Geography Quiz Arcade

Kenya 🇰🇪

Kenya is a country in Africa with a population of 54,027,487. Its capital is Nairobi. The official currency is KES, and the main languages are Swahili, English.

Quick facts

  • Capital: Nairobi
  • Continent: Africa
  • Population: 54,027,487
  • Area: 580,367 km²
  • Density: 93.1 people per km²
  • Currency: KES
  • Languages: Swahili, English
  • ISO code: KE

Where Kenya sits

Kenya 🇰🇪 is one of 54 countries in Africa, with its capital at Nairobi. It covers 580,367 square kilometres — 48th in the world — and is home to about 54,027,487 people, 27th globally.

The countries it shares a continent with include Nigeria, Ethiopia, Egypt, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania. If you are learning geography region by region — which works far better than alphabetically, because memory for places is spatial — those are the ones to learn alongside it.

How Kenya compares

Raw figures are hard to hold on their own, so it helps to anchor them. In population, Kenya sits closest to Myanmar and Colombia. In land area, its nearest counterparts are Botswana and Madagascar.

At 93.1 people per square kilometre it is somewhat above the world average of 59.4. It ranks higher by population than by area, so it is more crowded than its size alone suggests.

Swahili is an official language in 3 countries here, among them Tanzania and Uganda. The KES is used by Kenya and no one else.

To see Kenya next to every other country, sort the country rankings by population, area or density; its currency and languages are listed alongside every other country's in world currencies and world languages.

How to remember Kenya

Nairobi comes from a Maasai phrase meaning 'place of cool waters'. On the flag, look for the Maasai shield: Kenya is the one with a shield in the middle.

The flag of Kenya: black, red and green, with white

🇰🇪 The flag is three horizontal stripes of black, red and green separated by thin white stripes, with a red, black and white Maasai shield and two crossed spears in the centre. Black stands for the people of Kenya, red for the struggle for independence, green for the land and its natural wealth, and white for peace. The shield and spears stand for defending freedom.

Region and neighbours

Kenya is a country in East Africa on the Indian Ocean, crossed by the equator and the Great Rift Valley. It shares land borders with 5 countries: Ethiopia, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda and South Sudan.

Three facts about Kenya

  1. Mount Kenya, which gave the country its name, is the second-highest mountain in Africa.
  2. Nairobi National Park lies right next to the city, so giraffes and zebras can be seen with skyscrapers behind them.
  3. Each year huge herds of wildebeest and zebra cross into the Maasai Mara from Tanzania's Serengeti in the Great Migration.

Sources: Wikipedia: Kenya, Wikipedia: Flag of Kenya, Wikipedia: Nairobi, CIA World Factbook.

Quiz yourself on Kenya

Quizzes that include Kenya

Three angles are worth covering for any country — where it is, what its flag looks like, and what its capital is. For Kenya those are:

Doing all three for one continent before moving on is far more efficient than learning flags globally, then capitals globally, then the map.

Read more about Kenya

Nearby countries

Frequently asked questions

What are the colours of the Kenya flag?

The flag of Kenya is three horizontal stripes of black, red and green separated by thin white stripes, with a red, black and white Maasai shield and two crossed spears in the centre. Black stands for the people of Kenya, red for the struggle for independence, green for the land and its natural wealth, and white for peace. The shield and spears stand for defending freedom.

Which countries border Kenya?

Kenya shares land borders with Ethiopia, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda and South Sudan.

How can I remember the capital of Kenya?

Nairobi comes from a Maasai phrase meaning 'place of cool waters'. On the flag, look for the Maasai shield: Kenya is the one with a shield in the middle.