Tuesday, Nov 12, 2024

Kenya - Land Governance Country Profile

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1. Country Context

The Republic of Kenya is located in the Eastern part of the African continent lying between latitudes 5° North and 5° South and between longitudes 34° and 42° East. It is almost bisected by the equator, and shares borders with Ethiopia and South Sudan to the North; Uganda to the West; Tanzania to the South; Somalia to the North East; and the Indian Ocean, the natural boundary to the South Eastern side, with a coastline of about 536 Kilometers.

Kenya has an area of approximately 582,646 (Km2) comprising 97.8% land and 2.2% water surface. Only 20% of the land area can be classified as medium to high potential (suitable for arable agricultural) and the rest of the land is mainly arid or semi-arid (suitable for extensive livestock production, wildlife and irrigated farming). Agricultural land makes up 48% of the land area. According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics are 43 million people in Kenya as 2015. Seventy eight percent of the population is rural area.