Karen, Kenya

Karen is an affluent suburb of Nairobi in Kenya, lying south west of the city centre.

It is generally believed that the suburb is named after Karen Blixen, the Danish author of the colonial memoir Out of Africa; her farm occupied the land where the suburb now stands. Blixen herself declared in her later writings that "the residential district of Karen" was "named after me". And Remy Martin, the developer who bought the farm in 1931 and converted it into residential lots for Nairobi's fast-growing population, confirmed that he named the neighborhood for Blixen.

The provenance of the name may in fact be more subtly complex. Blixen herself was known to her friends in Africa not as "Karen" but as "Tanne". The farm, a coffee plantation, was officially incorporated as the "Karen Coffee Company", and was owned by her extended family, most of whom lived in Denmark. The chairman of the board was her uncle, Aage Westenholtz. Westenholtz may have named the company after his own daughter, Karen.

Nairobi

Nairobi (/naɪˈroʊbi/; locally [naɪˈroːbi]) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. It is famous for having the Nairobi National Park, the world’s only game reserve found within a major city. The city and its surrounding area also form Nairobi County, whose current governor is Evans Kidero.

The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nairobi, which translates to "cool water". The phrase is also the Maasai name of the Nairobi river, which in turn lent its name to the city. However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun", and is surrounded by several expanding villa suburbs.

Nairobi was founded in 1899 by the colonial authorities in British East Africa, as a rail depot on the Uganda Railway. The town quickly grew to replace Machakos as the capital of Kenya in 1907. After independence in 1963, Nairobi became the capital of the Republic of Kenya. During Kenya's colonial period, the city became a centre for the colony's coffee, tea and sisal industry. The city lies on the River Athi in the southern part of the country, and has an elevation of 1,795 metres (5,889 ft) above sea level.

Nairobi County

Nairobi County is one of the 47 counties of Kenya. The smallest yet most populous of the counties, its capital is Nairobi, which is also the capital and largest city of Kenya.

Nairobi County was founded in 2013 on the same boundaries as Nairobi Province, after Kenya's 8 provinces were subdivided into 47 counties.

Constituencies

The county is composed of 17 Parliamentary constituencies:

Nairobi Metro

Nairobi County is within Greater Nairobi which consists of 4 out of 47 counties in Kenya but the area generates about 60% of the nations wealth. The counties are:

Source: NairobiMetro/ Kenya Census

Population

Nairobi has experienced one of the most rapid growths in urban centers. This is unlikely to slow down any time soon because the population in Kenya increases by an average of about 3% i.e. 1 million each year.

Quick Stats

Urbanisation

Source: OpenDataKenya

Wealth/Poverty Level

Source: OpenDataKenya Worldbank

See also

References

External links

Nairobi (disambiguation)

Nairobi may refer to: