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Kenya is located in the East Africa region of Africa and it takes its name from Mt. Kenya. Though some say that the Kamba community called it keenya to mean the place of snow due to the abundance of snow at its peak, while others claim that the kikuyu people referred to it as Kirinyaga or kerenyaga meaning "mountain of whiteness" also because of the snow capped peak. The British found the names too long and thus opted for the shortened version KENYA.

Either way the version of the name seem to be unanimous but the true fact is that the name is closely linked to Mt. Kenya, the third highest mountain in the world. Kenya is oneof the countries on the African continet straddling the Equator. It borders Ethiopia and Sudan to the North, Uganda to the west, Tanzania to the south and somalia and the Indian ocean to the east.

Kenya has a rich diversity of climate(Tropical to alpine) with an average dry temperate: two rainy seasons, natural resouses and wildlife and a diversity of people with rich cultures. Its almost imposible to see and appreciate Kenya in a Hurry and if you so wish, you have to select a specific area at a time. Sizewise Kenya is 586 000km2 of which 10 700 km comprise the lakes of Victoria and Turkana. It compares in size to France or Texas, while the tropical coastline stretches for about 480km.

The Capital City is Nairobi. Other Cities include: Mombasa and Kisumu while major town are Nakuru, Eldoret, Nyeri, Embu, Meru, Thika and Kakamega.

 

Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi is the main hub for scheduled International flights, other airports are in Mombasa (Moi International Airport) Eldoret (Eldoret International Airport and Kisumu (Kisumu Airport.

• Time GMT +3
• Electricity 220 - 240 volts with standard 13amp three square pin plugs same as in UK.
• Weights and measures Metric
• International telephone code +254 followed by the national telephone number ommitting the first 0.
• Status Republic
• GDP US$375 per capita (2000)
• Currency Kenyan shilling (Ksh); coins 50cts, Ksh1, Ksh5, Ksh10 and Ksh20; notes Ksh50, Ksh100, Ksh200, Ksh500 and Ksh1,000. Exchange rate as per 2nd April 2011 US$1 = Ksh78 £1 = Ksh 125 €1 = Ksh 109, 1 Nowegian Kroner = Ksh 13
• Population 30.7 million (2001)
• Life expectancy in years at birth 46
• Infant mortality 7.8 %
• Economy Major earners: tea, coffe, horticulture, agriculture, tourism.
• Language English (official) Kiswahili (national) multiple ethnic languages comprising of Bantu, cushites and Nilotic language groups)
• Religion Christianity, Hindusm, Sikhism, Islam and traditional beliefs.
• Flag Red, black and green shield and crossed spears
• Public holidays: January 1 (New Years Day) February/March (Idd il Fitr), March/April (Good Friday, Easter Monday) May (Labour Day), June 1 (Madaraka Day), October 10 (Moi Day) October 20 (Kenyatta Day), December 12 (Jamhuri Day), December 25 (Christmas Day) December 26 (Boxing Day)
• National Parks and Reserves 54; terrestial and marine: about 10% of the land area.