Kenya, officially Republic of Kenya, Country, eastern Africa. Area: 224,960 sq mi (582,646 sq km). Population: (2024 est.) 51,563,000. Capital: Nairobi. With a small group of European settlers’ descendants, there are dozens of ethnic groups, including the Kikuyu, Luhya, Luo, Kamba, Kalenjin, and Maasai. Languages: Swahili, English (both official), Kikuyu, Luhya, Luo, others. Religions: Christianity (Roman Catholic, Protestant, other Christians); also traditional beliefs, Islam. Currency: Kenya shilling. Kenya can be divided into five regions: the Lake Victoria basin in the southwest; the vast plateau of eastern Kenya; the 250-mi- (400-km-) long coastal belt along the Indian Ocean; the highlands of the Mau Escarpment on the western side of the Great Rift Valley in western Kenya; and the highlands and mountains of the Aberdare Range on the eastern side of the Rift Valley, including Mount Kenya. It is noted for such wildlife as lions, leopards, elephants, buffalo, rhinoceroses, zebras, hippopotamuses, and crocodiles. About one-tenth of the land is arable, and more than one-third is used for grazing cattle, goats, and sheep. Agriculture employs much of the workforce, and tea and coffee are the leading exports. Kenya is a multiparty republic with two legislative houses; its head of state and government is the president, assisted by the deputy president. The coastal region was dominated by Arabs until it was seized by the Portuguese in the 16th century. The Maasai people held sway in the north and moved into central Kenya in the 18th century, while the Kikuyu expanded from their home region in south-central Kenya. The interior was explored by European missionaries in the 19th century. After the British took control, Kenya was established as a British protectorate (1895) and a crown colony (1920). The Mau Mau rebellion of the 1950s was directed against European colonialism. In 1963 the country became fully independent, and a year later a republican government under Jomo Kenyatta was elected. The country’s first multiparty elections in three decades were held in 1992; however, the corruption and mismanagement that had plagued previous administrations continued and affected the country’s economic and political credibility into the 21st century. After a disputed presidential election in 2007, the country was gripped by protests and violence. A new constitution was promulgated in 2010.
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