Kenya Fact File

Location: Kenya is located in East Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean in south east.
The neighbouring countries are Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.
Capital City: Nairobi
Size of Country: 582,645 km
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Population: 46,147,000 (based on 2009 census)
Currency: The unit of currency in Kenya is the shilling (KSH), divided into 100 cents; 20
shillings = 1 Kenya pound.
Real GDP (% growth): 4.1% (2013) and 5.1% (2014 estimate)
Inflation (% growth): 6.9% (2014)
Climate: in the low lying districts, particularly along the coast, the climate is topical, hot
and humid. On the plateau and in the highlands the climate is more temperate. In
Nairobi there are normally two periods of rain, the long rains from April to June and the
short rains in October and November.
Education: Education is not compulsory. The government provides, or assists, in the
provision of schools. Primary education is provided free of charge. The education
system involves eight years of primary (beginning at 5 or 6 years of age), five years of
secondary school and four years of university education. The adult literacy rate around
85%.
Religion: Kenya has a significant number of African Christians. The Arab inhabitants
are Muslims and the Indian population is partly Muslim and Hindu. The Islamic faith has
also established itself among Africans around Nairobi and among some ethnic groups in
the northern districts.
Infrastructure
Roads: At the end of 1991, there were 62,573 Km of classified roads. Some 13.3% of
road surfaces were paved. An all-weather road links Nairobi to Addis Ababa and there
is a 590 Km road link between Kitale (Kenya) and Juba (Sudan).Generally good roads
exist in many parts of the country. The growth in road transportation, both within Kenya
and more especially between Mombasa, Nairobi and the Uganda border, has led to
severe overloading of certain key highways. Maintenance and improvements of these
routes, together with roads under jurisdiction of town and city authorities, has been
relatively neglected.

Railways: The Kenya railway system comprises 2,085 Km of one metre guage single
track. Somewhat more than one-half (1,085Km) constitutes the main line, which runs
from the port of Mombasa through Nairobi, Nakuru and Eldoret to the Ugandan border.


Air: Kenya is served by many of the worlds' major airlines. Services between Nairobi
and European capitals are the most numerous but other services connect with the
Middle and Far East, North America and other parts of Africa. Both scheduled and
charter flights serve the tourist industry through Mombasa as well as Nairobi. Kenya has
two major airports, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport at Nairobi and Moi International
Airport at Mombasa. Medium-sized airports have been developed at Kisumu, Malindi
and Eldoret.

Shipping: Kenya's main port is situated at Mombasa, an island that shelters the
deepest natural harbour in Africa, and is the best equipped and most modern port on
the East African Coast. Its facilities are important not only to the country's own economy
but also to landlocked Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi, and to eastern Zaire and
Southern Sudan, whose freight trade uses the port.
Lakes: A number of freshwater lakes exist in the Rift Valley. Many of these, such as
Magadi, Nakuru, Bogoria, and Turkana, are soda lakes with brackish water. (Excellent
for bird watching). Others including Naivasha and Baringo contain less alkaline water.
Lake Victoria in the west is Africa's largest lake. The mass of water covers over 27,000
square miles (70,000 sq.km) and generates weather conditions for much of the region.

Industry: Kenya is the most industrialised country in East Africa. Major industries
include petroleum refining (using imported crude petroleum), the processing of
agricultural products, vehicle assembly, the exploitation of soda-ash reserves, the
production for chemicals, publishing and printing, the manufacture of textiles and
clothing, cement, electrical equipment, tyres, battries, paper ceramics, machinery, metal
products, rubber, wood and cork products, and leather goods.
Tourism: Tourism is one of Kenya's most important earner of foreign exchange and
continues to grow, despite the country's recession and adverse publicity about security
in Kenya. Kenya's tourist assets comprise of its wildlife which is mostly accessible
through the system of parks and reserves, its extensive palm-fringed, white sandy
beaches protected by coral reefs and dramatic scenery from deserts to tropical rain
forests.

Currency: The unit of currency in Kenya is the shilling (KSH), divided into 100 cents; 20
shillings = 1 Kenya pound.
Clothing: The business visitor who intends to stay in Nairobi will need ordinary
summer-weight clothing, although it can be quite cool in July and August, and in the
evenings when woollens are useful.