* Full name: The Republic of Kenya
* Population: 34.3 million (UN, 2005)
* Capital: Nairobi
* Area: 582,646 sq km (224,961 sq miles)
* Major languages: Swahili, English
* Major religion: Christianity
* Life expectancy: 48 years (men), 46 years (women) (UN)
* Monetary unit: 1 Kenya shilling = 100 cents
* Main exports: Tea, coffee, horticultural products, petroleum products
* GNI per capita: US $540 (World Bank, 2005)
* Internet domain: .ke
* International dialling code: +254
LEADER
President: Mwai Kibaki
Political veteran Mwai Kibaki won a landslide election victory in December 2002, promising to fight endemic corruption and to address Kenya's economic woes.
Kenyan president
Mwai Kibaki came to power on promises to fight corruption
Economic recovery has accompanied Mr Kibaki's leadership. Economic growth in 2006 was 6.1%, compared with 0.6% when he took over.
But despite the tough talk about graft, his government has become mired in a major corruption scandal. Former and current ministers have been implicated in an alleged scam involving shadowy deals and large sums of public money.
The president was thwarted over another key policy when voters rejected a proposed new constitution in 2005. Mr Kibaki had portrayed it as modernising measure; critics said the charter left too much power in his hands.
A respected economist, Mwai Kibaki served as finance minister and vice president in the 1970s and 1980s. He left Kanu in 1991 and founded the Democratic Party.
His election victory marked the end of almost 40 years of Kanu rule, and it was third time lucky for Mr Kibaki, who lost two elections in the 1990s. The constitution barred his predecessor, Daniel arap Moi, from standing. Mr Kibaki's National Rainbow Coalition (Narc) won a parliamentary majority.
Mwai Kibaki was born in 1931 and hails from Kenya's largest tribe, the Kikuyu. He studied in Uganda and Britain before joining the push for Kenya's independence in the 1960s. He became an MP in 1963.
# Vice president: Moody Awori
# Foreign minister: Raphael Tuju
# Finance minister: Amos Kimunya
OVERVIEW
fter independence from Britain in 1963, politics was dominated by the charismatic Jomo Kenyatta. He was succeeded in 1978 by Daniel arap Moi, who remained in power for 24 years. The ruling Kenya African National Union, Kanu, was the only legal political party for much of the 1980s.
AT-A-GLANCE
Jacaranda trees in bloom
Politics: Politics has recently been dominated by wrangling over changes to the constitution, prompted by pressure to stamp out corruption and nepotism
Economy: The economy has been recovering over recent years
International: Kenya has mediated in conflicts in Somalia and Sudan
Timeline
Violent unrest - and international pressure - led to the restoration of multi-party politics in the early 1990s. But it was to be another decade before opposition candidate Mwai Kibaki ended nearly 40 years of Kanu rule with his landslide victory in 2002's general election.
Despite President Kibaki's pledge to tackle corruption, some donors estimated that up to $1bn had been lost to graft between 2002 and 2005.
Other pressing challenges include high unemployment, crime and poverty; most Kenyans live below the poverty level of $1 a day. Droughts frequently put millions of people at risk.
One of Africa's more politically-stable countries, Kenya has been a leading light in the Somali and Sudanese peace processes.
With its scenic beauty and abundant wildlife, Kenya is one of Africa's major safari destinations.
The lucrative tourist industry has bounced back following the slump that followed bomb attacks in Nairobi in 1998 and Mombasa in 2002. And in 2006 tourism was the country's best hard currency earner, ahead of horticulture and tea.
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