Portal:Kenya

Introduction

Location of Kenya

Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya (Swahili: Jamhuri ya Kenya), is a country in East Africa. With a population of more than 47.6 million in the 2019 census, Kenya is the 27th most populous country in the world and 7th most populous in Africa. Kenya's capital and largest city is Nairobi, while its oldest, currently second largest city, and first capital is the coastal city of Mombasa. Kisumu City is the third-largest city and also an inland port on Lake Victoria. As of 2020, Kenya is the third-largest economy in sub-Saharan Africa after Nigeria and South Africa. Kenya is bordered by South Sudan to the northwest, Ethiopia to the north, Somalia to the east, Uganda to the west, Tanzania to the south, and the Indian Ocean to the southeast. Its geography, climate and population vary widely, ranging from cold snow-capped mountaintops (Batian, Nelion and Point Lenana on Mount Kenya) with vast surrounding forests, wildlife and fertile agricultural regions to temperate climates in western and rift valley counties and dry less fertile arid and semi-arid areas and absolute deserts (Chalbi Desert and Nyiri Desert).

Kenya's earliest inhabitants were hunter-gatherers, like the present-day Hadza people. According to archaeological dating of associated artifacts and skeletal material, Cushitic speakers first settled in Kenya'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 the interior. Modern-day Kenya emerged from a protectorate established by the British Empire in 1895 and the subsequent Kenya Colony, which began in 1920. Numerous disputes between the UK and the colony led to the Mau Mau revolution, which began in 1952, and the declaration of independence in 1963. After independence, Kenya remained a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The current constitution was adopted in 2010 and replaced the 1963 independence constitution.

Kenya is a presidential representative democratic republic, in which elected officials represent the people and the president is the head of state and government. Kenya is a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, COMESA, International Criminal Court, as well as other international organisations. With a GNI of 1,840, Kenya is a lower-middle-income economy. Kenya's economy is the largest in eastern and central Africa, with Nairobi serving as a major regional commercial hub. Agriculture is the largest sector: tea and coffee are traditional cash crops, while fresh flowers are a fast-growing export. The service industry is also a major economic driver, particularly tourism. Kenya is a member of the East African Community trade bloc, though some international trade organisations categorise it as part of the Greater Horn of Africa. Africa is Kenya's largest export market, followed by the European Union. (Full article...)

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Selected article - show another

Co-operative Bank of Kenya is a commercial bank in Kenya, the largest economy in the East African Community. It is licensed by the Central Bank of Kenya, the central bank and national banking regulator. The bank has introduced Agency banking model and has a deep customer base in Kenya with over 7.5 million accounts as of December 2018. In 2010, the bank was awarded "Best Bank of Kenya" by the London Financial Times due to their excellent growth. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

edit

Selected picture - show another

Lake Naivasha is one of the many lakes located in the Mid-Western in Kenya due to the Great Rift Valley. It is located in Nakuru County.

More selected pictures

edit

Selected location - show another

Nakuru County is a county in Kenya. The capital and largest town is Nakuru, although Naivasha is another major significant urban centre. With a population of 1,603,325 (2009 census), it is the fourth largest county in Kenya after Nairobi, Kakamega and Kiambu in that order in terms of population. Nakuru County has an area of 2,325.8 km².

Nakuru is an agriculturally-oriented area and is home to Lake Nakuru and Lake Naivasha some of the Rift Valley soda lakes. Lake Nakuru is best known for its thousands, sometimes millions of flamingoes nesting along the shores. The surface of the shallow lake is often hardly recognisable due to the continually shifting mass of pink. The number of flamingoes on the lake varies with water and food conditions and the best vantage point is from Baboon cliff. Also of interest, an area of 188 km around the lake fenced off as a sanctuary to protect Rothschild giraffe and black rhinos.

Other sites of interest around Nakuru include Menengai Crater, an extinct volcano 2,490m (8,167 ft) high. The views of the crater itself, as well as the surrounding countryside, are spectacular. (Read more...)

More selected locations

Good article - show another

This is a Good article, an article that meets a core set of high editorial standards.

‹ The template Infobox file display is being considered for deletion. ›

Lamu Fort is a fortress in the town of Lamu in northeastern Kenya. Originally situated on the waterfront, the fort today is located in a central position in the town, about 70 metres (230 ft) from the main jetty on the shore.

Lamu Fort was built between 1813 and 1821 with Omani assistance. Initially it provided a base from which the Omanis consolidated their control of the East African coast but the town later lost its economic importance. During the British colonial period, and after the independence of Kenya, the fort was used as a prison. Today it houses an environmental museum and library, and is often used for community events. (Full article...)

List of Good articles
Kenya Airways Mount Kenya Nairobi National Park Ruins of Gedi Msambweni Kenya at the 2006 Winter Olympics 2013 CECAFA Cup

Selected biography - show another

Fitzval Remedios Santana Neville de Souza (1929 – 23 March 2020), often known as Dr. F. R. S. de Souza and Fitz de Souza, was a Kenyan lawyer and politician who was an important figure in the campaign for independence for Kenya, a member of the Kenyan parliament in the 1960s and Deputy Speaker for several years. He helped provide a legal defence for those accused of Mau Mau activities including the Kapenguria Six, and he was one of the people involved in the Lancaster House conferences held to draw up a constitutional framework for Kenyan independence. (Full article...)

List of selected biographies

edit

Related portals

Did you know (auto-generated) - load new batch

... that squatters were one of the groups that started the Mau Mau rebellion?
... that after Berry Boswell Brooks took his 14-year-old daughter hunting in Kenya in 1947, it was featured in Life magazine?
... that in 2009, Doreen Nabwire became the first Kenyan woman to play professional football in Europe?
... that Tropical Storm Eliakim enhanced rainfall and brought flooding to Kenya despite the storm making landfall on Madagascar?
... that the current Kenyan National Assembly is made up of 290 constituency elected members including Samuel Arama, 47 county woman representatives including Gladys Boss Shollei and Sabina Wanjiru Chege, and 12 appointed members including Dennitah Ghati?
... that Kenyan coffee farmer "Pinkie" Jackson amassed Africa's largest collection of native butterflies?

Archive

edit

In the news

Wikinews Kenya portal

23 April 2023 – Malindi cult: Forty-seven members of the Good News International Church are found dead from suspected starvation in Malindi, Kilifi County, Kenya. (BBC News)
17 April 2023 – 2023 Sudan clashes: Sudan closes its airspace, cancelling all flights in and out of the country. Kenya likewise suspends all flights to and from Sudan. (Flight Global) (Kenyans.co.ke)
15 April 2023 –: SpaceX launches Earth observation satellite TAIFA-1, Kenya's first operational satellite, from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket. The satellite will collect environmental data, including data on floods, droughts and wildfires. (Reuters)
8 April 2023 –: At least ten people are killed in Migori, Kenya, when a truck loses control and crashes into pedestrians. (Pulse)
30 March 2023 –: A collision between a Pwani University bus and a minibus in Naivasha, Kenya, kills 14 people. (AA)
18 January 2023 – Spillover of the Somali Civil War: Ten Al-Shabaab militants are killed during a raid by security forces in the village of Galmagala, Garissa County, Kenya, after the group killed five civilians in the region last week. Rocket-propelled grenades and improvised explosive devices are recovered. (Al Jazeera)

edit

Selected panorama - show another

Credit: Trees ForTheFuture

Nakuru, is the largest urban centre in midwestern Kenya and the fourth largest urban centre in the country.

More selected panoramas

More...

General images - show another

The following are images from various Kenya-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1A traditional Kenyan drum, similar to the Djembe of West Africa. (from Culture of Kenya)
Image 2Kenya demography (1961–2003) (from History of Kenya)
Image 3Ugali, served here with beef and sauce, is a mainstay of the cuisine throughout the African Great Lakes region. (from Culture of Kenya)
Image 4Filmmaker Nathan Collett (with camera) shooting feature film Togetherness Supreme in collaboration with Kibera youth trainees. (from Culture of Kenya)
Image 5Mwai 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)
Image 6Orange Democratic Movement leader Prime Minister Omolo Odinga speaking with the Kenyan media. (from History of Kenya)
Image 7Kenyan dancers performing a traditional dance (from Culture of Kenya)
Image 8BMJ, 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)
Image 9Maasai woman in traditional headdress and attire. (from Culture of Kenya)
Image 10President Daniel arap Moi in 1979 (from History of Kenya)
Image 11Location of Kenya (from Culture of Kenya)
Image 12Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga speaking to the Kenyan media. (from Culture of Kenya)
Image 131911 map (from History of Kenya)