Nairobi
Nairobi | |
|---|---|
Consolidated city-county | |
Britam Tower KICC Nairobi Expressway Upper Hill One Africa Place Jomo Kenyatta International Airport Dedan Kimathi Statue Skyline of Nairobi | |
|
Flag Coat of arms | |
| Nickname: "The Green City under the Sun" | |
Nairobi Location within Kenya Nairobi Nairobi (Africa) | |
| Coordinates: 01°17′11″S 36°49′02″E / 1.28639°S 36.81722°E | |
| Country | Kenya |
| County | Nairobi City |
| Founded | 1899 |
| Sub-counties | List
|
| Government | |
| • Body | Nairobi City County |
| • Legislature | County Assembly |
| • Governor | Johnson Sakaja |
| Area | |
• Total | 696.1 km2 (268.8 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 1,795 m (5,889 ft) |
| Population (2019)[3] | |
• Total | 4,397,073 |
• Estimate (2024)[4] | 4,828,000 |
| • Density | 6,300/km2 (16,000/sq mi) |
| Demonym | Nairobian |
| GDP (PPP) | |
| • Total | City $91.0 B (1st) Metro $150B[5] |
| • Per Capita | $18,958 (1st) |
| GDP (nominal) | |
| • Total | City $35 billion (1st) Metro $54B |
| • Per Capita | $7,291 (1st) |
| Time zone | UTC+03:00 (EAT) |
| Area code | 020 |
| HDI (2022) | 0.771[6]high |
| Website | nairobi |
Nairobi[b], abbreviated as NBO, is the capital and largest city of Kenya, located in the south-central part of the country. As of 2024, it has a population of 4.8 million and a metropolitan population of 5.7 million[7], making it the 11th most populous city in Africa. It is the major financial and economic hub of East Africa, hosting numerous multinational companies and regional organizations, including the United Nations Office at Nairobi. Nicknamed the “Green City in the Sun,” Nairobi is uniquely notable for being the only capital city in the world that hosts a national park within its boundaries, and its name originates from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, meaning “place of cool waters.
Nairobi is home of the Kenyan Parliament Buildings and hosts thousands of Kenyan businesses and international companies and organisations, including the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment) and the United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON). Nairobi is an established hub for business and culture. The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) is one of the largest stock exchanges in Africa and the second-oldest exchange on the continent. It is Africa's fourth-largest stock exchange in terms of trading volume, capable of making 10 million trades a day. It also contains the Nairobi National Park. Nairobi joined the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities in 2010.
Nairobi was founded in 1898 by colonial authorities in British East Africa, as a rail depot on the Uganda - Kenya Railway. It was favoured by the authorities as an ideal resting place due to its high elevation, temperate climate, and adequate water supply.[8] The town quickly grew to replace Mombasa as the capital of Kenya in 1907.[9]
After independence in 1963, Nairobi became the capital of the Republic of Kenya.[10] During Kenya's early period, the city became a centre for the coffee, tea and sisal industries.[11][12] The successive black governments since independence have built and turned Nairobi into a modern metropolitan city with a diverse population and a growing economy.[13]
- ^ "Nairobi County". Infotrak. Archived from the original on 8 November 2022. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
- ^ "Nairobi Population 2022". World Population Review. Archived from the original on 29 May 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
- ^ "2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census Volume I: Population by County and Sub-County". knbs.or.ke. Archived from the original on 13 November 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
- ^ "2019 KPHC – Analytical Report on Population Projections Vol XVI". Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. September 2022. p. 38. Archived from the original on 4 December 2022. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
- ^ "GCP". Retrieved 31 August 2021.
- ^ "Human Development Index in Kenya – HDI by County".
- ^ "Nairobi Metropolitan Population". Macrotrends. Retrieved 17 September 2025.
- ^ Roger S. Greenway, Timothy M. Monsma, Cities: missions' new frontier, (Baker Book House: 1989), p.163.
- ^ mombasa.go.ke (28 July 2018). "History of Mombasa". Mombasa County. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
- ^ britannica.com. "Nairobi History". www.britannica.com/. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
- ^ "Production". East Africa Sisal. Archived from the original on 22 July 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
- ^ Rashid, Mahbub (16 June 2016). The Geometry of Urban Layouts: A Global Comparative Study. Springer. ISBN 978-3-319-30750-3.
- ^ "Nairobi, Kenya | History Timeline". History Timelines. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
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