---
title: "Kenya — capital, area, population and currency"
description: "Kenya: capital Nairobi, area 580,367 km², population 57,532,493 (2025), currency Kenyan shilling. Languages, time zones and calling code."
url: https://atoneplace.net/country/kenya/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Kenya

**Kenya: Capital Nairobi**

580,367 km² · 57,532,493 people (2025) · Kenyan shilling

The Great Rift Valley runs the length of the country, and the equator crosses it just north of Nairobi. Mount Kenya reaches 5,199 m and carries glaciers within 20 km of the equator. Lake Turkana in the north is the largest permanent desert lake in the world.

## The facts

- **Capital:** Nairobi
- **Area:** 580,367 km² — 224,081 sq mi
- **Population:** 57,532,493 (2025)
- **Density:** 99.1 people per km²
- **Currency:** Kenyan shilling (KES, Sh)
- **Official languages:** English, Swahili
- **Time zone:** UTC+03:00
- **Calling code:** +254
- **Drives on the:** left
- **ISO codes:** KE · KEN
- **Continent:** Africa

## How it compares

- **By area:** 50 of 200
- **By population:** 26 of 200

> Population is the only figure on this page that dates — it is a 2025 estimate and will drift. Area, capital, currency, languages, calling code and driving side change rarely or never.

## Countries of a similar size

| Country | Area (km²) | Population |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Madagascar | 587,041 | 32,740,678 |
| Botswana | 581,730 | 2,562,122 |
| Kenya ← | 580,367 | 57,532,493 |
| Yemen | 527,968 | 41,773,878 |
| Thailand | 513,120 | 71,619,863 |

## Common questions

### What is the capital of Kenya?

Nairobi

### What currency does Kenya use?

The Kenyan shilling (KES).

### How big is Kenya?

580,367 km², or 224,081 square miles — 50 of 200 by area.

### Which side of the road does Kenya drive on?

The left.

## Related pages

- [Madagascar](https://atoneplace.net/country/madagascar/)
- [Botswana](https://atoneplace.net/country/botswana/)
- [Yemen](https://atoneplace.net/country/yemen/)
- [Thailand](https://atoneplace.net/country/thailand/)
- [Nigeria](https://atoneplace.net/country/nigeria/)
- [Ethiopia](https://atoneplace.net/country/ethiopia/)
- [Egypt](https://atoneplace.net/country/egypt/)
- [Democratic Republic of the Congo](https://atoneplace.net/country/democratic-republic-of-the-congo/)
- [Tanzania](https://atoneplace.net/country/tanzania/)
- [South Africa](https://atoneplace.net/country/south-africa/)
- [Sudan](https://atoneplace.net/country/sudan/)
- [Uganda](https://atoneplace.net/country/uganda/)

## Sources

- The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency (https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/) [Public domain (US Government)]
- World Bank Open Data — The World Bank (https://data.worldbank.org/) [CC BY 4.0]