Kenya is a country in East Africa with a coastline on the Indian Ocean. It encompasses savannah, Lakelands, the dramatic Great Rift Valley and mountain highlands. It’s also home to wildlife like lions, elephants, and rhinos. From Nairobi, the capital, safaris visit the Maasai Mara Reserve, known for its annual wildebeest migrations, and Amboseli National Park, offering views of Tanzania’s 5,895m Mt. Kilimanjaro.
Kenya is located in East Africa. Its terrain rises from a low coastal plain on the Indian Ocean to mountains and plateaus (areas of level high ground) at its center. Most Kenyans live in the highlands, where Nairobi, the capital, sits at an altitude of 1,700 meters.
Key Cities
Key cities in Kenya include Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru, Eldoret, Kisumu, Thika, Malindi, Kitale, Garissa, and Kakamega.
Historical, Cultural facts & Religion
The British Empire established the East Africa Protectorate in 1895, from 1920 known as the Kenya Colony. The independent Republic of Kenya was formed in 1964. It was ruled as a de facto one-party state by the Kenya African National Union (KANU), led by Jomo Kenyatta from 1963 to 1978.
Kenya is not a homogeneous country ethnicity wise. The majority of Kenyans belong to ‘Bantu’ tribes such as the Kikuyu, Luhya and Kamba. There are also the ‘Nilotic’ tribes such as the Luo, Kalenjin, Maasai and Turkana. The ‘Hamitic’ people include the Turkana, Rendille and Samburu.
Brief Country History
The earliest inhabitants of Kenya were hunter-gatherers but from about 2,000 BC herders came to the region. Then from about 800 AD Arabs sailed to Kenya. Some settled and intermarried and they created the Swahili culture along the coast.
The first European to reach Kenya was Vasco da Gama in 1498. Subsequently, the Portuguese dominated the coast of Kenya for 2 centuries. However, they did not penetrate inland. Yet the Portuguese brought new crops to Kenya, maize and cassava.
The late 1960s and 1970s were years of prosperity for Kenya and agriculture developed rapidly. However, Kenyatta died in 1978 and Daniel Arap Moi then became the leader of Kenya. In 1982 he banned opposition political parties and in 1987 he changed the constitution of Kenya to strengthen his powers. However, in the 1990s Moi faced growing opposition.
In 1991 Moi was forced to allow other political parties to form in Kenya. Despite the opposition, he was re-elected in 1992 and in 1997. Then in 1998, a bomb exploded in the US embassy in Nairobi. The explosion killed 224 people and for a short time it had a devastating effect on tourism in Kenya. However, the tourists soon returned.
Then in 2002, Mwai Kibaki became the leader of Kenya and in 2003 he introduced free primary education. However, in 2009 northern Kenya suffered a drought. However today the economy of Kenya is growing rapidly. Kenya is developing fast and there is every reason to be optimistic about its future. Meanwhile, in 2013 Uhuru Kenyatta became president of Kenya. Today the population of Kenya is 48 million.
Language (s) Written & Spoken
Kenya is a multilingual country. The Bantu Swahili language and English, the latter being inherited from colonial rule (see British Kenya), are widely spoken as lingua franca. They serve as the two official working languages. Including second-language speakers, there are more speakers of Swahili than English in Kenya.
Important Types of Commerce in Kenya
Major industries include agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining, manufacturing, energy, tourism, and financial services. As of 2019, Kenya had an estimated GDP of $98.264 billion and per capita GDP of $1,991 making it the 65th largest economy in the world.
Language Services US and others will provide working with Kenya
Swahili is a language of radio and television, music, mass culture, politics and army. Almost all service workers and merchandisers can speak Swahili. Today, your company can gain in this entrepreneurial spirit but is must be able to count with the right Swahili translation services to tap into Kenya. According to various sources, Swahili is a native language for only 2-5 million people, while all the rest know Swahili as their second language. The full range of Swahili language services is required to support your strategic global communication goals in Kenya.
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