Nairobi Nairobi Nairobi () is the capital and the largest city of Kenya. The name comes from the Maasai phrase "Enkare Nairobi", which translates to "cool water", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper had a population of 3,138,369 in the 2009 census, while the metropolitan area has a population of 6,547,547. The city is popularly referred to as the Green City in the Sun. Nairobi was founded in 1899 by the colonial authorities in British East Africa, as a rail depot on the Uganda Railway. The town quickly grew to replace Machakos as
Nairobi domestic users to industries in five cities, with the highest incidence of bribery in Nairobi. There is wide variety regarding standards of living in Nairobi. Most wealthy Kenyans live in Nairobi, but the majority of Nairobians are average and poor. Half of the population have been estimated to live in slums which cover just 5% of the city area. The growth of these slums is a result of urbanisation, poor town planning, and the unavailability of loans for low income earners. Kibera is one of the largest slums in Africa, and is situated to the west of Nairobi. (Kibera comes