Portal:Kenya

Introduction

Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 53.3 million as of mid-2025, Kenya is the 27th-most populous country in the world and the seventh-most populous in Africa. Kenya's capital and largest city is Nairobi. The second-largest and oldest city is Mombasa, a major port city located on Mombasa Island. Other major cities within the country include Kisumu, Nakuru and Eldoret. Going clockwise, Kenya is bordered by South Sudan to the northwest (though much of that border includes the disputed Ilemi Triangle), Ethiopia to the north, Somalia to the east, the Indian Ocean to the southeast, Tanzania to the southwest, and Lake Victoria and Uganda to the west.

Kenya's geography, climate and population vary widely. In western Rift Valley counties, the landscape includes cold, snow-capped mountaintops (such as Batian, Nelion, and Point Lenana on Mount Kenya) with vast surrounding forests, wildlife, and fertile agricultural regions in temperate climates. In other areas there are dry, arid, and semi-arid climates, as well as absolute deserts (such as the Chalbi Desert and Nyiri Desert).

Kenya's earliest inhabitants included some of the first humans to evolve from ancestral members of the genus Homo. Ample fossil evidence for this evolutionary history has been found at Koobi Fora. Later, Kenya was inhabited by hunter-gatherers similar to the present-day Hadza people. According to archaeological dating of associated artifacts and skeletal material, Cushitic speakers first settled in the region's lowlands between 3,200 and 1,300 BC, a phase known as the Lowland Savanna Pastoral Neolithic. Nilotic-speaking pastoralists (ancestral to Kenya's Nilotic speakers) began migrating from present-day South Sudan into Kenya around 500 BC. Bantu people settled at the coast and the interior between 250 BC and 500 AD.

European contact began in 1500 AD with the Portuguese Empire, and effective colonisation of Kenya began in the 19th century during the European exploration of Africa. Modern-day Kenya emerged from a protectorate, established by the British Empire in 1895, and the subsequent Kenya Colony, which began in 1920. Mombasa was the capital of the British East Africa Protectorate, which included most of what is now Kenya and southwestern Somalia, from 1889 to 1907. Numerous disputes between the UK and the colony led to the Mau Mau revolution, which began in 1952, and the declaration of Kenya's independence in 1963. After independence, Kenya remained a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The country's current constitution was adopted in 2010, replacing the previous 1963 constitution. (Full article...)


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Eldoret is a city in the Rift Valley region of Kenya. It serves as the capital of Uasin Gishu County. Located in western Kenya and lying south of the Cherang'any Hills, the local elevation varies from about 2,100 metres (6,900 ft) at the Eldoret International Airport to more than 2,700 metres (8,900 ft) in nearby areas.

As per the 2019 population census, Eldoret has a population of 475,716 people and is the fifth most populated urban area in the country after Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru and Ruiru. (Full article...)

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Maasai people walking with the sky in the background.

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Muranga County is one of the counties of Kenya's former Central Province. Its largest town is Makuyu but its capital is Murang'a, called Fort Hall in colonial times (before 1963). It is inhabited mainly by and is considered the home of the Kikuyu, the largest community in Kenya. The county has a population of 942,581 (2009 census). (Read more...)

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This is a Good article, an article that meets a core set of high editorial standards.

Tower of Lamu Fort

The Lamu Fort (Swahili: Boma la Lamu), is a fortification in the town of Lamu in northeastern Kenya. Originally situated on the waterfront, the fort today is located in a central position in the town, about 70 metres (230 ft) from the main jetty on the shore.

Lamu Fort was built between 1813 and 1821 with Omani assistance. Initially it provided a base from which the Omanis consolidated their control of the East African coast but the town later lost its economic importance. During the British colonial period, and after the independence of Kenya, the fort was used as a prison. Today it houses an environmental museum and library, and is often used for community events. (Full article...)

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Kiptoo at the 2014 Paris Marathon

Mark Kosgey Kiptoo (born 21 June 1976) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who set the world record in the marathon for the Masters age group (40 and over) by running 2:07:50 in the 2018 Frankfurt Marathon. He also specialized in the 5000 metres throughout his career. He is a two-time gold medalist in the event at the Military World Games and won bronze medals over the distance at the 2010 Commonwealth Games and the 2010 African Championships in Athletics. He has also represented Kenya at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships and the All-Africa Games.

His personal best times are 7:32.97 minutes in the 3000 metres, achieved in May 2009 in Doha; 12:53.46 minutes in the 5000 metres, achieved in August 2010; and 27:14.67 minutes in the 10,000 metres, achieved in June 2008 in Eugene. (Full article...)

Did you know (auto-generated) -

  • ... that Anthony Vaz was the first flag bearer and team captain for Kenya at the Olympics?
  • ... that a judicial decision urged Kenya to recognize the land of the Endorois people, but it still had not done so more than a decade later?
  • ... that John David Kali, Kenya's first government chief whip, survived detention by British colonisers for nine years?
  • ... that Kenya Grace shot her first music video after becoming a finalist in a competition?
  • ... that British outrage at the sentencing of a white Kenyan settler to just two years' imprisonment for the 1923 killing of a black employee eventually led to the replacement of the colony's legal code?
  • ... that KOKO Networks has used more than $100 million in carbon financing to subsidise cooking fuels in Kenya?

In the news

Wikinews Kenya portal
24 March 2026 – 2026 Kenya floods
At least 84 people are killed in flash floods across Kenya, including in Kisumu, Uasin Gishu, and Tana River counties. (The Star)
16 March 2026 – Russo-Ukrainian war
Kenyan prime cabinet secretary Musalia Mudavadi says that the government has identified two prisoners of war from Kenya that have been detained by authorities in Ukraine after being involved in Russia's special military operations. (The Star Kenya)
16 March 2026 –
At least four people are killed and four others are injured in a building collapse in Nairobi, Kenya. (AP via CTV News)
15 March 2026 – 2026 Kenya floods
The death toll from severe flooding in Kenya rises to 66, according to the Kenya Red Cross Society. (BBC News)
9 March 2026 – 2026 Kenya floods
The death toll from floods in Nairobi, Kenya, rises to 42. (Reuters)
7 March 2026 – 2026 Kenya floods
Flash floods in Nairobi, Kenya, disrupt flights and result in at least 23 deaths. (Reuters)

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Sunset at Lake Victoria.

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The following are images from various Kenya-related articles on Wikipedia.

Topics in Kenya

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