| Name | Republic of Kenya |
| Climate | at the coast - tropical, in the north and north-east - semi-dry and dry, in the highlands and the centre - sub-tropical |
| Situation | 34-42 degrees longitude east 5 degrees latitude north to 5 degrees latitude south |
| Size | 582,646 square kilometres |
| Capital | Nairobi (around 3 million inhabitants) |
| Population | 31.5 million |
| National languages | English, Kiswahili |
| Religions/Churches | 70% Christians (26.5% Anglican, 26.4% Catholic, 2.5% Orthodox Church), 20% Muslims, 10% natural religions; Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and Buddhists |
| National holiday | 12th December (Independence Day) |
| Independence | 12th December 1963 |
| Form of government | Presidential democracy |
History of the country
1498
The Portuguese built their trade monopoly in Mombasa
1728
The Arabs banish the Portuguese
1837
The sultan of Zanzibar takes over the coastal reign
1890
Colonisation by the English (Helgoland-Zanzibar pact)
1951-1955
Mau Mau rebellion against the colonial rule
1963
Independence under Jomo Kenyatta
1964
Kenya proclaims the republic as one-party state
1969
On the way to democracy, opposition is excluded from elections
1978
Daniel arap Moi follows Jomo Kenyatta as national president
1991
Western donor countries reduce their support and demand economic and political reforms
1992
The first multiparty election is won by KANU
1993
A flood of refugees from Somalia, Sudan and Ethiopia causes economic problems
1998
During the second multiparty election, Danial arap Moi is re-elected
2002
From the free and democratic elections, Mwai Kibaki emerges victorious as Kenya's third president
2007
Mwai Kibaki runs for re-election
2008
The controversial presidential elections of 27th December 2007 cause riots in Kenya. On intermediation of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga agree upon a grand coalition in order to solve the political crisis in Kenya. In April 2008, Raila Odinga is appointed prime minister. A coalition government with representatives of both PNU (Party of National Unity) and ODM (Orange Democratic Movement) is put under oath.
2009
One and a half years after the political riots, the country is stable again especially regarding tourism. In 2007, 83,000 Germans travelled to Kenya, but in 2008 tourism broke down and forced tour operators to cancel flights. Now, tourists return and the country seems to have learnt from this crisis. With All-Inclusive offers alone, it won't be able to exist in the highly competitive travel market or is threatened to slip into the cheap segment completely. Over decades, the country only relied upon its beautiful beaches, but these do also exist elsewhere, for example in Zanzibar, where the history and culture is attracting tourists more and more. But Kenya has its rich animal kingdom, for example its famous red elephants in Tsavo West, which nonetheless isn't as popular as the Serengeti. (excerpt from Roland Brockmann's article "Kenya after the crisis").
