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According to the US Department of State <ref>US Department of State, The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affairs, ''Background Note: Kenya''[http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2962.htm]</ref>, {{cquote|Kenya rises from a low coastal [[plain]] on the [[Indian Ocean]] in a series of [[mountain]] ridges and plateaus which stand above 3,000 [[meter]]s (9,000 ft.) in the center of the country. The Rift Valley bisects the country above [[Nairobi]], opening up to a broad arid plain in the north. Highlands cover the south before descending to the shores of [[Lake Victoria]] in the west.}} The climate is "tropical in south, west, and central regions; arid and semi-arid in the north and the northeast".<ref>US Department of State, The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affairs, ''Background Note: Kenya''[http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2962.htm]</ref>
According to the US Department of State <ref>US Department of State, The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affairs, ''Background Note: Kenya''[http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2962.htm]</ref>, {{cquote|Kenya rises from a low coastal [[plain]] on the [[Indian Ocean]] in a series of [[mountain]] ridges and plateaus which stand above 3,000 [[meter]]s (9,000 ft.) in the center of the country. The Rift Valley bisects the country above [[Nairobi]], opening up to a broad arid plain in the north. Highlands cover the south before descending to the shores of [[Lake Victoria]] in the west.}} The climate is "tropical in south, west, and central regions; arid and semi-arid in the north and the northeast".<ref>US Department of State, The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affairs, ''Background Note: Kenya''[http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2962.htm]</ref>
==People==
==Population==
Kenya has a very diverse population that includes three of Africa's major sociolinguistic groups: Bantu (67%), Nilotic (30%), and Cushitic (3%). Kenyans are deeply [[religious]]. About 80% of Kenyans are [[Christian]], 10% [[Muslim]], and 10% follow traditional African religions or other faiths. Most [[city]] residents retain links with their rural, extended families and leave the city periodically to help work on the family farm. About 75% of the work force is engaged in [[agriculture]], mainly as subsistence farmers. The national motto of Kenya is Harambee, meaning "pull together." In that spirit, volunteers in hundreds of communities build schools, clinics, and other facilities each year and collect funds to send students abroad. The six state [[universities]] enroll about 45,000 students, representing some 25% of the Kenyan students who qualify for admission. There are six private universities.
===Ethnics===
Kenya's ethnic groups comprise the following: [[Kikuyu]] 22%, [[Luhya]] 14%, [[Luo]] 13%, [[Kalenjin]] 12%, [[Kamba]] 11%, [[Kisii]] 6%, [[Meru]] 6%, other African 15% and non-African (Asian, European, and Arab) 1%.<ref>See [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ke.html]</ref> The 1999 census dropped its ethnic categories in order to ease social tension in which questions of ethnic identity had created a climate of distrust and suspicion among Kenyans. Recent elections have seen these groups generally vote along ethnic and tribal lines, but with exceptions. In the cities, such as [[Nairobi]], old ethnic divisions are less stark than in the more traditional countryside.<ref> See E. S. Atieno Odhiambo, "Ethnic Cleansing and Civil Society in Kenya 1969-1992." ''Journal of Contemporary African Studies'' 2004 22(1): 29-42. </ref>
===Religion===
Kenya's religious groups comprise the following: Protestant 45%, Roman Catholic 33%, Muslim 10%, indigenous beliefs 10% and other 2%.
===Rural ties===
Most city residents retain links with their rural, extended families and leave the city periodically to help work on the family farm. About 75% of the work force is engaged in agriculture, mainly as subsistence farmers. The national motto of Kenya is Harambee, meaning "pull together." In that spirit, volunteers in hundreds of communities build schools, clinics, and other facilities each year and collect funds to send students abroad. The six state [[universities]] enroll about 45,000 students, representing some 25% of the Kenyan students who qualify for admission. There are six private universities.
*Population (June 2007 est.): 36.9 million.
*Population (June 2007 est.): 36.9 million.
*Major ethnic groups: Kikuyu 22%, Luyia 14%, Luo 14%, Kalenjin 11%, Kamba 11%, Kisii 6%, Meru 5%.
*Major ethnic groups: Kikuyu 22%, Luyia 14%, Luo 14%, Kalenjin 11%, Kamba 11%, Kisii 6%, Meru 5%.
*Education: First 8 years of primary [[school]] are provided free by the government. Attendance--92% for primary grades. Adult literacy rate--85.1%.
*Education: First 8 years of primary [[school]] are provided free by the government. Attendance--92% for primary grades. Adult literacy rate--85.1%.
*Health: Infant mortality rate--57.4/1,000. [[Life]] expectancy--55.3 yrs (2007 est.).
*Health: Infant mortality rate--57.4/1,000. [[Life]] expectancy--55.3 yrs (2007 est.).
*Work force (1.95 million wage earners): public sector 30%; private sector 70%. Informal sector workers--6.4 million. Services--45%; industry and commerce--35%; agriculture--20%.
*Work force (1.95 million wage earners): public sector 30%; private sector 70%. Informal sector workers--6.4 million. Services--45%; industry and commerce--35%; agriculture--20%.
==2008 political crisis==
==2008 political crisis==