The Republic of Kenya, which achieved independence from Britain in December 1963, has been known as one of Africa's more politically stable countries, although controversial elections in December 2007 triggered a wave of unrest in the country. Other pressing challenges facing Kenya include high unemployment, crime and poverty. Swahili and English are the country's official languages.

Leader: President Mwai Kibaki
Capital city: Nairobi

Economic profile

Monetary unit: Kenya shilling
GDP per capita: $1600 (2010) (CIA)
GDP composition by sector:
Agriculture: 22% (2010) (CIA)
Industry: 16% (2010) (CIA)
Services: 62% (2010) (CIA)
GDP growth rate: 5% (2010) (CIA)
Budget:
Government revenue, excluding grants: $7.017-billion (2010) (CIA)
Government expenditure: $9.045-billion (2010) (CIA)
Consumer price inflation: 4.2% (2010) (IA)
Industries: Small-scale consumer goods (plastic, furniture, batteries, textiles, clothing, soap, cigarettes, flour), agricultural products, horticulture, oil refining; aluminum, steel, lead; cement, commercial ship repair, and tourism
Exports of goods and services: $5.141-billion (2010) (CIA)
Imports of goods and services: $10.4-billion (2010) (CIA)
Export commodities: Tea, horticultural products, coffee, petroleum products, fish, and cement
Import commodities: Machinery and transportation equipment, petroleum products, motor vehicles, iron and steel, resins and plastics
Trade balance: $-1.414-billion (2010) (CIA)
Reserves: $4.585-billion (2010) (CIA)
Total investment: 21.3% of GDP (2010) (CIA)
Market capitalisation of listed companies: 53,7% of GDP (2006) (World Bank)

Social profile

Population: 39.08-million (2011) (World Bank)
Population growth: 2.6% (2009) (World Bank)
Life expectancy at birth: 54.9 years (2011) (World Bank)
Adult literacy: 87% (2009) (World Bank)
School enrolment primary: 113% (2009) (World Bank)
School enrolment secondary: 59% (2009) (World Bank)
School enrolment tertiary: 4% (2009) (World Bank)
Unemployment: 40% (2007) (CIA)
Number of people living with HIV/Aids: 1.5-million (2009) (Unicef)