The population of Kenya in 2015 was estimated to be around 46.7 million people, making it the 29th most populous country in the world. The majority of Kenyans identify as Christian, with sizeable minorities of Muslims also present. The Kenyan economy is heavily reliant on exports, with the sector accounting for roughly one-third of the country’s GDP. Other exports include tea and coffee. Kenya has strong trade ties with its East African neighbours, particularly Tanzania and Uganda, as well as other countries worldwide. In terms of politics, Kenya is a unitary presidential constitutional republic with a multi-party system. In 2015 Uhuru Kenyatta was the President after winning reelection in 2013. In foreign relations, Kenya is a member of both the United Nations and African Union and is actively involved in international affairs such as peacekeeping operations. Relations with its East African neighbours have been mostly positive but tensions remain between Kenya and some countries over maritime disputes. See ehealthfacts for Kenya in the year of 2005.
Yearbook 2015
Kenya. In February, the Supreme Court rejected several parts of the controversial anti-terrorist law passed by Parliament in December 2014. According to COUNTRYAAH, Nairobi is the capital of Kenya which is located in Eastern Africa. The opposition had previously appealed the legislation. The Court ruled that elements that would limit the media’s right to express themselves were contrary to the Constitution, as was the restriction on how many refugees the country should receive. On the other hand, the government got through its proposal that the intelligence service should keep people suspected of terrorist offenses detained for 360 days without prosecution.
- Also see AbbreviationFinder.org for Kenya country abbreviations, including geography, history, economy and politics.
In April, 148 people were killed and about 40 injured when armed men stormed a university in the city of Garissa in eastern Kenya. The Somali militant Islamist movement al-Shabab took responsibility for the attack. According to reports, Muslim students must have been released while Christian youths were shot to death. Four assailants were killed by the government forces deployed to rescue the students. The government announced three days of national grief following the tragedy and carried out bombings in areas in southern Somalia where al-Shabab has bases.
In April, Kenya also decided to close 13 money transfer companies. The aim of the measure was to make it difficult for terrorists to finance their attacks, but was also considered to pose a risk to the large Somali population in Kenya, which is often dependent on money from relatives abroad. In addition, Vice President William Ruto demanded that the UN close the huge Dabaab refugee camp, where hundreds of thousands of Somali refugees live. Ruto said that unless the UNHCR (UNHCR) had emptied the camp within three months, the Kenyan authorities would. The organization warned of the dire consequences such a measure would have for camp residents. The Vice President also announced that Kenya had initiated the construction of a 700 km long security barrier along the Somali border with the aim of preventing terrorists from entering the country. In May, signals emerged of a softer attitude towards Somali refugees, who, instead of being displaced, should be tempted to return to their homeland.
In June, four Kenyans and one Tanzanian were indicted for involvement in the terrorist attack against the University of Garissa in April. All of them declared innocent. The following month, the government announced that Mohamed Mohamud, who was allegedly accused of being the brain behind the Garissa attack, was killed in a US drone attack in Somalia.
In March, 15 tons of ivory were fired on orders by the authorities. The measure was an attempt to counter theft of elephants. In June, Kenya was one of 27 African countries from Egypt in the north to South Africa in the south, which agreed on a new free trade agreement, the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA). For the agreement to enter into force, it must, among other things, be ratified by the national parliaments.
The National Auditor General’s annual report, published in July, claimed that only slightly more than 1% of government expenditure during the financial year 2013-14 was reported correctly. When the school year began in late August, a large number of teachers went on strike in response to the government saying it did not intend to pay the higher salaries decided in court. The sharp wage increases that were promised as early as 1997 have only been implemented to some extent.
In August, the United Nations published a report stating that at least 310 people were killed in ethnic violence during the first six months of the year. Most of the deaths occurred in the northern part of the Rift Valley. In addition, more than 200,000 people had been driven from their homes by violence, often due to competition for land and access to water.