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Kenya portal
Kenya portal

Introduction

Location of Kenya
The flag 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 28th-most-populous country in the world and 7th most populous in Africa. Kenya's capital and largest city is Nairobi, while its oldest and second-largest city, is the major port city of Mombasa, situated on Mombasa Island in the Indian Ocean and the surrounding mainland. 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. Other important cities include Kisumu and Nakuru. 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. Kenya's 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 further on to 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, the Commonwealth, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, World Trade Organization, 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 second largest in eastern and central Africa, after Ethiopia, 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...)


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Samburu National Reserve is a game reserve on the banks of the Ewaso Ng'iro river in Kenya. It is 165 km2 (64 sq mi) in size and is 350 km (220 mi) from Nairobi. It ranges in elevation from 800 to 1,230 m (2,620 to 4,040 ft). Geographically and administratively, it is part of Samburu County.

In the middle of the reserve, the Ewaso Ng'iro flows through doum palm groves and thick riverine forests. It provides water without which the animals in this arid region could not survive. (Full article...)
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Mt Kenya landscape
Mt Kenya landscape
The second tallest mountain in Africa, Mount Kenya with its landscape.

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Sunset at Lake Baringo
Sunset at Lake Baringo

Baringo County is a county in midwestern Kenya. Its capital and largest town is Kabarnet. The county has a population of 555,561 (2009 census) and an area of 11,075.3 km2 (4,276.2 sq mi).

The county is named after local Lake Baringo.

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Kenya sent a delegation to compete at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, from 10–26 February 2006. This was Kenya's third time participating in a Winter Olympic Games. The Kenyan delegation consisted of one athlete, cross-country skier and three-time Olympian Philip Boit. In his only event, he finished 91st in the men's 15 kilometre classical. (Full article...)

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Pamela Jelimo (born 5 December 1989) is a Kenyan middle-distance runner, specialising in the 800 metres. She won the gold medal in 800 metres at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing at the age of 18. She is the first Kenyan woman to win an Olympic gold medal and also the first Kenyan to win the Golden League Jackpot. She holds both the 800 m world junior record and the senior African record over the same distance. Jelimo is also one of the youngest women to win an Olympic gold medal for Kenya. (Full article...)
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  • ... that the first Olympic volleyball match in more than 16 years for Kenya's Malkia Strikers is being played today in Tokyo against Japan?
  • ... that Gloria Orwoba raised awareness about period poverty by appearing in the Senate of Kenya in apparently blood-stained trousers?
  • ... that KOKO Networks has used more than $100 million in carbon financing to subsidise cooking fuels in Kenya?
  • ... that Kenya Grace shot her first music video after becoming a finalist in a competition?
  • ... that Anthony Vaz was the first flag bearer and team captain for Kenya at the Olympics?
  • ... that Tropical Storm Eliakim enhanced rainfall and brought flooding to Kenya despite the storm making landfall on Madagascar?

In the news

Wikinews Kenya portal
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27 June 2024 – Kenya Finance Bill protests
Thousands of people protest in cities across Kenya, calling for the removal of President William Ruto. (Al Jazeera)
26 June 2024 – Kenya Finance Bill protests
President William Ruto withdraws the controversial Kenya Finance Bill 2024 following an attack on the parliament that killed multiple people. (Reuters)
25 June 2024 – Haitian crisis
Kenyan police units arrive in Haiti for a United Nations-backed security mission to restore order. (France 24) (The Washington Post)
25 June 2024 – Kenya Finance Bill protests
2024 Parliament of Kenya attack
Thousands of anti-tax protestors assault and set the Parliament of Kenya building in Nairobi on fire, as riots begin following the approval of a finance bill. The ceremonial mace is also stolen by protesters. Ten people are killed and more than 50 others are injured as police open fire on protestors. (Al Jazeera) (BBC News)
President William Ruto deploys the military to stop the protests. (Bloomberg)

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