1982 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1982 (Wikisource)
Geography
Area
583,750 km2; about 21% forest and woodland, 13% suitable for agriculture, 66% mainly grassland adequate for grazing (1971)
Coastline
536 km
Land boundaries
3,368 km WATER
Limits of territorial waters (claimed)
12 nm (fishing 200 nm; exclusive economic zones 200 nm)
People and Society
Ethnic divisions
97% native African (including Bantu. Nilotic, Hamitic and Nilo-Hamitic); 2% Asian; 1% European, Arab, and others
Labor force
5.4 million; about 900,000, in monetary economy
Language
English and Swahili official; each tribe has own language
Literacy
27%
Nationality
noun—Kenyan(s); adjective—Kenyan
Organized labor
about 390,000
Population
17,832,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 4.1%
Religion
56% Christian, 36% animist, 7% Muslim, 1% Hindu
Government
Branches
President and Cabinet responsible to unicameral legislature (National Assembly) of 170 seats, 158 directly elected by constituencies and 12 appointed by the President; Assembly must be reelected at least every five years; High Court, with Chief Justice and at least 11 justices, has unlimited original jurisdiction to hear and determine any civil or criminal proceeding; provision for systems of courts of appeal
Capital
Nairobi
Communists
may be a few Communists and sympathizers
Elections
general election (held November 1979) elected present National Assembly and President Political party and leaders: Kenya Africa National Union (KANU), president, Daniel arap Moi
Government leader
President Daniel T. arap MOI
Legal system
based on English common law, tribal law and Islamic law; constitution enacted 1963; judicial review in Supreme Court; legal education at Kenya School of Law in Nairobi; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Member of
AFDB, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMCO, IMF, ISO, ITU, IWC—International Wheat Council, NAM, OAU, UN, UNDP, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
National holiday
12 December
Official name
Republic of Kenya
Other political or pressure groups
labor unions
Political subdivisions
7 provinces plus Nairobi area
Suffrage
universal over age 21
Type
republic within Commonwealth since December 1963
Voting strength
KANU holds all seats in the National Assembly
Economy
Agriculture
main cash crops—coffee, sisal, tea, pyrethrum, cotton, livestock; food crops—corn, wheat, sugar-cane, rice, cassava; largely self-sufficient in food
Budget
(1978/79) revenues $1,582.5 million; current expenditures $1,399.1 million; development expenditures $635.9 million
Electric power
481,000 kW capacity (1981); 1.5 billion kWh produced (1981), 90 kWh per capita
Exports
$1,168.8 million (f.o.b., 1980); coffee, tea, live-stock products, pyrethrum, soda ash, wattle-bark tanning extract
External public debt
$2.2 billion, 1980 external debt ratio 15%
Fiscal year
1 July-30 June
GDP
$4.3 billion (1980), $340 per capita; real average annual growth rate, 4.8% (1970-78)
Imports
$2,233.7 million (c.i.f., 1980); machinery, transport equipment, crude oil, paper and paper products, iron and steel products, and textiles
Major industries
small-scale consumer goods (plastic, furniture, batteries, textiles, soap, agricultural processing, cigarettes, flour), oil refining, cement, tourism
Major trade partners
EC, Japan, Iran, US, Zambia, Uganda
Monetary conversion rate
9.01 Kenya shillings=US$1 (1981)
Communications
Airfields
216 total, 194 usable; 12 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways over 3,659 m, 4 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 43 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Civil air
13 major transport aircraft, including 2 leased in
Highways
52,250 km total; 5,542 km paved, 16,500 km gravel, 29,550 km improved earth, remainder unimproved earth
Inland waterways
part of Lake Victoria and Lake Rudolph systems are within boundaries of Kenya
Pipelines
refined products, 483 km
Ports
1 major (Mombasa)
Railroads
2,040 km meter gauge (1.00 m)
Telecommunications
in top group of African systems; consists of radio-relay links, open-wire lines, and radiocommunication stations; 168,200 telephones (1.1 per 100 popl.); 9 AM, 2 FM, and 4 TV stations; Atlantic and Indian Ocean satellite service from 1 station
Military and Security
Military budget
for fiscal year ending 30 June 1980, $168.6 million; about 8% of central government budget
Military manpower
males 15-49, 3,463,000; 2,130,000 fit for military service; no conscription