kenya is a beautiful east african nation
that harbors some of the most amazing
wildlife and landscape in the world
kenya is home to lake victoria the
second largest freshwater source in the
world and the largest lake in africa
it is also home to the famous cora
national park the home to many of
africa's remaining exotic and rare
wildlife
however our main focus today isn't on
the beauty of kenya's wildlife or
landscape
today we are uncovering the mystery
behind why kenya is so wealthy
to fully grasp the extent of kenya's
wealth we have to consider every single
sector in the country
from its demographics to its economy its
healthcare and education and not to
mention tourism
kenya is both home to a unique group of
african people with three primary
language groups they are the bantu nilo
sahara and the afro-asiatic it is home
to groups of immigrated asians like the
people from india and pakistan who
immigrated during the british colonial
rule period
the most widely spread language in kenya
is swahili which is a language that can
be described as what happens when arabs
and the african people have a baby
the arabs first settled in kenya in the
8th century and used the opportunity to
introduce islam to the locals
however more than 75 percent of kenyans
today are christian
kenya's population sky rocketed from the
early 1960s to the early 1980s which
seriously constrained the country's
social and economic development
during the first quarter of the 20th
century the total population was fewer
than four million largely because of
famines wars and diseases by the late
1940s the population stood at more than
5 million then 8 million by the 1970s
the population then skyrocketed to more
than 20 million by the mid-80s
kenya's population then started to drop
steadily due to high unemployment rising
cost of education poor health services
and limited food imports
so how did kenya pull itself out of
poverty and stagnation to become one of
africa's most wealthy nations
well since kenya achieved independence
in 1963 its economy has contained both
private and state-owned enterprises
most of the country's businesses are in
private hands implying a huge amount of
foreign investment
however the government also shapes the
country's economic development through
various regulatory powers in paris
saddles or enterprises that it partly or
wholly owns
the aim of this policy is to achieve
economic growth and stability generate
employment and maximize foreign earnings
by achieving high levels of agricultural
exports while substituting domestically
produced goods for those that have been
imported for a decade after independence
this policy showed great promise through
rising wages employment and government
revenue
this has also provided the means for
expanding health services education
transportation and communication sectors
but problems that arose with the rise of
global oil prices in 1973
have been aggravated by periodic drought
and accelerating population growth and
kenya's economy has been unable to
maintain a favorable balance of trade
while addressing the problems of chronic
poverty and growing unemployment
the country's ability to industrialize
has been hampered by among other factors
limited domestic purchasing power
shrinking government budgets increased
external and internal debt poor
infrastructure and massive governmental
corruption and mismanagement
in an effort to decrease its dependence
on volatile agricultural markets kenya
attempted to diversify its exports in
the last decade of the 20th century
adding horticultural products clothing
cement soda ash and forest bar
the country also made the export of
manufactured goods such as paper and
vehicles a priority
domestic restrictions on imports have
been removed slowly however and this
policy has been only partially
successful
kenya's economy which did not grow at a
constant rate during the last two
decades of the 20th century continued to
be dominated by the external market
tourism and agricultural exports were
still the major source of foreign
exchange for the country in the early
21st century
agriculture equally plays an important
role in kenya's economy
although its share of the overall gdp
has declined from two-fifths in 1964 to
less than one-fifth in the early 21st
century
agriculture supplies the manufacturing
sector with raw materials and generates
tax revenue and foreign exchange which
supports the rest of the economy
moreover it employs a majority of the
population
in the first years after independence
the government sought to redistribute
the land on which most of the
agricultural exports were produced
although there are now thousands of
large farms ranches and major
plantations the majority of the farms
are smaller than five acres
tea and fresh flowers are the key
foreign exchange earners
sissel cotton and fruits and vegetables
also are important cash crops
coffee historically important for an
exchange earner still contributes to the
economy but began declining in
importance and earnings in the 1990s
owing in part to market instability and
deregulation
kenya supplies the majority of the
pyrethrum to the world market
pyrethrum is a flower used to create the
non-synthetic pesticide pyrethrin
the demand for this product fluctuates
depending upon the level of interest in
the united states which is the largest
consumer of this commodity
national boards that controlled key
export crops such as coffee tea and
cotton were deregulated beginning in the
early 1990s
the major crops for domestic consumption
are corn and wheat
sugarcane was an export crop in the
1970s and 80s but by the 90s domestic
demand exceeded the supply and it had to
be imported
livestock including cattle and goats is
raised and dairy goods are produced
primarily for domestic use
also the government maintains a reserve
supply of such commodities as skin milk
powder cheese and butter
surplus animal and dairy products are
exported
despite the importance of agriculture to
the economic well-being of the country
the lack of water infrastructure and
arable land seriously constrain further
expansion
less than one tenth of kenya can be used
for agriculture
although the government has made efforts
to increase irrigation it is estimated
that only one-fifth to one-fourth of
potentially irrigable area has been
developed
forests occupy only a small portion of
the land but are extremely important in
the domestic economy
most of the area of forest reserves is
wooded bush bamboo and grass the
remainder consists of planted soft woods
which now support a domestic paper
industry
forests are vital for conserving kenya's
soil and water resources but they are
increasingly threatened by a
fast-growing population that constantly
demands more fuel wood and settlement
areas
as fuel wood is used primarily for
domestic cooking but deforestation
threatens the supply a tree planting
program has been initiated to grow quick
maturing indigenous and exotic species
in ecologically suitable areas
fish and marine products represent a
small but growing portion of kenya's
economy and are locally important
freshwater fish from lakes victoria and
rudolph constitute the bulk of the cash
the encroaching water on the surface of
lake victoria threatened this fishery in
the 1990s although this nuisance was
countered by several strategies
including the introduction of weevils
into the environment
most of the weed have been successfully
eliminated although the potential for a
resurgence remains
soda ash which is used in glassmaking is
kenny's most valuable mineral export and
is cored at lake magaddy in the rift
valley
limestone deposits at the coast and in
the interior are exploited for cement
manufacture and agriculture
vermiculite gold rubies top eases and
salt are also important as is fluorite
also known as florspar and used in
metallurgy which is mined along the
curio river in the north
deposits of titanium and
zirconium-bearing sands were found in
multiple locations northeast of mombasa
and to the south of the city
exploration for petroleum has so far met
with limited resources
kenya's economic development has been
tied to its ability to improve energy
resources
the emphasis since independence has been
on producing hydroelectricity but access
to energy is limited to rural areas
since the bulk of electricity is
consumed by the two major urban centers
of nairobi and mombasa
there are hydroelectric plants located
on the tana and turple rivers
geothermal resources in the rift valley
have been tapped since the early 1980s
to generate electricity and have come to
supply a significant amount of nairobi's
total needs
while the expansion of the generating
capacity continued through grants from
the imf and the world bank
kenya is the most industrially developed
country in east africa but it has not
yet produced results to match its
potential manufacturing is based largely
on processing imported goods although
the government supports the development
of export-oriented industries
major industries include agricultural
processing publishing and printing and
the manufacture of textiles and clothing
cement tires batteries paper ceramics
and leather goods
assembly plants which utilize imported
parts produce various kinds of
commercial and passenger vehicles and
even export a small quantity to other
african countries such as uganda
tanzania rwanda and burundi
steel processing for re-export and for
the construction industry is a growing
sector with about a dozen steel mills in
operation the petroleum industry which
was deregulated in 1994 produces diesel
and jet fuel from imported crude oil at
a refinery near mombasa and provides a
major source of foreign exchange
the state-run central bank of kenya
established by legislation in 1966
regulates the money supply assists in
the development of the monetary credit
and banking system acts as a banker and
financial advisor to the government and
grants short-term or seasonal loans
there is also a large number of
commercial merchant and foreign banks in
kenya the nairobi stock exchange founded
in 1954 is one of the largest in
sub-saharan africa
agricultural products such as tea fresh
flowers fruits and vegetables and coffee
constitute the greatest proportion of
kenya's exports
the remainder of the exports consists of
petroleum products cement hides in skins
and soda ash
imports include machinery and transport
equipment chemical products petroleum
and petroleum products and food and
beverages
among kenya's chief trading partners are
india china uganda and tanzania
kenya is a member of the east african
community customs union
kenya is home to some of the rarest and
most interesting species of wildlife in
the world
because of this tourism is one of the
country's major sources of foreign
exchange with visitors coming largely
from countries of the european union and
the united states of america
tourism revolves around a basic
framework of national parks game
reserves and game sanctuaries where a
wide variety of animals and cultural
attractions can be enjoyed
the number of tourists began to vary
annually in the early 1990s however
following a period of political unrest
and attacks on tourists and again in the
early 2000s owing partially to the
threat of terrorism
following agriculture the next largest
employment sectors are the trade and
service-related industries
women perform most of the agricultural
work but they participate largely in the
informal sector of the economy
the central organization of trade unions
was founded in 1965.
many professions are unionized including
metal workers airline pilots game
hunting and safari workers jockeys and
betting workers journalists and textile
workers
government revenue is derived from taxes
on income and profits and on goods and
services from excise duties and from
value-added taxes
together with improved housing education
sanitation and nutrition healthcare
programs have drastically reduced
mortality rates from the
pre-independence levels especially for
infants
high rates of malaria gastronoritis
diarrhea and dysentery trachoma
immediacies and schistosomiasis continue
however and illustrate how difficult it
is to eradicate mosquitoes and provide
clean water especially in the
countryside
by the beginning of the 21st century
aids had become the major disease in
kenya and threatened to reverse the
declining death rate
kenya like other countries in africa
suffering under the aids pandemic has
utilized a number of strategies to
combat the disease including drug
therapy
some drug companies lowered their prices
in kenya by more than half in the early
21st century but this was not enough to
make drugs available to all who needed
them
inadequate supply of drugs is also a
problem
kenny at a national hospital in nairobi
is the country's chief referral and
teaching institution and there are also
provincial and district hospitals
in rural areas health centers and
dispensaries offer diagnostic services
obstetric care and outpatient treatment
although they often lack adequate
facilities trained personnel and
medications
in rural areas the average home consists
of a two-room dwelling made with wood
siding and a roof of sheet iron for the
very poor simple grass thatched huts are
typical
in urban areas the representative middle
class home has two bedrooms indoor
plumbing a kitchen and a living area
providing housing for the urban poor has
been increasingly difficult since
independence
most of the urban population lives in
informal housing areas not recognized by
the government which often raises slums
without warning
in an effort to provide better quality
affordable housing new building
materials are being developed
one such product is brick made from a
combination of water soil and a small
amount of cement
kenya is undoubtedly the very rich and
despite all the natural amenities its
wealth is truly in its people the
unflinching unflustered and determined
kenyans that strive for excellence and a
better kenya for everyone
this is the secret there is no raw
material no amount of mineral resource
or gem can replace the value of the
people that inhabit an area and that's
the most important thing here
it is all about the people so in a
nutshell kenya has so many advantages
and despite its dark gloomy past there
is a shadow of hope on the horizon a
bright future awaits and only normal
everyday kenyans are going to forge that
path
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