Kenya

E

Manufacturing and Mining

Kenya has the most industrially developed economy in East Africa. The manufacturing sector has grown significantly since the 1960s. In 2005 industry, which includes mining and construction, contributed 19 percent of GDP. Kenya’s chief manufactures include food products, beverages, cigarettes, textiles and clothing, cement, rubber products, transport equipment, printed materials, and petroleum and other chemicals.

Mining employs only a small number of Kenya’s workers. The main minerals produced are soda ash from Lake Magadi, fluorite, salt, and limestone products. The government is also seeking to exploit titanium and zircon deposits on the coast of the Indian Ocean.

F

Forestry and Fishing

Kenyans engage in lake and ocean fishing, the former contributing most of the fish caught. The main sources of fish are Lake Victoria, Lake Naivasha, Lake Turkana, and Lake Baringo. Most fishing is done by self-employed fishermen, often as members of cooperative organizations. Most of the fish caught are consumed domestically. Kenya’s forest plantation areas are located in the highlands and on the coast. Softwood is an important product, with a considerable portion going to the country’s large paper mill at Webuye in western Kenya.

G

Energy

Petroleum is Kenya’s major source of energy, and the country’s entire supply is imported. Electricity is the second most important energy source. Some 74 percent of Kenya’s electricity is generated by hydroelectric plants in the Tana River basin, in the Turkwel River gorge, and in neighboring Uganda. Kenya also has a geothermal station and an oil-burning facility that produce electricity.

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H

Transportation

Kenya has one of the most extensive transportation networks in East Africa. Railways connect the major cities, and the country’s road network is substantial, although only about 12 percent (2000) of roads are paved. Mombasa is Kenya’s major seaport and serves Uganda and Rwanda as well. Kisumu is the major port on Lake Victoria. River transport is not extensive. International airports are located at Nairobi, Mombasa, and Eldoret. Kenya Airways is the national airline. The main forms of public transportation in Kenya are buses, matatus (minibuses), and taxis.

I

Communications

Historically, the Kenyan government exercised tight control over the media, although it owned only a portion of it. However, the advent of multiparty politics in 1992 brought about an expansion of press freedom. Kenya has several daily newspapers. The leading dailies are the English-language Daily Nation and its Swahili counterpart Taifa Leo, and the English daily the East African Standard. These and most other periodicals are published in Nairobi. Following political reforms of late 1997, a lively alternative press emerged, publishing numerous inexpensive and often short-lived newspapers in various languages.

The state-owned Kenya Broadcasting Corporation operates radio and television stations serving most of Kenya; it offers programs in English, Swahili, and vernacular languages. Private television and radio stations have also been licensed to serve Nairobi and some other urban markets. Telephone service has expanded in recent decades, but Kenya still has only 8 telephone mainlines for every 1,000 residents. Mobile telephone service is available across Kenya, however, and there are 135 mobile telephone subscribers for every 1,000 residents. Access to the Internet is expanding but tends to be limited to individuals and companies located in Nairobi and other major cities.

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