<P> The African Great Lakes region , which Kenya is a part of , has been inhabited by humans since the Lower Paleolithic period . By the first millennium AD , the Bantu expansion had reached the area from West - Central Africa . The borders of the modern state consequently comprise the crossroads of the Niger - Congo , Nilo - Saharan and Afroasiatic areas of the continent , representing most major ethnolinguistic groups found in Africa . Bantu and Nilotic populations together constitute around 97 % of the nation 's residents . European and Arab presence in coastal Mombasa dates to the Early Modern period ; European exploration of the interior began in the 19th century . The British Empire established the East Africa Protectorate in 1895 , which starting in 1920 gave way to the Kenya Colony . Kenya obtained independence in December 1963 , but remained a member of the Commonwealth of Nations . Following a referendum in August 2010 and adoption of a new constitution , Kenya is now divided into 47 semi-autonomous counties , governed by elected governors . </P>
<P> The African Great Lakes region , which Kenya is a part of , has been inhabited by humans since the Lower Paleolithic period . By the first millennium AD , the Bantu expansion had reached the area from West - Central Africa . The borders of the modern state consequently comprise the crossroads of the Niger - Congo , Nilo - Saharan and Afroasiatic areas of the continent , representing most major ethnolinguistic groups found in Africa . Bantu and Nilotic populations together constitute around 97 % of the nation 's residents . European and Arab presence in coastal Mombasa dates to the Early Modern period ; European exploration of the interior began in the 19th century . The British Empire established the East Africa Protectorate in 1895 , which starting in 1920 gave way to the Kenya Colony . Kenya obtained independence in December 1963 , but remained a member of the Commonwealth of Nations . Following a referendum in August 2010 and adoption of a new constitution , Kenya is now divided into 47 semi-autonomous counties , governed by elected governors . </P>
what part of africa is kenya located in
what part of africa is kenya located in
The African Great Lakes region
The African Great Lakes region