肯亚

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正式名称肯亚共和国(Republic of Kenya)

非洲东部共和国。邻衣索比亚、苏丹、索马利亚、印度洋、坦尚尼亚和乌干达。面积582,646平方公里。人口约30,766,000(2001)。首都︰奈洛比。肯亚的人民中,有一小部分是欧洲移民的後代;有30~40个民族,包括了基库尤人、卢赫雅人、卢奥人、坎巴人、卡兰津人和马赛人。语言︰斯瓦希里语和英语(均为官方语),以及班图语、尼罗语和库施特语。宗教︰基督教、万物有灵论、伊斯兰教和印度教。货币︰肯亚先令(K Sh)。肯亚分成五个地区︰西南角的维多利亚湖盆地;肯亚东部的大片高原︰印度洋沿岸长400公里的海岸带;马乌陡崖位於肯亚西部的大裂谷以西;裂谷东部的高地和阿伯德尔山,包括了肯亚山。着名的野生动物有︰狮、豹、象、水牛河马、斑马、犀牛和鳄。全国仅约4%的土地是可耕地,其中约7%用於饲养牛、山羊和绵羊。农业人口占全国劳动人口的4/5,茶叶和咖啡是主要输出品。政府形式是共和国,一院制。国家元首暨政府首脑是总统。

沿岸地区原是阿拉伯人居住地直到16世纪葡萄牙人占领为止。马赛人原在北部占支配地位,18世纪时南移至肯亚中部,当基库尤人从他们的故乡肯亚中南部向外扩张时。19世纪欧洲传教士在该国内陆探险。当英国控制该国後,在肯亚建立了一个英属保护地(1890)和一个殖民地(1920)。1950年代爆发的茅茅运动是对欧洲殖民主义直接的反击。1963年肯亚独立,一年後共和国政府选出肯雅塔为总统。1992年肯亚总统莫伊同意三十年以来第一次多党选举,虽然选举被暴力和欺骗行为破坏。接下来几年不断发生政治动乱。

Kenya

Republic, eastern Africa. It is bounded by Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia, the Indian Ocean, Tanzania, and Uganda. Area: 224,961 sq mi (582,646 sq km). Population (1997 est.): 28,803,000. Capital: Nairobi. With a small group of European settlers' descendents, there are 30-40 ethnic groups, including the Kikuyu, Luhya, Luo, Kamba, Kalenjin, and Masai. Languages: Swahili, English (both official); others belonging to the Bantu, Nilotic, and Cushitic language groups. Religions: Christianity, animism, Islam, Hinduism. Currency: shilling. Kenya can be divided into five regions: the Lake Victoria basin in the southwestern corner; the vast plateau of eastern Kenya; the 250-mi (400-km) coastal belt along the Indian Ocean; the highlands of the Mau Escarpment on the western side of the Great Rift Valley in western Kenya; and the highlands and mountains of the Aberdare Range on the eastern side of the Rift Valley, including Mount Kenya. It is noted for such wildlife as lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo, rhinoceros, zebra, hippopotamus, and crocodile. Only about 4% of the land is arable, and about 7% of the land is used for grazing cattle, goats, and sheep. Agriculture employs four-fifths of the workforce, and tea and coffee are the leading exports. It is a republic with one legislative house; its head of state and government is the president. The coastal region was dominated by Arabs until it was seized by the Portuguese in the 16th century. The Masai people held sway in the north and moved into central Kenya in the 18th century, while the Kikuyu expanded from their home region in southern central Kenya. The interior was explored by European missionaries in the 19th century. After the British took control, Kenya was established as a British protectorate (1890) and a crown colony (1920). The Mau Mau rebellion of the 1950s was directed against European colonialism. In 1963 the country became fully independent, and a year later a republican government under Jomo Kenyatta was elected. In 1992 Kenyan president Daniel arap Moi allowed the country's first multiparty elections in three decades, though the elections were marred by violence and fraud. Political turmoil occurred over the next years.