in the face of continued global slowdown, fragile consumer confidence, and bad bank loans; and the essentially vibrant economy pushed ahead in 2003-04. Growing economic ties with China are a dominant long-term factor, e.g., exports to China of parts and equipment for the assembly of goods for export to developed countries. | Kenya, the regional hub for trade and finance in East Africa, is hampered by corruption and reliance upon several primary goods whose prices continue to decline. Following strong economic growth in 1995 and 1996, Kenya's economy has stagnated, with GDP growth failing to keep up with the rate of population growth. 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 0.3% 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%, and Kenya is unlikely to see growth above 2% in 2002. Substantial IMF and other foreign support is essential to prevent a further decline in real per capita output. |
Electricity - consumption | 147.4 billion kWh (2002) | 4.433 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 140 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 158.5 billion kWh (2002) | 4.616 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 22%
hydro: 70% nuclear: 0% other: 8% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Yu Shan 3,952 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Kenya 5,199 m |
Environment - current issues | air pollution; water pollution from industrial emissions, raw sewage; contamination of drinking water supplies; trade in endangered species; low-level radioactive waste disposal | 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: none of the selected agreements because of Taiwan's international status
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements because of Taiwan's international status |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Taiwanese (including Hakka) 84%, mainland Chinese 14%, aborigine 2% | 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 | new Taiwan dollars per US dollar - 33.422 (2004), 34.418 (2003), 34.575 (2002), 33.8 (2001), 33.09 (2000) | Kenyan shillings per US dollar - 78.597 (January 2002), 78.563 (2001), 76.176 (2000), 70.326 (1999), 60.367 (1998), 58.732 (1997) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President CHEN Shui-bian (since 20 May 2000) and Vice President Annette LU (LU Hsiu-lien) (since 20 May 2000)
head of government: Premier (President of the Executive Yuan) Frank HSIEH (since 1 February 2005) and Vice Premier (Vice President of the Executive Yuan) - WU Rong-i) (since 18 February 2005) cabinet: Executive Yuan appointed by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 20 March 2004 (next to be held in March 2008); premier appointed by the president; vice premiers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the premier election results: CHEN Shui-bian re-elected president; percent of vote - CHEN Shui-bian (DPP) 50.1%, LIEN Chan (KMT) 49.9% |
chief of state: President Mwai KIBAKI (since 30 December 2002) and Vice President Michael Kijana WAMALWA (since 3 January 2003) note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Mwai KIBAKI (since 30 December 2002) and Vice President Michael Kijana WAMALWA (since 3 January 2003) note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; in addition to receiving the largest number of votes in absolute terms, the presidential candidate must also win 25% or more of the vote in at least five of Kenya's seven provinces and one area to avoid a runoff; election last held 27 December 2002 (next to be held NA December 2007); vice president appointed by the president election results: President Mwai KIBAKI elected; percent of vote - Mwai KIBAKI 63%, Uhuru KENYATTA 30% |
Exports | NA | $1.8 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | computer products and electrical equipment, metals, textiles, plastics and rubber products, chemicals (2002) | tea, horticultural products, coffee, petroleum products, fish, cement |
Exports - partners | China, including Hong Kong 37%, US 16%, Japan 7.7% (2004) | UK 13.5%, Tanzania 12.5%, Uganda 12.0%, Germany 5.5% (2000) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June (up to FY98/99); 1 July 1999 - 31 December 2000 for FY00; calendar year (after FY00) | 1 July - 30 June |
Flag description | red with a dark blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a white sun with 12 triangular rays | 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 - $31 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1.7%
industry: 30.9% services: 67.4% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 24%
industry: 13% services: 63% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $25,300 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6% (2004 est.) | 1% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 23 30 N, 121 00 E | 1 00 N, 38 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location adjacent to both the Taiwan Strait and the Luzon Strait | 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 | 3 (2004 est.) | - |
Highways | total: 37,299 km
paved: 35,621 km (including 608 km of expressways) unpaved: 1,678 km (2002) |
total: 63,300 km
paved: 8,940 km unpaved: 54,360 km (2001) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 6.7%
highest 10%: 41.1% (2002 est.) |
lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 37% (2000) |
Illicit drugs | regional transit point for heroin and methamphetamine; major problem with domestic consumption of methamphetamine and heroin; renewal of domestic methamphetamine production is a problem | 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 | $3.1 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and electrical equipment 44.5%, minerals, precision instruments (2002) | machinery and transportation equipment, petroleum products, motor vehicles, iron and steel, resins and plastics |
Imports - partners | Japan 26%, US 13%, China, including Hong Kong 11%, South Korea 6.9% (2004) | UK 12%, UAE 9.8%, Japan 6.5%, India 4.4% (2000) |
Independence | - | 12 December 1963 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 12.2% (2004 est.) | -0.7% (2001 est.) |
Industries | electronics, petroleum refining, armaments, chemicals, textiles, iron and steel, machinery, cement, food processing, vehicles, consumer products, pharmaceuticals | small-scale consumer goods (plastic, furniture, batteries, textiles, soap, cigarettes, flour), agricultural products processing; oil refining, cement; tourism |
Infant mortality rate | total: 6.4 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 7.09 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
67.24 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.7% (2004 est.) | 3.3% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | APEC, AsDB, BCIE, ICC, ICFTU, IOC, WCL, WTO | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, EADB, ECA, FAO, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OPCW, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNU, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 65 (2001) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 670 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Judicial Yuan (justices appointed by the president with consent of the Legislative Yuan) | Court of Appeal (chief justice is appointed by the president); High Court |
Labor force | 10.22 million (2004 est.) | 10 million (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 8%, industry 35%, services 57% (2001 est.) | agriculture 75%-80% |
Land boundaries | 0 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: 24%
permanent crops: 1% other: 75% (2001) |
arable land: 7.03%
permanent crops: 0.91% other: 92.06% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Mandarin Chinese (official), Taiwanese (Min), Hakka dialects | English (official), Kiswahili (official), numerous indigenous languages |
Legal system | based on civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | 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 Legislative Yuan (225 seats - 168 elected by popular vote, 41 elected on basis of proportion of islandwide votes received by participating political parties, 8 elected from overseas Chinese constituencies on basis of proportion of island-wide votes received by participating political parties, 8 elected by popular vote among aboriginal populations; members serve three-year terms) and unicameral National Assembly (300 seat nonstanding body; delegates nominated by parties and elected by proportional representation six to nine months after Legislative Yuan calls to amend Constitution, impeach president, or change national borders)
note: as a result of constitutional amendments approved by the National Assembly on 7 June 2005, the number of seats in the legislature will be reduced from 225 to 113 beginning with the election in 2007; the amendments also eliminate the National Assembly, thus giving Taiwan a unicameral legislature elections: Legislative Yuan - last held 11 December 2004 (next to be held in December 2007); National Assembly - last held 14 May 2005 election results: Legislative Yuan - percent of vote by party - DPP 38%, KMT 35%, PFP 15%, TSU 8%, other parties and independents 4%; seats by party - DPP 89, KMT 79, PFP 34, TSU 12, other parties 7, independents 4; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - DPP 42.5%, KMT 38.9%, TSU 7%, PFP 6%, others 6.6%; seats by party - DPP 127, KMT 117, TSU 21, PFP 18, others 17 (2005) |
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: 77.26 years
male: 74.49 years female: 80.28 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 47.02 years
male: 46.2 years female: 47.85 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 96.1% (2003) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 78.1% male: 86.3% female: 70% (1995 est.) |
Location | Eastern Asia, islands bordering the East China Sea, Philippine Sea, South China Sea, and Taiwan Strait, north of the Philippines, off the southeastern coast of China | Eastern Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean, between Somalia and Tanzania |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 126 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 3,417,768 GRT/5,617,318 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 36, cargo 23, chemical tanker 2, container 37, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 15, refrigerated cargo 9, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: 3 (Hong Kong 3) registered in other countries: 432 (2005) |
total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,893 GRT/6,320 DWT
ships by type: petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy (includes Marine Corps), Air Force, Coast Guard Administration, Armed Forces Reserve Command, Combined Service Forces Command, Armed Forces Police Command | Army, Navy, Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $7.574 billion (2003) | $179.2 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.6% (2004) | 1.8% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 7,938,865 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 4,915,090 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Republic Day (Anniversary of the Chinese Revolution), 10 October (1911) | Independence Day, 12 December (1963) |
Nationality | noun: Taiwan (singular and plural)
note: example: he or she is from Taiwan; they are from Taiwan adjective: Taiwan |
noun: Kenyan(s)
adjective: Kenyan |
Natural hazards | earthquakes and typhoons | recurring drought; flooding during rainy seasons |
Natural resources | small deposits of coal, natural gas, limestone, marble, and asbestos | gold, limestone, soda ash, salt barites, rubies, fluorspar, garnets, wildlife, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | -1.48 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: according to UNHCR, by the end of 2001 Kenya was host to 220,000 refugees from neighboring countries, including: Somalia 145,000 and Sudan 68,000 (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | condensate 25 km; gas 435 km (2004) | petroleum products 483 km |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Progressive Party or DPP [SU Tseng-chang, chairman]; Kuomintang or KMT (Nationalist Party) [MA Ying-jeou, chairman]; People First Party or PFP [James SOONG (SOONG Chu-yu), chairman]; Taiwan Solidarity Union or TSU [SU Chin-chiang, chairman]; other minor parties including the Chinese New Party or CNP | 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 | Taiwan independence movement, various business and environmental groups
note: debate on Taiwan independence has become acceptable within the mainstream of domestic politics on Taiwan; political liberalization and the increased representation of opposition parties in Taiwan's legislature have opened public debate on the island's national identity; a broad popular consensus has developed that Taiwan currently enjoys de facto independence and - whatever the ultimate outcome regarding reunification or independence - that Taiwan's people must have the deciding voice; advocates of Taiwan independence oppose the stand that the island will eventually unify with mainland China; goals of the Taiwan independence movement include establishing a sovereign nation on Taiwan and entering the UN; other organizations supporting Taiwan independence include the World United Formosans for Independence and the Organization for Taiwan Nation Building |
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, chairman] |
Population | 22,894,384 (July 2005 est.) | 31,138,735
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 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 1% (2000 est.) | 50% (2000 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.63% (2005 est.) | 1.15% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Chi-lung (Keelung), Hua-lien, Kao-hsiung, Su-ao, T'ai-chung | Kisumu, Lamu, Mombasa |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 218, FM 333, shortwave 50 (1999) | AM 24, FM 18, shortwave 6 (2001) |
Radios | - | 3.07 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 2,497 km
narrow gauge: 1,097 km 1.067-m gauge (685 km electrified) note: 1,400 km .762-m gauge (belonging to the Taiwan Sugar Corporation and to the Taiwan Forestry Bureau used to haul products and limited numbers of passengers (2004) |
total: 2,778 km
narrow gauge: 2,778 km 1.000-m gauge note: the line connecting Nairobi with the port of Mombasa is the most important in the country |
Religions | mixture of Buddhist, Confucian, and Taoist 93%, Christian 4.5%, other 2.5% | 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: 1.1 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.09 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.01 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 20 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: provides telecommunications service for every business and private need
domestic: thoroughly modern; completely digitalized international: country code - 886; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean); submarine cables to Japan (Okinawa), Philippines, Guam, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Australia, Middle East, and Western Europe (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: satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat |
Telephones - main lines in use | 13.355 million (2003) | 310,000 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 25,089,600 (2003) | 540,000 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 29 (plus two repeaters) (1997) | 8 (2002) |
Terrain | eastern two-thirds mostly rugged mountains; flat to gently rolling plains in west | low plains rise to central highlands bisected by Great Rift Valley; fertile plateau in west |
Total fertility rate | 1.57 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 3.34 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 4.5% (2004 est.) | 40% (2001 est.) |
Waterways | - | NA
note: part of the Lake Victoria system is within the boundaries of Kenya |