Kenya vs United States
United States is 16.9 times larger than Kenya. Kenya would fit into United States about 17 times.
KenyaUnited StatesKenya moved onto United States · Equal-area projection
Remote islands and overseas parts not drawn; the figures include them
0.06×
Kenya is 0.06× the area of United States. Put the other way, United States is 16.9× the size of Kenya.
 Kenya |  United States | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaUnited States: 16.9× the area | 581,309 km²#48 of 194 | 9,826,675 km²#3 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 5 | 2 |
| People | ||
| PopulationUnited States: 5.94× the population | 57,532,493#26 of 194 · 2025 | 341,784,857#3 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityKenya: 2.85× the density | 99 / km²#90 of 194 | 35 / km²#145 of 194 |
| Urban populationUnited States: 2.49× the urban share | 32%#165 of 192 · 2025 | 80%#41 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateKenya: 1.94× the births per woman | 3.17 per woman#50 of 192 · 2024 | 1.63 per woman#121 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthKenya: 1.41 points higher | +1.93%#50 of 192 · 2025 | +0.52%#125 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateKenya: 2.55× the birth rate | 27.0 per 1,000#43 of 192 · 2024 | 10.6 per 1,000#132 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateUnited States: 1.25× the death rate | 7.2 per 1,000#94 of 192 · 2024 | 9.0 per 1,000#52 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Kenya: 19.2 points higher | 36.3%#45 of 192 · 2025 | 17.1%#140 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65United States: 15.4 points higher | 3.0%#171 of 192 · 2025 | 18.4%#38 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationUnited States: 4.1 per 1,000 higher | −0.5 per 1,000#100 of 192 · 2025 | +3.6 per 1,000#26 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadKenya: 23× the refugees for its size | 0.23 per 1,000#96 of 190 · 2025 | 0.01 per 1,000#155 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyUnited States: 15.1 years longer | 63.8 years#171 of 192 · 2024 | 78.9 years#46 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityKenya: 6.22× the infant mortality | 34.2 per 1,000 births#37 of 191 · 2024 | 5.5 per 1,000 births#139 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsUnited States: 12.7× the doctors per person | 0.29 per 1,000#138 of 178 · 2023 | 3.68 per 1,000#39 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolmentUnited States: 7.63× the university enrolment | 10.4%#130 of 145 · 2024 | 79.4%#27 of 145 · 2022 |
| Human Development IndexUnited States: 0.310 higher | 0.628#140 of 190 · 2023 | 0.938#16 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaUnited States: 40.4× the income per person | $2,200#146 of 185 · 2025 | $88,810#5 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPUnited States: 226× the economy | $135.94B2025 | $30.77T2025 |
| Income group | Lower-middle income | High income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)United States: 12.8× the output per person | $7,016#141 of 184 · 2025 | $90,027#9 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthKenya: 2.4 points higher | +4.6%#51 of 187 · 2025 | +2.2%#126 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationKenya: 1.2 points higher | +4.1%#52 of 176 · 2025 | +2.9%#92 of 176 · 2024 |
| UnemploymentKenya: 1.29× the unemployment | 5.4%#80 of 178 · 2025 | 4.2%#110 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme povertyKenya: 41.4× the share in extreme poverty | 45.5%#13 of 149 · 2022 | 1.1%#82 of 149 · 2024 |
| Income inequality (Gini)United States: 3.3 higher | 38.5#47 of 149 · 2022 | 41.8#30 of 149 · 2024 |
| Jobs in agricultureKenya: 44.3 points higher | 45.8% of jobs#28 of 178 · 2025 | 1.5% of jobs#164 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryUnited States: 6.4 points higher | 12.5% of jobs#150 of 178 · 2025 | 18.9% of jobs#90 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesUnited States: 37.9 points higher | 41.7% of jobs#143 of 178 · 2025 | 79.6% of jobs#16 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentUnited States: 0.2 points higher | 0.8% of GDP#137 of 184 · 2025 | 1.0% of GDP#126 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsKenya: 4.8 points higher | 15.8% of GDP#144 of 168 · 2025 | 11.0% of GDP#159 of 168 · 2024 |
| Military spendingUnited States: 2.92× the military spending | 1.1% of GDP#108 of 155 · 2025 | 3.1% of GDP#27 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersUnited States: 2.71× the share online | 35%#158 of 184 · 2024 | 95%#27 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsKenya: 1.12× the mobile subscriptions | 126 per 100#64 of 191 · 2024 | 113 per 100#102 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaUnited States: 5.12× the forest share | 7% of land#161 of 192 · 2024 | 34% of land#92 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personUnited States: 35.8× the CO₂ per person | 0.38 t a year#155 of 185 · 2024 | 13.6 t a year#13 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyKenya: 56.8 points higher | 67.7%#30 of 190 · 2021 | 10.9%#139 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityUnited States: 23.0 points higher | 77.0%#151 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Kenya: 2.9× the air pollution | 20.3 µg/m³#79 of 191 · 2023 | 7.0 µg/m³#173 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landKenya: 1.0 points higher | 13.9% of land#124 of 191 · 2025 | 12.9% of land#131 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landUnited States: 5.1 points higher | 11.5% of land#87 of 190 · 2024 | 16.6% of land#64 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressKenya: 1.18× the water stress | 33.2%#50 of 176 · 2022 | 28.2%#57 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationUnited States: 1.13× the rain and snow | 630 mm#125 of 180 · 2022 | 715 mm#111 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityUnited States: 0.82 higher | −1.12#168 of 193 · 2025 | −0.30#122 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionUnited States: 1.73 higher | −0.86#145 of 193 · 2025 | +0.87#39 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateUnited States: 1.18× the homicide rate | 4.9 per 100,000#49 of 146 · 2022 | 5.8 per 100,000#46 of 146 · 2023 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Presidential republic | Presidential republicconstitutional federal republic |
| Member of | — | NATO, OECD, G7, G20 |
| Capital | Nairobi | Washington D.C. |
| Currency | Kenyan shilling (KES) | United States dollar (USD) |
| Official languages | English, Swahili | English |
| Traffic drives | On the left | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+3 | UTC−5, summer time UTC−4 · UTC−10 to UTC−5, 6 time zones |
| Calling code | +254 | +1 |
| Region | Eastern Africa, Africa | Northern America, North America |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Kenya sits at about 1° N and is stretched to 1.0× its true area; United States at 45° N is stretched to 1.98×. That difference is why United States looks so much bigger than it is next to Kenya. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Kenya bigger than United States?
- No. Kenya is 16.9 times smaller than United States. Kenya covers 581,309 km² and United States covers 9,826,675 km².
- How many times does Kenya fit into United States?
- About 17 times: United States has 16.9× the area of Kenya.
- Why do Kenya and United States look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Kenya is drawn about 1.0× its true area there and United States about 1.98×. That is why United States looks so much bigger than it really is next to Kenya. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Kenya or United States?
- United States: 341,784,857 people against 57,532,493. Density: Kenya 99 per km², United States 35 per km².
- Which is richer, Kenya or United States?
- By gross national income per person, United States: $88,810 against $2,200 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 40.4× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Kenya or United States?
- In United States: life expectancy at birth is 78.9 years, against 63.8 — 15.1 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Kenya and United States have?
- The same form of government, by constitution: presidential republic (CIA World Factbook).