Portal:Kenya

Introduction

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...)

Selected article -

The video game industry is a young industry in Kenya. Though various start-up companies have appeared in the country since 2007, the existing businesses are dealing with funding issues and few successes have been made. However, shared spaces, support programs and government grants introduced over the past few years have allowed the industry to grow large in a short period of time. The introduction of broadband internet in 2009 spawned a generation of young ICT savvy people in the country and the Kenyan game industry is as of 2015 among the largest in Africa. (Full article...)
List of selected articles

Selected picture -

The second tallest mountain in Africa, Mount Kenya, Kenya.

Selected location -

Migori County is a county of Kenya. It is located in southwestern Kenya. Its capital is Migori but its largest town is Rongo. The county has a population of 917,170 and an area of 2,586.4 km². (Read more...)

Good article -

This is a Good article, an article that meets a core set of high editorial standards.

A lion in Nairobi National Park, December 2016

Nairobi National Park is a national park in Kenya that was established in 1946 about 7 km (4.3 mi) south of Nairobi. It is fenced on three sides, whereas the open southern boundary allows migrating wildlife to move between the park and the adjacent Kitengela plains. Herbivores gather in the park during the dry season. Nairobi National Park is negatively affected by increasing human and livestock populations, changing land use and poaching of wildlife.

Despite its proximity to the city and its relative small size, it boasts a large and varied wildlife population, and is one of Kenya's most successful rhinoceros sanctuaries. (Full article...)

Selected biography -

Cheruiyot at the 2016 Rio Olympics

Vivian Jepkemoi Cheruiyot (born 11 September 1983) is a Kenyan long-distance runner. She represented Kenya at the Summer Olympics in 2000, 2008, 2012, and 2016, winning the silver medal in the 5,000 metres and bronze in the 10,000 metres at the 2012 London Olympics as well as gold in the 5,000 m and silver in the 10,000 m at the 2016 Rio Olympics, setting a new Olympic record in the former. Cheruiyot won the silver medal in the 5,000 m at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics and became the world champion in the event at the 2009 edition, repeating this achievement in 2011, when she also won the 10,000 m. She added gold for the latter event at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics. After taking a silver in the 3,000 metres at the 2010 World Indoor Championships, Cheruiyot won a number of outdoor 5,000 m titles that year, becoming Commonwealth Games, African and Continental Cup champion, as well as winning the Diamond League title.

She is a three-time Diamond League champion, having also won the 2011 and 2012 editions. She is the Kenyan record holder for the 2,000 m and 10,000 m. In 2012, Cheruiyot was voted Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year. (Full article...)
List of selected biographies

Did you know (auto-generated) -

In the news

Wikinews Kenya portal
27 June 2024 –
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)

Selected panorama -

General images -

The following are images from various Kenya-related articles on Wikipedia.

Topics in Kenya

Categories

Select [►] to view subcategories
Kenya
Kenya-related lists
Buildings and structures in Kenya
Culture of Kenya
Economy of Kenya
Education in Kenya
Environment of Kenya
Geography of Kenya
Government of Kenya
Health in Kenya
History of Kenya
Organisations based in Kenya
Kenyan people
Politics of Kenya
Society of Kenya
Kenya stubs

Associated Wikimedia

The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:

Discover Wikipedia using portals
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.