Kenya

Republic of Kenya Jamhuri ya Kenya
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "Harambee"  (Swahili) "Let us all pull together"
Anthem: Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu "O God of All Creation"
Capital and largest city	Nairobi
Official languages	Swahili, English</ref name=lang>
Demonym(s)	Kenyan
Government	Semi-presidential Republic
• President	Mwai Kibaki
• Prime Minister	Raila Odinga
Independence  from the United Kingdom
• Date	12 December 1963
• Republic declared	12 December 1964
Area
• Total	580,367 km2 (224,081 sq mi) (47th)
• Water (%)	2.3
Population
• July 2010 estimate	39,002,772 (33rd)
• August 24–25, 2009 census	38,610,097
• Density	67.2/km2 (174.0/sq mi) (140th)
GDP (PPP)	2009 estimate
• Total	$65.059 billion
• Per capita	$1,782
GDP (nominal)	2009 estimate
• Total	$36.508 billion
• Per capita	$938
HDI (2007)	0.541  · 147th
Currency	Kenyan shilling (KES)
Time zone	UTC+3 (EAT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (not observed)
Driving side	left
Calling code	+254
ISO 3166 code	KE
Internet TLD	.ke
1. According to cia.gov, estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of 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.

Kenya is a country in East Africa. It has the Indian Ocean to its east. It borders Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Uganda, and Tanzania.

The capital city of Kenya is Nairobi.

The first humans may have lived near the lakes of Kenya along the Great Rift Valley, which cuts Kenya from north to south.

Kenya's coast is tropical and gets very hot. Inland, it is drier. The highest mountain in Kenya is Mt. Kenya (5,199 m).

Many different languages are spoken in Kenya. English and Kiswahili are the official languages Kiswahili is the National Language. All School going Kenyans are required to learn English. English is the language of instruction in the schools and institutions of higher learning.

Kenya was a British colony, but became independent on December 12, 1963. For many years, a single party, the Kenya African National Union (KANU), ruled Kenya. Kenya has been a democratic country but from 1968 to 1992 it was a single party democracy. General elections were held every 5 years however all candidates for election to office had to belong to the ruling party KANU. Mwai Kibaki is currently the president of Kenya and is the first President of Kenya to belong to a party other than KANU. Since he became President he has achieved a lot and Kenya has seen economic growth spurts of up 6%. He however has come under heavy criticism as some feel the reforms that were needed are slow to come. Many Kenyans living in Diaspora have began to return to Kenya as the promise of the future has created a plenty of high paying jobs that are appealing to foreign educated Kenyans.

Education

All Kenyans of school going age are required to attend Primary School which is provided free by the government. The Kenyan school system consist of 8 years of Primary School, Standard 1 through 8, 4 years of High School (Form 1 to 4) and 4 years of University. At the end of Primary school, all students sit for a standardized exam called Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE). The grades attained in this exam determine which High School the student will attend. In Form 4 (this is the last year in High School), students sit for another exam called Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE). The highest achieving students are granted admission into the 5 National Universities (Nairobi, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenyatta University, Egerton University and Moi University).Tertiary colleges like Globovillee college also feeds diploma graduates to universities

Land and Animals

Kenya is a country of grassland, but it is not rich, productive land. This is a very dry grassland with poor soil. Kenya also has very few mineral resources.Three-fourths of the country is covered with plains. They are low on altitude along the coast, but get higher further inland, making a large plateau. The part east of Lake Turkana is the only true desert, but the rest can be very close to desert. Savannas usually get between 4 and 16 inches (100 to 400 mm) of rain in a year. These lands, however, are called savanna because of the type of plants that live there and how they get their rain. Savannas have a wet and dry season. During the wet season it can rain hard for long periods of time then not rain at all in the dry season. Savannas that have more rain often have many trees spaced out across their plains. These trees have deep roots or store water, like desert plants do, to live through the long, dry seasons without rain. Even drier savannas will have only grass, and that too only in a few clumps. The dry land is very bad for crops, but it is a wonderful place for all kinds of wild animals to gather and stay. That is why Kenya has a lot of parks where the animals are kept, and protected from all the hunters. People/tourists come from all over the world to go on photo safaris in Kenya's special parks. The people come to Kenya on safari to see animals such as the rhinoceros, giraffe, wildebeest, elephant, cheetah, antelope, and lion. These animals live on the savanna grasslands. The wild herbivores move as they eat, and the never stay in one spot because there is not enough grass for all of them. People also usually raise cattle on the savanna. These animals are kept in one place and often eat up all the grass there.

Government

Since the independence of Kenya in 1963, Kenya has usually had a one-party government and has been a member of the British Commonwealth. The people are, like the Congo, divided into many tribes that often fight. However, Kenya's government is trying to get the people to work together and has encouraged them to run businesses and factories. Kenya is a developing country, slowly growing more modern.

Other websites

• Kenya Photo Gallery