Population: 28,337,071 (July 1998 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 44% (male 6,248,260; female 6,109,443)
15-64 years: 54% (male 7,609,631; female 7,607,810)
65 years and over: 2% (male 333,881; female 428,046) (July 1998 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.71% (1998 est.)
Birth rate: 31.68 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Death rate: 14.19 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female (1998 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 59.38 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 47.57 years
male: 47.02 years
female: 48.13 years (1998 est.)
Total fertility rate: 4.07 children born/woman (1998 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Kenyan(s)
adjective: Kenyan
Ethnic groups: Kikuyu 22%, Luhya 14%, Luo 13%, Kalenjin 12%, Kamba 11%, Kisii 6%, Meru 6%, other African 15%, non-African (Asian, European, and Arab) 1%
Religions: Protestant (including Anglican) 38%, Roman Catholic 28%, indigenous beliefs 26%, Muslim 6%, other 2%
Languages: English (official), Swahili (official), numerous indigenous languages
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 78.1%
male: 86.3%
female: 70% (1995 est.)
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 four state universities enroll about 20,000 students, representing only 40% of the Kenyan students who qualify for admission.