Kenya Facts

  • The official name of Kenya is the ‘Republic of Kenya’. 
  • Kenya has been named after Mount Kenya, a very significant landmark in the country. 
  • English and Kiswahili are the official languages of Kenya. Apart from that, a number of indigenous languages are spoken here.
  • Majority of the people in Kenya are Protestants, followed by Roman Catholics, indigenous believers and Muslims.
  • There are 70 tribes in Kenya. The Kikuyu tribe is the biggest with 20% of the population.
  • The ethnic groups in Kenya include Kikuyu, Luhya, Luo, Kalenjin, Kamba Kisii, Meru and other Africans and non-Africans.
  • The currency of Kenya is Kenyan shilling.
  • Kenya follows the system of Parliamentary republic.
  • Kenya is the regional hub for trade and finance in East Africa.
  • Kenyan railway system comprises of 2,085 km of one meter gauge single track.
  • Kenya's main port is situated at Mombasa, an island that boasts being home to the deepest natural harbor in Africa.
  • Some of the oldest known palaeontological records of the history of mankind on earth have been found in Kenya.
  • Mount Kenya is the largest mountain in Kenya and the second highest mountain in Africa.
  • There are numerous safari parks in Kenya.
  • The main cities of Kenya include Nairobi (the capital), Mombassa, Kisumu, Eldorte and Nakuru.
  • Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, is an international place with every kind of accommodation.
  • Nairobi has many restaurants that serve everything from monkey to antelope.
  • The Great Rift Valley of Kenya was formed twenty million years ago, by splitting of the earth's crust.
  • "The Flame Trees of Thika", a book by Elspeth Huxley's book, is based on the author’s childhood that was spent in a coffee plantation in Kenya.
  • Richard Dawkins, author of "The Selfish Gene" and "The Blind Watchmaker", was born in Nairobi.
  • Kenya is a member of the Commonwealth.
  • Professor Maathai, the Kenyan environmentalist, was the first African woman to win Nobel Peace Prize, in 2004. L
  • ake Turkana National Park and Mount Kenya National Park of Kenya are World Heritage Sites.
  • The most popular sports in Kenya are cricket, track and field, box, soccer, volleyball, rugby, tennis and field hockey.
  • Most of the people in Kenya are either very rich or very poor. Very few people fall in the middle category.
  • Kenya only has only two seasons - the rainy season and the dry season.
  • Kenya, formerly known as British East Africa, became independent in 1963 and a republic in 1964.
  • Kenya means ‘white mountain’ .
  • Kenya is a country which is comparable in size to the US state of Texas.
  • Kenya has a population of 32.8 million people.
  • Kenya is famous for its safaris, which are held in the Kenya’s national parks.
  • Life expectancy is 52 years although some say it’s closer to 47 due to HIV/AIDS.
  • Giant crocodile fossils have been discovered in Kenya, dating from the Mesozoic Era, over 200 million years ago.
  • The Portuguese were the first Europeans to explore the region of current-day Kenya, Vasco da Gama having visited Mombasa in 1498.
  • Kenya is an African country with vast mountains and beautiful scenery. It is a diverse collection of coastal waters, sanbanks, rivers, waterfalls, lakes, and deserts.  
  • This land is home to a staggering diversity of plants and wild animals such as hippopotamus, cheetahs, hyenas, snakes, rhinoceros, lions, and leopards.
  • There are more than 65 national parks and wildlife preserves in Kenya.
  • Twenty hectares of rainforest in Kenya contain more birds species than the whole of Europe.
  • Much of Kenya’s native flora is not found anywhere else in the world.
  • Furthermore, Kenyan culture reflects a mixture of African, Indian, and British influences, similar in many respects to the traditions and superstitions of Uganda and Tanzania.
  • The HIV/AIDS epidemic is spreading rapidly, spiraling out of control to infect 1 out of 10 Kenyans. This statistic leaves over 5,000 children as head of household with over 2.5 million parentless, and in most cases supporting their siblings and/or sickened relatives at a very young age. 1.8 million children are fending for themselves on the street. Extreme poverty conditions are especially evident here and the traditional family support system is overburdened.