Nyanza Province

Nyanza Province (Kenyan English pronunciation: [ˈɲaːnzə]; Swahili: Mkoa wa Nyanza), was one of Kenya's eight administrative provinces before the formation of the 47 counties under the 2010 constitution. The region is located in the southwest part of Kenya around Lake Victoria, includes part of the eastern edge of Lake Victoria and is inhabited predominantly by the Luo. There are also Bantu-speaking tribes such as the Gusii, the Kuria and a few traces of the Luhya living in the province. The province derives its name from Nyanza, a Bantu word which means a large mass of water.

The provincial capital was Kisumu, the third largest city in Kenya. The province had a population of 4,392,196 at the 1999 census within an area of 16,162 km², or 12,613 km² of land.

The climate is tropical humid.

Counties

Districts after 2007

Several new districts were created in 2007 in Kenya, also in Nyanza Province:

Languages

The predominant language in Nyanza is Dholuo, a Nilotic language whose origins are from Southern Sudan, spoken by the Luo.

Kenya

Coordinates: 1°N 38°E / 1°N 38°E / 1; 38

Kenya (/ˈkɛnjə/; locally [ˈkɛɲa]), officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country in Africa and a founding member of the East African Community (EAC). Its capital and largest city is Nairobi. Kenya's territory lies on the equator and overlies the East African Rift covering a diverse and expansive terrain that extends roughly from Lake Victoria to Lake Turkana (formerly called Lake Rudolf) and further south-east to the Indian Ocean. It is bordered by Tanzania to the south, Uganda to the west, South Sudan to the north-west, Ethiopia to the north and Somalia to the north-east. Kenya covers 581,309 km² (224,445 sq mi), and had a population of approximately 45 million people in July 2014.

Kenya has a warm and humid tropical climate on its Indian Ocean coastline. The climate is cooler in the savannah grasslands around the capital city, Nairobi, and especially closer to Mount Kenya, which has snow permanently on its peaks. Further inland, in the Nyanza region, there is a hot and dry climate which becomes humid around Lake Victoria, the largest tropical fresh-water lake in the world. This gives way to temperate and forested hilly areas in the neighboring western region. The north-eastern regions along the border with Somalia and Ethiopia are arid and semi-arid areas with near-desert landscapes. Kenya is known for its safaris, diverse climate and geography, and expansive wildlife reserves and national parks such as the East and West Tsavo National Park, the Maasai Mara, Lake Nakuru National Park, and Aberdares National Park. Kenya has several world heritage sites such as Lamu and numerous beaches, including in Diani, Bamburi and Kilifi, where international yachting competitions are held every year.

Nyanza

Nyanza may refer to:

See also

Western Province (Kenya)

As of 2013 with the coming into effect of the new constitution, each county has its own government and therefore there is no central regional capital.Kakamega is the seat of government for Kakamega County, Bungoma County has its seat in Bungoma town, Busia County has the Assemble in Busia, Vihiga County in Vihiga town, all the County governments and governors are answerable to the people not to the national government.

The Western Region (Swahili: Magharibi) of Kenya, bordering Uganda, is one of former Kenya's seven administrative provinces outside Nairobi. It is west of the Eastern Rift Valley and is inhabited mainly by the Luhya people. Quakerism is widely practised here. Kenya's second highest mountain, Mount Elgon is located in Bungoma County. The Kakamega Forest rainforest is part of the area. The province capital is the town of Kakamega.

Geography

Western Region has diverse physical features, from the hills of northern Bungoma County to the plains bordering Lake Victoria in Busia County. The highest point in the Western Region of Kenya is the peak of Mount Elgon, while the lowest point is the town of Busia on the water at Lake Victoria. In 1999 the total population was of 3,358,776 inhabitants within an area of 8,361 km², increasing to 4.334 million for the 2009 decennial census.