Page
last modified 20 August 2023
122) Kenya
Community
Area 580.367 square kilometres (569,140 square kilometres land area)
Population,
2,900,000 (1900)
3,300,000 (1920)
4,047,000 (1945)
5,406,000 (1948)
6,120,000 (1950)
8,100,000 (1960) +32.4%
11,300,000 (1970) +39.5%
16,370,000 (1980) +44.9%
23,700,000 (1990) +44.8%
31,950,000 (2000) +34.8%
42,030,000 (2010) +31.5%
53,771,000 (2020) +27.9%
Religion, %
|
|
Animist |
Christian Protestant |
Christian R C |
Muslim Sunni |
|
1900 |
95.8 |
0.1 |
0.2 |
3.4 |
|
1960 |
40.0 |
36.0 |
18.0 |
6.0 |
|
1970 |
28.1 |
16.3 |
24.0 |
6.4 |
|
1990 |
19.0 |
46.0 |
27.0 |
6.0 |
|
2010 |
1.7 |
47.4 |
23.3 |
10.0 |
Ethnicity, %
|
|
African |
Arab |
European |
Indian |
|
1920 |
|
|
0.1 |
1.3 |
|
1948 |
97.1 |
0.4 |
0.6 |
1.2 |
|
1970 |
98.0 |
0.3 |
0.4 |
1.3 |
|
2016 |
99.0 |
|
|
|
Birth and death rates Below replacement rate = 2.1
|
|
Fertility Rate |
Birth Rate |
Infant Mortality |
Death Rate |
% Aged Under 15 |
% Aged Over 65 |
% Urban |
|
1952 |
|
53.0 (+30.0) |
|
23.0 |
49.1 |
3.1 |
5.2 |
|
1962 |
8.0 |
51.1 (+32.0) |
110.0 |
19.1 |
47.5 |
3.7 |
7.8 |
|
1972 |
8.0 |
50.8 (+36.2) |
88.0 |
14.6 |
49.4 |
3.4 |
11.3 |
|
1980 |
7.5 |
49.0 (+37.5) |
69.0 |
11.5 |
49.9 |
3.0 |
15.6 |
|
1990 |
6.1 |
42.0 (+31.6) |
64.0 |
10.4 |
48.9 |
2.5 |
16.7 |
|
2000 |
5.2 |
39.8 (+27.4) |
63.0 |
12.4 |
45.1 |
2.3 |
19.9 |
|
2010 |
4.4 |
35.1 (+27.9) |
38.6 |
7.2 |
43.2 |
1.9 |
23.6 |
|
2015 |
3.8 |
31.8 (+26.0) |
33.3 |
5.8 |
41.3 |
2.1 |
25.6 |
|
2017 |
3.6 |
29.3 (+23.6) |
31.8 |
5.7 |
|
|
|
|
2018 |
|
|
30.6 |
|
39.8 |
2.3 |
27.0 |
Life expectancy,
41.0 (1952); 39.0 (M), 43.0 (F)
46.4 (1960); 44.5 (M), 48.3 (F)
52.2 (1970); 50.2 (M), 54.4 (F)
57.8 (1980); 55.9 (M), 59.7 (F)
57.5 (1990); 55.2 (M), 60.0 (F)
51.7 (2000); 49.8 (M), 53.8 (F)
62.9 (2010); 61.0 (M), 64.9 (F)
66.7 (2020); 64.3 (M), 69.0 (F)
Population of principal cities, MA = Metropolitan Area
|
|
Mombasa1 |
NAIROBI2 |
|
1900 |
27,000 |
10,000 |
|
1910 |
30,000 |
14,000 |
|
1925 |
|
29,000 |
|
1950 |
43,000 |
135,000 |
|
1960 |
159,000 |
260,000 |
|
1970 |
179,000 |
509,000 |
|
1979 |
425,634 |
827,775 |
|
1989 |
461,753 |
1,346,000 |
|
1999 |
655,018 |
2,134,254 |
|
2009 |
966,000 |
3,010,000 |
|
2016 |
1,200,000 |
6,547,547 MA |
1Merchants from Arabia, Persia, and Portugal visited Mombasa from the 10th century AD.� From 1901 the extension of railway lines into the African interior boosted the trade of Mombasa.
2The name Nairobi derives from the Masai words �Enkare Nairobi�,
meaning �place of cold waters.� In 1896 a
camp was set up here by Europeans, to trade with caravans running between
Uganda and the African coast.� In 1899
the railway being built from the coast to Uganda reached Nairobi; railway
construction halted here whilst engineers worked out how to climb the
escarpment of the Rift Valley.� Nairobi
was designated as the capital of the colony of Kenya in 1920.
Wealth; Gross Domestic Product (nominal values)
|
|
GDP, US$ million |
Total GDP, % of USA |
GDP per capita, US$ |
GDP per capita % of USA |
|
1948 |
250 |
0.11 |
47 |
3.08 |
|
1960 |
791 |
0.15 |
98 |
3.26 |
|
1965 |
998 |
0.13 |
105 |
2.74 |
|
1970 |
1,570 |
0.15 |
142 |
2.71 |
|
1975 |
3,480 |
0.21 |
245 |
3.13 |
|
1980 |
7,100 |
0.25 |
427 |
3.39 |
|
1985 |
6,130 |
0.15 |
308 |
1.69 |
|
1990 |
8,590 |
0.15 |
365 |
1.52 |
|
1995 |
9,050 |
0.12 |
336 |
1.12 |
|
2000 |
10,360 |
0.10 |
404 |
1.11 |
|
2005 |
18,000 |
0.14 |
520 |
1.17 |
|
2010 |
40,000 |
0.27 |
967 |
2.00 |
|
2015 |
63,750 |
0.35 |
1,350 |
2.40 |
|
2016 |
70,530 |
0.38 |
1,455 |
2.53 |
GDP by primary sector
|
|
Agriculture % GDP |
Agriculture % employed |
Industry % GDP |
Industry % employed |
Services % GDP |
Services % employed |
|
1960 |
|
86.0 |
|
5.0 |
|
9.0 |
|
1970 |
|
85.0 |
|
|
|
|
|
1980 |
33.0 |
83.0 |
12.0 |
8.0 |
53.0 |
14.0 |
|
1990 |
28.0 |
80.0 |
20.0 |
6.8 |
52.0 |
13.0 |
|
2000 |
24.0 |
77.0 |
19.0 |
|
57.0 |
|
|
2005 |
|
61.1 |
|
6.7 |
|
32.2 |
|
2010 |
22.0 |
75.0 |
16.0 |
|
62.0 |
|
|
2016 |
35.6 |
|
17.2 |
|
47.3 |
|
Communications
Languages, % Official; English, Swahili
|
|
Kalenjin |
Kamba |
Kikuyu |
Luhya |
Luo |
|
1980 |
11.0 |
11.0 |
21.0 |
14.0 |
13.0 |
Literacy
20.0% (1960)
27.0% (1970)
47.1% (1980); 60.0% (M), 34.8% (F)
63.8% (1985)
78.1% (1995); 86.3% (M), 70.0% (F)
83.3% (2000); 89.5% (M), 77.3% (F)
85.1% (2005); 90.6% (M), 79.7% (F)
Physical communications � roads and railways
|
|
Roads (km) |
Surfaced (km) |
Motor vehicles |
Cars |
Commercial Vehicles |
Railways (km) |
|
1956 |
|
|
52,500 |
|
|
|
|
1964 |
|
|
81,500 |
|
|
|
|
1969 |
|
|
|
|
|
926 |
|
1975 |
|
4,045 |
|
|
|
926 |
|
1976 |
50,091 |
|
|
|
|
2,426 |
|
1977 |
|
|
|
|
83,900 |
|
|
1980 |
|
6,540 |
|
|
|
|
|
1982 |
|
|
|
113,629 |
84,193 |
|
|
1985 |
54,584 |
6,714 |
250,000 |
125,000 |
87,500 |
|
|
1990 |
|
7,687 |
|
160,000 |
125,000 |
2,650 |
|
1995 |
63,800 |
8,900 |
|
|
|
2,500 |
|
2000 |
63,942 |
|
|
245,000 |
|
2,634 |
|
2007 |
|
|
770,000 |
562,400 |
210,900 |
|
|
2010 |
|
11,197 |
920,000 |
|
|
|
|
2014 |
|
|
|
|
|
3,806 |
|
2017 |
|
14,420 |
|
|
|
|
Electronic communications, TV broadcasting began 1962
|
|
Telephones (landlines) |
Mobile Telephones |
Radios |
Televisions |
PCs |
Internet Users |
|
1938 |
4,356 |
|
2,995 |
|
|
|
|
1944 |
7,294 |
|
6,700 |
|
|
|
|
1950 |
|
|
13,000 |
|
|
|
|
1960 |
|
|
57,000 |
|
|
|
|
1975 |
53,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1976 |
|
|
514,000 |
50,000 |
|
|
|
1980 |
73,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1982 |
|
|
600,000 |
72,000 |
|
|
|
1990 |
175,050 |
|
2,000,000 |
225,000 |
8,000 |
|
|
1992 |
|
1,100 |
|
|
|
|
|
1995 |
|
2,300 |
2,600,000 |
500,000 |
18,000 |
|
|
1998 |
|
|
|
|
|
5,000 |
|
2000 |
291,700 |
127,400 |
6,760,000 |
750,000 |
150,000 |
200,000 |
|
2003 |
|
|
|
|
300,000 |
700,000 |
|
2005 |
|
4,612,500 |
|
1,800,000 |
|
2,250,000 |
|
2010 |
|
24,969,000 |
|
|
|
3,995,500 |
|
2011 |
|
|
|
|
|
10,492,000 |
|
2012 |
251,600 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
2016 |
72,801 |
38,982,000 |
|
|
|
12,166,000 |
|
2017 |
|
|
|
|
|
43,330,000 |
Tourism: Visitors to Kenya,
28,000 (1950)
46,000 (1960)
127,000 (1967)
343,000 (1970)
377,510 (1974)
350,000 (1980)
814,000 (1990)
918,000 (1995)
899,000 (2000)
1,399,000 (2005)
1,470,000 (2010)
1,114,000 (2015)