Home > Terms > English (EN) > Nairobi

Nairobi

Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nairobi, which translates to "cold water," 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. Residents of Nairobi are known as Nairobians.

Founded by the British in 1899 as a simple rail depot on the railway linking Mombasa to Uganda, the town quickly grew to become the capital of British East Africa in 1907 and eventually the capital of a free Kenyan republic in 1963. During Kenya's colonial period, the city became a centre for the colony's coffee, tea and sisal industry. Nairobi is also the capital of the Nairobi Province and of the Nairobi District. The city lies on the Nairobi River, in the south of the nation, and has an elevation of 1795 m above sea-level.

Nairobi is the most populous city in East Africa, with a current estimated population of about 3 million. According to the 2009 Census, in the administrative area of Nairobi, 3,138,295 inhabitants lived within 696 km2 (269 sq mi). Nairobi is currently the 12th largest city in Africa, including the population of its suburbs.

Nairobi is now one of the most prominent cities in Africa politically and financially. Home to thousands of Kenyan businesses and over 100 major international companies and organisations, including the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the main coordinating and headquarters for the UN in Africa & Middle East, the United Nations Office in Nairobi (UNON), Nairobi is an established hub for business and culture. The Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE) is one of the largest in Africa and the second oldest exchange on the continent. It is ranked 4th in terms of trading volume and capable of making 10 million trades a day. The Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network (GaWC) defines Nairobi as a prominent social centre.

0
Collect to Blossary

Member comments

You have to log in to post to discussions.

Terms in the News

Billy Morgan

Sports; Snowboarding

The British snowboarder Billy Morgan has landed the sport’s first ever 1800 quadruple cork. The rider, who represented Great Britain in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, was in Livigno, Italy, when he achieved the man-oeuvre. It involves flipping four times, while body also spins with five complete rotations on a sideways or downward-facing axis. The trick ...

Marzieh Afkham

Broadcasting & receiving; News

Marzieh Afkham, who is the country’s first foreign ministry spokeswoman, will head a mission in east Asia, the state news agency reported. It is not clear to which country she will be posted as her appointment has yet to be announced officially. Afkham will only be the second female ambassador Iran has had. Under the last shah’s rule, Mehrangiz Dolatshahi, a ...

Weekly Packet

Language; Online services; Slang; Internet

Weekly Packet or "Paquete Semanal" as it is known in Cuba is a term used by Cubans to describe the information that is gathered from the internet outside of Cuba and saved onto hard drives to be transported into Cuba itself. Weekly Packets are then sold to Cuban's without internet access, allowing them to obtain information just days - and sometimes hours - after it ...

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)

Banking; Investment banking

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is an international financial institution established to address the need in Asia for infrastructure development. According to the Asian Development Bank, Asia needs $800 billion each year for roads, ports, power plants or other infrastructure projects before 2020. Originally proposed by China in 2013, a signing ...

Spartan

Online services; Internet

Spartan is the codename given to the new Microsoft Windows 10 browser that will replace Microsoft Windows Internet Explorer. The new browser will be built from the ground up and disregard any code from the IE platform. It has a new rendering engine that is built to be compatible with how the web is written today. The name Spartan is named after the ...

Featured Terms

Thuy Do
  • 0

    Terms

  • 0

    Blossaries

  • 0

    Followers

Industry/Domain: Zoology Category: Zoological terms

phylum placozoa

Macroscopic, flattened marine animals, composed of ventral and dorsal epithelial layers enclosing ...

Thuy Do
  • 0

    Terms

  • 0

    Blossaries

  • 0

    Followers

Industry/Domain: Zoology Category: Zoological terms

phylum cnidaria

Cnidarians. Hydras, hydroids, jellyfish, sea anemones, and corals. Free-swimming or sessile, with ...

qys1978
  • 0

    Terms

  • 1

    Blossaries

  • 0

    Followers

Industry/Domain: Accounting Category: Auditing

share a term with millions

Share a term with millions of users around the world and increase your online visibility.Share a ...

Bob
  • 0

    Terms

  • 1

    Blossaries

  • 5

    Followers

Industry/Domain: Plants Category: Trees

oak

Genus native to the Northern Hemisphere with spirally arranged leaves, catkins for flowers and ...

Bagar
  • 0

    Terms

  • 64

    Blossaries

  • 6

    Followers

Industry/Domain: Geography Category: Geography

Everest

The last but not least mount Everest. The Earth's highest mountain, with a peak at 8,848 metres ...

David Parkin
  • 0

    Terms

  • 1

    Blossaries

  • 36

    Followers

Industry/Domain: Plants Category: General plants

aglaonema

Genus of about 20 species of usually rhizomatous, evergreen perennials from tropical forest in Asia. ...

Aidan Teare
  • 0

    Terms

  • 0

    Blossaries

  • 6

    Followers

Industry/Domain: Science Category: General science

Robojelly

Robojelly is a hydrogen-powered robot desgined in the United States that moves through the water ...

  • 0

    Terms

  • 0

    Blossaries

  • 1

    Followers

Industry/Domain: People Category: Entrepreneurs

Ferdinand Porsche

Ferdinand Porsche (3 September 1875 – 30 January 1951) was an Austrian-German automotive engineer ...

  • 0

    Terms

  • 40

    Blossaries

  • 4

    Followers

Industry/Domain: Broadcasting & receiving Category: News

Marzieh Afkham

Marzieh Afkham, who is the country’s first foreign ministry spokeswoman, will head a mission in east ...

  • 0

    Terms

  • 0

    Blossaries

  • 1

    Followers

Industry/Domain: Accounting Category: Auditing

define1

Share a term with millions of users around the world and increase your online visibility.Share a ...

Contributor

Featured blossaries

African Women in Politics

Category: Politics   1 15 Terms

Angels

Category: Religion   2 20 Terms