Kenya Facts and Figures

Kenya: Dates and Events

50 BC: First written record of life on the East African coast.

8th Century AD: First contact with Muslim Traders from the Arabian Peninsular.

14th and 15th Centuries: Flourishing of Swahili coastal towns on Indian Ocean trade routes.

1510: Portugese sacking of Swahili coastal towns.

1698: Mombasa and other coastal towns captured from the Portugese by the Arabs, who remained in control until the 19th century.

1840-1890: The slave trade is at its height in the Kenyan interior.

1885-1886: The Congess of Berlin divided East Africa between Britain and Germany

1895: Kenya declared a British protectorate.

1896-1901: Building of the Uganda railway from Mombasa to Lake Victoria; British conquest of Kenya.

1903-1914: Settlers begin to acquire land in the Highlands; eviction of the Masai and Kikuyu.

1914-1918: Thousands of Kenyans conscripted into the World War I campaign.

1920s: Beginning of political struggles

1939-1945: Thousands of Kenyans fought in World War II as far afield as Burma.

1944: Formation of the Kenyan African Union (KAU)

1946: Jomo kenyatta returned from England, having left Kenya in 1931; became President of the KAU the following year.

1952: State of Emergency declared. Start of the Mau Mau uprising. Kenyatta arrested, tried, imprisoned.

1953-1955: All political parties banned.

1960: Formation of Kenyan African National Union (KANU) and Kenyan African Democratic Union (KADU)

1961: Kenyatta released from prison and became President of KANU

1963: Independence achieved on 12 December with Kenyatta as first Prime Minister.

1964: Kenya became a Republic, with Kenyatta as first President. KADU dissolved itself.

1978: Death of Kenyatta: Daniel arap Moi became second President.

1982: Attempted military coup by the airforce.

1987: Constitutional changes gave greater powers to Moi.

1989: Tea overtook coffee as Kenya's main export earner.

1991: Ethnic clashes over land broke out in the Rift Valley.

1992: First national multi-party elections since Independence. Moi and KANU defeated divided rivals.

1997: Second national multi-party elections preceded by widespread violence, in which many people died. Daniel arap Moi won third term of office.

2002: Moi stands down and election gives Mwai Kibaki of Narc (National Rainbow Coalition) a landslide victory. Kibaki inaugurated as Kenya's third President.

2003: Primary Education in Kenya becomes free for the first time. As a result, though, schools have become overcrowded. Class sizes of 80 are not unusual. Pupils still have to pay for uniform, lunch and textbooks.

Kenya: Facts and Figures

(2004 figures - best estimates given where figures conflicting)

Area: 582,646 sq km

Position: East Africa with sea coast. Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Somalia border Kenya.

Population: 33 million (50% under 15, 3% over 65)

Population Growth: 2% per annum.

Main ethnic groups: Main division between Bantu (60%) and Nilotic (28%) peoples. Each group further subdivided made up of Kikuyu 21%, Luhya 14%, Luo 12%, Kalenjin 11%, Kamba 11%, Kisii 6%, Meru 5%, Mijikenda 5%, Maasai 2%. Plus c. 30 other groups, including Asians, Europeans and Arabs, totalling 12%.

Towns: Nairobi - 2.5 million (largest African City after Cairo and Johannesburg), Mombasa - 688,000, Kisumu - 266,000

Slum dwellers: 60% of Nairobi residents are slum dwellers

Urban Population: 30%

Official languages: Swahili and English

Religions: Christian 70%, Animist 19%, Muslim 6%, Other 5%.

Adult Literacy: 82%

School Enrolment: Primary 78%, Secondary 48%.

Education: Free Primary Education (FPE) initiative has compromised the overall quality of education, and sparked debate on the relevance of what is being taught in schools.

Hunger: In 2006 millions of people across the Horn of Africa are facing a food crisis. Kenya is particularly hard hit.

Average life expectancy: 45

Child Mortality: 78 per 1000 live births

HIV / AIDS: 15% of the population are HIV positive of whom 2.5 million (7.5% of population) have AIDS. This includes 220,000 children under 14. In some localities there are much higher figures, with over 50% HIV positive.

Currency: 1 Kenyan Shilling (KES) = 100 Cents.

Exchange Rate: £1 = 130 KES (Kenya Shillings)

Inflation: 4.5% per annum

Gross National Income per capita: £200 per annum. (23% of the population living on less than 50p a day).

Gross Domestic Product: £22 billion

GDP shares: Agriculture 28%, Government Services 15%, Manufacturing 13%, Trade, Restaurants, Hotels 11%, Transport 10%, Other 23%.

Exports: Total £1.6 billion, Horticultural £270million, Tea £250 million, Coffee £48million, Fish £28 million

Export Destinations: Uganda 13%, UK 11%, USA 10%, Netherlands 8%

Imports: Total £2.8 billion, Industrial supplies £750million, Machinery £350 million, Consumer goods £180million, Food £98million

Imports by country: UAE 13%, Saudi Arabia 10%, South Africa 6%, USA 4%

Debt: Foreign debt of around $5 billion and domestic debt of around $3.5 billion, Kenya's annual debt repayments currently consume more than 30 per cent of the annual budget.

UK: Facts and Figures (for comparison.)

Area: 245,000 sq km

Population: 59.8 million (18% under 15, 15% over 65)

Population Growth: 0.4% per annum.

Main ethnic groups: Caucasian 92%, Asian 4%, Black 2%, Chinese 0.4%, Other 1.6%

Towns: London 7.5 million, Birmingham 1 million,

Urban Population: 90%

Official languages: English and in certain parts of UK, Welsh and Gaelic.

Religions: Christian 72%, Muslim 3%, Hindu 1%, Sikh 0.6%, Jewish 0.5%, Atheist 15%, Other 8%

Adult Literacy: 98%

School Enrolment: Primary 100%, Secondary 100%.