Changes

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>

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===

===Religion===

Kenya's religious groups comprise the following: Protestant 45%, Roman Catholic 33%, Muslim 10%, indigenous beliefs 10% and other 2%.

Approximately 80% of the population of 35.5 million is Christian (Protestant 45%, Roman Catholic 33%), 10% is Muslim, less than 1% is Hindu, Sikh, and Baha'i, while the remainder follows various traditional indigenous religions.

 

The North Eastern Province, where the population is predominantly ethnic Somali, is home to 15% of the Muslim population. Sixty percent of the Muslim population lives in Coast Province, comprising 50 percent of the total population there. Western areas of Coast Province are mostly Christian. The upper part of Eastern Province is home to 10% of the country's Muslims, where they are the majority religious group. Apart from a small ethnic Somali population in Nairobi, the rest of the country is largely Christian.

 

Upper Eastern, North Eastern, and Coast Provinces, which together are home to approximately 75% of the Muslim population, have less developed infrastructure, lower levels of education, and higher levels of poverty and unemployment than many other parts of the country. The new coalition Government created a Ministry of the Development of Northern Kenya and Other Arid Lands to specifically redress this situation. The Minister is a Muslim from the North Eastern Province.

 

===Rural ties===

===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.  

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.