KENYA THE COUNTRY

Fancy a little history and geography lesson …. read on, if not skip and move onto the next blog entry.(Source:www.worldmapmaker.com

The Flag (adopted 12 December 1963 ) (source: worldflags.com)

Flag : three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red and green, the red band is edged in white; a large warrior's shield covering crossed spears is superimposed at the centre.

Meaning: the Black represents the African people.Red stands for the struggle for independence.Green represents agriculture and natural resources.The thin White stripe symbolises peace and unity.The central emblem represents Kenya's fight for freedom and their preparedness to defend that freedom.

Background: Founding president and liberation struggle icon Jomo KENYATTA led Kenya from independence in 1963 until his death in 1978, when President Daniel Toroitich arap MOI took power in a constitutional succession. The country was a de facto one-party state from 1969 until 1982 when the ruling Kenya African National Union (KANU) made itself the sole legal party in Kenya. MOI acceded to internal and external pressure for political liberalization in late 1991. The ethnically fractured opposition failed to dislodge KANU from power in elections in 1992 and 1997, which were marred by violence and fraud, but were viewed as having generally reflected the will of the Kenyan people. President MOI stepped down in December 2002 following fair and peaceful elections. Mwai KIBAKI, running as the candidate of the multiethnic, united opposition group, the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC), defeated KANU candidate Uhuru KENYATTA and assumed the presidency following a campaign centered on an anticorruption platform. KIBAKI's NARC coalition splintered in 2005 over the constitutional review process. Government defectors joined with KANU to form a new opposition coalition, the Orange Democratic Movement, which defeated the government's draft constitution in a popular referendum in November 2005. KIBAKI's re-election in December 2007 brought charges of vote rigging from ODM candidate Raila ODINGA and unleashed two months of violence in which as many as 1,500 people died. UN-sponsored talks in late February produced a power sharing accord bringing ODINGA into the government in the restored position of prime minister.

Area: total: 582,650 sq km land: 569,250 sq km water: 13,400 sq km

Land boundaries: total: 3,477 km border countries: Ethiopia 861 km, Somalia 682 km, Sudan 232 km, Tanzania 769 km, Uganda 933 km

Climate: varies from tropical along coast to arid in interior

Natural resources: limestone, soda ash, salt, gemstones, fluorspar, zinc, diatomite, gypsum, wildlife, hydropower

Population: 39 million (2009)

Nationality: Kenyan

Ethnic groups:Kikuyu 22%, Luhya 14%, Luo 13%, Kalenjin 12%, Kamba 11%, Kisii 6%, Meru 6%, other African 15%, non-African (Asian, European, and Arab) 1%

Religions: Protestant 45%, Roman Catholic 33%, Muslim 10%, indigenous beliefs 10%, other 2% note: a large majority of Kenyans are Christian, but estimates for the percentage of the population that adheres to Islam or indigenous beliefs vary widely

Languages: English (official), Kiswahili (official), numerous indigenous languages

Government type: republic

Capital: Nairobi

Independence: 12 December 1963 (from the UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 12 December (1963

Currency:Kenyan shillings (KES)

Exchange (KES) per US dollar - 73.21 (2009)