A young patriotic Kenyan: Kenyans believe their country is the most peaceful country in East Africa, much more peaceful than Tanzania. Photo/PHOEBE OKALL
By JACOB NG'ETICH
Posted Friday, October 8 2010
Kenyans believe their country is the most peaceful country in East Africa, much more peaceful than Tanzania, while they view Uganda as politically unstable.
In a report released on Thursday, Kenyans see Japan as the most technologically savvy country and the US as the most developed country in the world.
Somalia is viewed as the most politically unstable country in the world in a survey that was released by the Steadman Group.
Of the respondents surveyed, 29 per cent viewed Kenya as a peaceful country while 26 per cent thought that there was little peace in Tanzania.
In Africa, 10 per cent of Kenyans viewed Nigeria, the most populous country on the continent, as synonymous with corruption.
When asked about Egypt, seven per cent of the respondents first thought of it as the land of the pharaohs and the pyramids, which are part of the Seven Wonders of the World, as representing their history, while four per cent thought Zambia was peaceful.
Somalia, Sudan, Rwanda and Burundi, in that order, were viewed by Kenyans as politically unstable countries with 65, 46, 41 and 29 percentage points respectively.
The survey, which was done as part of the Steadman quarterly SPEC Barometer, captured Kenyans' perceptions towards Kenya and the rest of the world.
It involved 2,023 respondents - adults, aged 18 and above living in urban and rural areas who were randomly sampled all over the country between September 25 and October 4.
The survey involved a structured face-to-face questionnaire at household level in an effort to establish how Kenyans perceive their country and the rest of the world.
Respondents were asked to indicate what comes to mind when they think of 22 countries in the world.
The countries on the survey included Somalia, Zambia, Burundi, China, United States of America, United Kingdom, Japan, France, Germany, Canada, Italy, Uganda, Sudan and Tanzania.
Others were Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, Libya, Ghana, Senegal and Rwanda.
A total of 11 per cent of the respondents viewed South Africa as a developed economy in the continent while seven per cent thought Ghana was an agricultural country.
Senegal, the West African country with the national football team known as the Lions of Teranga, was easily seen by Kenyans as a sports country with 15 per cent identifying the country with football.
Some 12 per cent of respondents viewed Col Muammar Gaddafi's Libya through the lens of oil and petroleum.
Technological development comes into the Kenyans' minds when Japan and China are mentioned among 22 and 13 per cent of the respondents respectively.
Also, 15 per cent of the respondents viewed the US as the most developed country followed by the United Kingdom at 13 per cent and Canada at six per cent.
Germany appeared to nine percent of the Kenyans as a sporting country followed by France while many Kenyans thought of Pope and religion every time Italy was mentioned.
