Country · Africa
Kenya
Republic of Kenya
Kenya is a country in Eastern Africa. About 51.4 million people live there, in an area of 580 367 square kilometres. Its capital city is Nairobi.
Picture credit: Franco Pecchio (CC BY 2.0) · Dun Sang (CC BY-SA 4.0) · CIAT (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Aliceinthealice (CC0) · Daniel Case (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Kenya?
Kenya lies in Eastern Africa, on the continent of Africa.
It sits in the northern half of the world, roughly 111 km from the equator.
Its coastline is about 536 km long.
It shares a border with 5 countries: Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.
How big is Kenya?
Kenya covers 580 367 square kilometres.
That is about 5.6 times the size of Iceland.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 47th largest.
If everybody spread out evenly, there would be about 88.6 people on every square kilometre.
That is busier than the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in Kenya?
About 51.4 million people live in Kenya.
That is the 28th biggest population in the world.
People here speak English and Swahili.
They pay with the Kenyan shilling (Sh).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 48 years.
The land of Kenya
The land of Kenya sits on average 762 metres above sea level.
Its coast runs for about 536 km. Walking it end to end, at twenty kilometres a day, would take roughly 27 days.
It lies inside the tropics, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes Kenya different?
Dishes the country is known for: Ugali, Sukuma wiki and Nyama choma.
Websites from here often end in .ke.
Kenya and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about 7 live in Kenya.
It takes up about 0.43 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Africa the country ranks 23rd of 54 by size, and 7th by population.
Kenya and its neighbours
Ethiopia, its largest neighbour, is about 1.9 times bigger.
Ethiopia has more people: 109.2 million against 51.4 million.
Nature and animals
Of the animals on this site, 30 live wild in Kenya: Lion, African elephant, Giraffe, Zebra, Hippopotamus, White rhinoceros and more. The highest mountain in the country is Mount Kenya, at 5 199 metres. The longest river in the country is the Tana. The largest lake in the country is Lake Turkana.
Lion
African elephant
Giraffe
Zebra
Hippopotamus
White rhinoceros
Cheetah
Leopard
African buffalo
Greater flamingo
Ostrich
Great white pelican
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.
How big is Kenya compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 16 times as big as Kenya: 9 372 610 km² against 580 367 km². See both on one map
- Kenya is about 2.4 times as big as the United Kingdom: 580 367 km² against 242 900 km².
Questions children ask
What is the capital of Kenya?
The capital of Kenya is Nairobi. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in Kenya?
About 51.4 million people live in Kenya, which makes it the 28th most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
Which countries border Kenya?
Kenya borders Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda — 5 neighbours in total.
How big is Kenya?
Kenya covers 580 367 square kilometres, making it the 47th largest country in the world. That is about 5.6 times the size of Iceland.
What is the highest mountain in Kenya?
The highest mountain in Kenya is Mount Kenya, 5 199 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in Kenya?
The longest river in Kenya is the Tana, about 1 000 kilometres long.
What is the largest lake in Kenya?
The largest lake in Kenya is Lake Turkana. The whole lake covers about 6 405 km², and part of it belongs to neighbouring countries.
Which continent is Kenya in?
Kenya is in Africa, in the part called Eastern Africa.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
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