ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a brief historical background and a description of major events in Kenya. It also provides basic political, economic, and social data arranged in the following categories: polity, economy, population, purchasing power parities, life expectancy, ethnic groups, capital, political rights, civil liberties, and status. The chapter discusses the progress and decline of political rights and civil liberties in Kenya. Kenya made little headway in promoting political rights and civil liberties in 2001. The highly charged political environment was dominated by maneuvering for 2002 presidential election. Kenya's economy and infrastructure continued to deteriorate significantly. Most of Kenya's 29 million people are poor and survive through subsistence agriculture. Kenyans have been unable to exercise their right to choose their leaders in genuinely open and competitive elections. Women in Kenya continue to face serious obstacles in the exercise of their freedoms. A draft gender equity bill created considerable public controversy, with some Muslims protesting that it was too sweeping in scope.
