Kenya Overview

Country Profile

The Republic of Kenya, named after Mount Kenya, is located in East Africa. Covering an area of 58.26 km, Kenya is home to 3,150 million people, including the Kikuyu, Luxi Ya, Karen King, and 42 other tribes. The predominant religions are Protestantism, Catholicism, and Islam, and Swahili and English are the official languages. The currency in the Kenya shilling and Nairobi is the capital.

Kenya National Flag

The Kenyan national flag is made up of a few colors, with black symbolizing the people, green representing agriculture and natural resources, red denoting the struggle for freedom, and white suggesting unification and peace. In the center of the flag there is a spear and shield, which symbolizes unity of the motherland and the struggle for and defense of liberty:

History Summary

Kenya is the birthplace of humanity, and the site of the discovery of a 260 million year old human skull. In the 7th century, the southeast coastal areas became the site of numerous commercial cities, established and settled by arriving Arabs. In the 16th century, the Portuguese colonialists arrived and occupied the coastal zone, with the country later divided in 1890 by the British and the Germans. Kenya was eventually placed under the British government, who in 1895 announced to the country’s status as an ” East African protectorate,” becoming a colony in 1920 After this date, Kenya’s national liberation movement for independence flourished, and on June 1, 1962, a self-government was established, with independence declared on December 12. On December 12, 1964, the Republic of Kenya was established, remaining part of the Commonwealth.

Economy and Culture Overview

Within the northeastern part of the country lies a vast semi-desert area, covering about 56% of country’s total land area. The East Rift Valley and the equator intersect, resulting in the term “the East African Cross.” The central and western part of the Great Rift Valley is predominantly covered in lakes, including Lake Victoria and Lake Turkana, which are have an abundance of fish and are rich in mineral deposits, mainly soda ash, salt, and fluorite.
Kenya’s economy is primarily agriculture and animal husbandry, with agriculture, services, and industry the three pillars of the national economy. The country’s tea and coffee also enjoy an excellent reputation, with flower production also very important, being the country’s third-largest economic activity, resulting in Kenya being known as the “Rose El Dorado.”

The Masai people keep cows, using the dung and clay to create circular houses. Masai children have pierced ears and wear extremely heavy earrings, resulting in stretched ear lobes by the time they reach adulthood. Kenyan women like to use animal-shaped ornaments.

African Animal Paradise

Kenya is world famous for its wildlife parks, with over 30 nature reserves, including Amboseli National Park, Tsavo National Park, Aberdare National Park, Nairobi National Park, and Masai Mara Wildlife Reserve. The parks are home to elephants, lions, giraffes, hippos, rhinos, zebras and other wildlife. The Animal Protection District is the largest concentration of large mammals, providing safe habitats for the animals to live in freedom. These parks have been integral to the development of tourism in Kenya.

Kenya Map