IntroductionKenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 53.3 million as of mid-2025, Kenya is the 27th-most populous country in the world and the seventh-most populous in Africa. Kenya's capital and largest city is Nairobi. The second-largest and oldest city is Mombasa, a major port city located on Mombasa Island. Other major cities within the country include Kisumu, Nakuru and Eldoret. Going clockwise, Kenya is bordered by South Sudan to the northwest, Ethiopia to the north, Somalia to the east, the Indian Ocean to the southeast, Tanzania to the southwest, and Lake Victoria and Uganda to the west. Kenya's geography, climate and population vary widely. In western Rift Valley counties, the landscape includes cold, snow-capped mountaintops (such as Batian, Nelion, and Point Lenana on Mount Kenya) with vast surrounding forests, wildlife, and fertile agricultural regions in temperate climates. In other areas there are dry, arid, and semi-arid climates, as well as absolute deserts (such as the Chalbi Desert and Nyiri Desert). Kenya's earliest inhabitants included some of the first humans to evolve from ancestral members of the genus Homo. Ample fossil evidence for this evolutionary history has been found at Koobi Fora. Later, Kenya was inhabited by hunter-gatherers similar to the present-day Hadza people. According to archaeological dating of associated artifacts and skeletal material, Cushitic speakers first settled in the region's lowlands between 3,200 and 1,300 BC, a phase known as the Lowland Savanna Pastoral Neolithic. Nilotic-speaking pastoralists (ancestral to Kenya's Nilotic speakers) began migrating from present-day South Sudan into Kenya around 500 BC. Bantu people settled at the coast and the interior between 250 BC and 500 AD. European contact began in 1500 AD with the Portuguese Empire, and effective colonisation of Kenya began in the 19th century during the European exploration of Africa. Modern-day Kenya emerged from a protectorate, established by the British Empire in 1895, and the subsequent Kenya Colony, which began in 1920. Mombasa was the capital of the British East Africa Protectorate, which included most of what is now Kenya and southwestern Somalia, from 1889 to 1907. Numerous disputes between the UK and the colony led to the Mau Mau revolution, which began in 1952, and the declaration of Kenya's independence in 1963. After independence, Kenya remained a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The country's current constitution was adopted in 2010, replacing the previous 1963 constitution. (Full article...)
Selected article - show anotherAgriculture dominates Kenya's economy. 15β17 percent of Kenya's total land area has sufficient fertility and rainfall to be farmed, and 7β8 percent can be classified as first-class land. In 2006, almost 75 percent of working Kenyans made their living by farming, compared with 80 percent in 1980. About one-half of Kenya's total agricultural output is non-marketed subsistence production. Agriculture is also the largest contributor to Kenyaβs gross domestic product (GDP). In 2005, agriculture, including forestry and fishing, accounted for about 24 percent of GDP, as well as 18 percent of wage employment and 50 percent of revenue from exports.[needs update] (Full article...) Selected picture - show anotherSelected location - show anotherNakuru is capital of Kenya's Nakuru County. It is the largest urban centre in midwestern Kenya with 307,990 inhabitants and the fourth largest urban centre in the country. It lies about 1850 m above sea level. (Read more...) π Image |
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Kenya demography (1961β2003) (from History of Kenya)
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π Image 2A traditional Kenyan drum, similar to the Djembe of West Africa. (from Culture of Kenya)A traditional Kenyan drum, similar to the Djembe of West Africa. (from Culture of Kenya)
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Maasai woman in traditional headdress and attire. (from Culture of Kenya)
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π Image 4Mahamri/mandazi (Swahili doughnuts) served with roasted groundnuts (peanuts), tubers, white bread, and chai (from Culture of Kenya)Mahamri/mandazi (Swahili doughnuts) served with roasted groundnuts (peanuts), tubers, white bread, and chai (from Culture of Kenya)
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π Image 5Orange Democratic Movement leader Prime Minister Omolo Odinga speaking with the Kenyan media. (from History of Kenya)Orange Democratic Movement leader Prime Minister Omolo Odinga speaking with the Kenyan media. (from History of Kenya)
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π Image 6Ugali, served here with beef and sauce, is a mainstay of the cuisine throughout the African Great Lakes region. (from Culture of Kenya)Ugali, served here with beef and sauce, is a mainstay of the cuisine throughout the African Great Lakes region. (from Culture of Kenya)
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π Image 7BMJ, A US-based award-winning Kenyan actor. His role in South African Post Apartheid play 'Sizwe Bansi is Dead' by Arthol Fugard earned him the best actor award in Oslo, Norway. (from Culture of Kenya)BMJ, A US-based award-winning Kenyan actor. His role in South African Post Apartheid play 'Sizwe Bansi is Dead' by Arthol Fugard earned him the best actor award in Oslo, Norway. (from Culture of Kenya)
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Kenyan dancers performing a traditional dance (from Culture of Kenya)
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Traditional dancers in Nairobi (from Culture of Kenya)
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1911 map (from History of Kenya)
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President Daniel arap Moi in 1979 (from History of Kenya)
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π Image 12Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga speaking to the Kenyan media. (from Culture of Kenya)Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga speaking to the Kenyan media. (from Culture of Kenya)
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π Image 13Filmmaker Nathan Collett (with camera) shooting feature film Togetherness Supreme in collaboration with Kibera youth trainees. (from Culture of Kenya)Filmmaker Nathan Collett (with camera) shooting feature film Togetherness Supreme in collaboration with Kibera youth trainees. (from Culture of Kenya)
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π Image 14Mwai Kibaki and (the late) Mrs. Lucy Kibaki with US President George W. Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush at the White House during a state visit in 2003. (from History of Kenya)Mwai Kibaki and (the late) Mrs. Lucy Kibaki with US President George W. Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush at the White House during a state visit in 2003. (from History of Kenya)
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π Image 15Mahamri/mandazi (Swahili doughnuts) served with miagna (cassava), cooked chickpeas and lentils, and chai (from Culture of Kenya)Mahamri/mandazi (Swahili doughnuts) served with miagna (cassava), cooked chickpeas and lentils, and chai (from Culture of Kenya)
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