Natural resources: gold, limestone, soda ash, salt barytes,
rubies, fluorspar, garnets, wildlife
Land use:
arable land: 3%
permanent crops: 1%
meadows and pastures: 7%
forest and woodland: 4%
other: 85%
Irrigated land: 520 sq km (1989)
Environment:
current issues: water pollution from urban and industrial wastes;
degradation of water quality from increased use of pesticides and
fertilizers; deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; poaching
natural hazards: NA
international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life
Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Desertification
Geographic note: the Kenyan Highlands comprise one of the most successful agricultural production regions in Africa; glaciers on Mt. Kenya; unique physiography supports abundant and varied wildlife of scientific and economic value
People ———
Population: 28,176,686 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 45% (male 6,362,160; female 6,226,333)
15-64 years: 53% (male 7,413,876; female 7,448,733)
65 years and over: 2% (male 328,649; female 396,935) (July 1996 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.27% (1996 est.)
Birth rate: 33.38 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)