The Coast Province () was one of

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

's eight

provinces A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...

prior to 2010. It covered the entire country's coastline on the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

. Its capital city was

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital status in 1907. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

. It was inhabited by the

Mijikenda Mijikenda may refer to: *Mijikenda peoples *Mijikenda language Mijikenda is a Bantu dialect cluster spoken along the coast of East Africa, mostly in Kenya, where there are 2.6 million speakers (2019 census) but also in Tanzania Tanzania, o ...

and

Swahili Swahili may refer to: * Swahili language, a Bantu language officially used in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda and widely spoken in the African Great Lakes. * Swahili people, an ethnic group in East Africa. * Swahili culture, the culture of the Swahili p ...

peoples, among others. The province covered an area of 79,686.1 km².

Tourist attraction

Some of the province's important towns included

Kilifi Kilifi is a town on the coast of Kenya, northeast of Mombasa by road. The town lies on the Kilifi Creek and sits on the estuary of the Goshi River. Kilifi is the capital of Kilifi County and had a population of 122,899 during the 2009 census. ...

Malindi Malindi is a town on Malindi Bay at the mouth of the Sabaki River, lying on the Indian Ocean coast of Kenya. It is 120 kilometres northeast of Mombasa. The population of Malindi was 119,859 as of the 2019 census. It is the largest urban centr ...

Watamu Watamu is a small town located approximately 105 km north of Mombasa and about 15 km south of Malindi on the Indian Ocean coast of Kenya. It lies on a small headland, between the Blue Lagoon and Watamu Bay. Its main economic activities ...

and

Lamu Lamu or Lamu Town is a small town on Lamu Island, which in turn is a part of the Lamu Archipelago in Kenya. Situated by road northeast of Mombasa that ends at Mokowe Jetty, from where the sea channel has to be crossed to reach Lamu Isla ...

in the north, and

Mwandimu The Coast Province () was one of Kenya's eight provinces prior to 2010. It covered the entire country's coastline on the Indian Ocean. Its capital city was Mombasa. It was inhabited by the Mijikenda and Swahili peoples, among others. The provinc ...

and

Magunda The Coast Province () was one of Kenya's eight Provinces of Kenya, provinces prior to 2010. It covered the entire country's coastline on the Indian Ocean. Its capital city was Mombasa. It was inhabited by the Mijikenda peoples, Mijikenda and Swah ...

in the south. Some of the coastal population was located in resort and beach settlements such as Kiongwe and Kipini.

Diani Beach Diani Beach is a beach on the Indian Ocean coast of Kenya. It is located south of Mombasa, in Kwale County. Tourism The beach is about long, from the Kongo river in the north to Galu beach in the south (the southern point of reference is an ...

was one of the province's major tourist centres, with palm trees and white sandy beaches like Mombasa.

is where

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama ( , ; – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and nobleman who was the Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India, first European to reach India by sea. Da Gama's first voyage (1497–1499) was the first to link ...

picked up his pilot to navigate with the monsoon winds to India;

Mambrui Mambrui is a settlement in Kenya's Coast Province, located east of Marikebuni along the Malindi-Garissa Road, south of Gongoni and north of Malindi. History Mambrui also boasts of 14th century architecture with over five buildings built in ...

appears to be the site where contact occurred with the Chinese during the era of the

Yongle Emperor The Yongle Emperor (2 May 1360 – 12 August 1424), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Chengzu of Ming, personal name Zhu Di, was the third List of emperors of the Ming dynasty, emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1402 to 142 ...

and the expeditions of

Zheng He Zheng He (also romanized Cheng Ho; 1371–1433/1435) was a Chinese eunuch, admiral and diplomat from the early Ming dynasty, who is often regarded as the greatest admiral in History of China, Chinese history. Born into a Muslims, Muslim famil ...

is a small fishing community and contains East Africa's first marine national park, the

Watamu Marine National Park Watamu Marine National Park and Reserve is located in Kenya. Established in 1968, it was one of Kenya's first marine parks. It is located about north of Mombasa, Kenya's second largest city. Its coral gardens are from the shore and are home ...

Population data

The Coast Provinces had a population of 3,325,307 in 2009.

Climate

The climate is designated as Aw in the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system.

Economy

Mining

Kwale mine The Kwale mine is one of the largest titanium mines in Kenya. The mine is located in the Coast Province. The mine has reserves amounting to 140.8 million tonnes of ore grading 6% titanium Titanium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ti and ...

Separatism

In 1999, the Mombasa Republican Council was formed, with the goal of engineering the Coast Province's secession from Kenya.

Dissolution

In 2010, a new constitution came into effect which divided Kenya's 8 provinces into 47 counties. The Coast Province was divided into six:

Kwale Kwale is a small town in Mombasa and the capital of Kwale County, Kenya. It is located at ; 30 km southwest of Mombasa and 15 km inland. The town had an urban population of 10,063 (2019 census). It is next to the Shimba Hills Nation ...

, Tana River,

, and Taita–Taveta counties.

Villages and settlements (A-L)

* Arabuko * Bengoni * Boma Upande * Bubesa * Busho *

Chanani The Coast Province () was one of Kenya's eight provinces prior to 2010. It covered the entire country's coastline on the Indian Ocean. Its capital city was Mombasa. It was inhabited by the Mijikenda and Swahili peoples, among others. The provinc ...

* Chengo * Chevani *

Dambale The Coast Province () was one of Kenya's eight provinces prior to 2010. It covered the entire country's coastline on the Indian Ocean. Its capital city was Mombasa. It was inhabited by the Mijikenda and Swahili peoples, among others. The provinc ...

* Dida Waredi * Dungich * Fanjua * Galamani *

Galanema The Coast Province () was one of Kenya's eight Provinces of Kenya, provinces prior to 2010. It covered the entire country's coastline on the Indian Ocean. Its capital city was Mombasa. It was inhabited by the Mijikenda peoples, Mijikenda and Swah ...

* Ganzoni * Gasi * Gifyonzo * Gogoni * Golbanti * Handampia * Hewani * Jiweni * Kabiboni * Kabieni * Kadzeweni * Kadzinuni *

Kaembekaesha The Coast Province () was one of Kenya's eight provinces prior to 2010. It covered the entire country's coastline on the Indian Ocean. Its capital city was Mombasa. It was inhabited by the Mijikenda and Swahili peoples, among others. The provinc ...

* Kajire * Kakomani * Kakoneni * Kakya * Kalaluwe * Kalota * Kamale * Kamleza * Kampi ya Kerengenzi * Kanjonja * Kasidi * Kaufumbani * Kavuluni * Kesanguri * Kibaya * Kiangwe * Kibandaongo * Kibirikani * Kibuguni *

Kichangalaweni The Coast Province () was one of Kenya's eight provinces prior to 2010. It covered the entire country's coastline on the Indian Ocean. Its capital city was Mombasa. It was inhabited by the Mijikenda and Swahili peoples, among others. The province ...

Kidomaya The Coast Province () was one of Kenya's eight provinces prior to 2010. It covered the entire country's coastline on the Indian Ocean. Its capital city was Mombasa. It was inhabited by the Mijikenda and Swahili peoples, among others. The provinc ...

Kiduluni The Coast Province () was one of Kenya's eight provinces prior to 2010. It covered the entire country's coastline on the Indian Ocean. Its capital city was Mombasa. It was inhabited by the Mijikenda and Swahili peoples, among others. The provinc ...

* Kiduruni *

Kidutani The Coast Province () was one of Kenya's eight provinces prior to 2010. It covered the entire country's coastline on the Indian Ocean. Its capital city was Mombasa. It was inhabited by the Mijikenda and Swahili peoples, among others. The provinc ...

* Kidzumo * Kiembekesha * Kifumbu * Kigato * Kigomberu * Kigombo * Kijangwani * Kijinitini * Kijipoa * Kiko Koni * Kikomani * Kikuyuni * Kikwezani * Kilibasi * Kililana * Kilole * Kilweni * Kimara Maganga * Kinagoni * Kinane * Kinarane * Kindunguni * Kinyadu * Kipendi * Kipungani * Kipusi * Kirewe * Kirumbi * Kirwilu * Kisaoni * Kisibu * Kisimachande * Kitere * Kitsantse * Kituu * Kiviogo * Kombo Kombo * Kongona * Kulelet * Kulesa * Kuruwetu * Kusitawi * Kwa Bechombo * Kwa Bwana Keri * Kwa Dadu * Kwa Mkamba * Kwademu * Kwaringoi * Lazima * Lenda, Kenya * Lukongo

Villages and settlements (M-Z)

* Mabatani * Madabogo * Maduma * Mafigani *

* Magunguni * Mahuruni * Majego * Majoreni * Majunguni * Makere * Makere ya Gwano * Makinyambu * Makobeni * Makondeni * Makongani * Makumbwani * Maledi * Malibati * Malka Jara * Mambore * Mambosasa * Manamare * Manyeso * Mapfanga * Mapotea * Mararui * Maranu * Mararani * Marigiza * Mariwinyi * Marongo * Maruvesa * Mashanda * Mashundwani * Massalani * Matapani * Matironi * Matolani * Maweu * Mbajumali * Mbaoni * Mbonea * Mbuji * Mbunboni * Mbwara Maganga * Mdzimure * Mdundonyi * Mgamboni * Mguya * Midoina * Mienzeni * Mikuani * Milalani * Milinga * Minjila * Mirarani * Misageni *

Misaroni The Coast Province () was one of Kenya's eight provinces prior to 2010. It covered the entire country's coastline on the Indian Ocean. Its capital city was Mombasa. It was inhabited by the Mijikenda and Swahili peoples, among others. The provinc ...

* Mitsolokani * Mizijini * Mkambini * Mkokoni * Mkomaniboi * Mkomba * Mkondo wa Simiti * Mkuluni * Mlegwa * Mlimani * Mnazi Moja * Mnazinia * Mnyenzeni * Mrangi * Mrugua * Msabaha *

Msangatifu The Coast Province () was one of Kenya's eight provinces prior to 2010. It covered the entire country's coastline on the Indian Ocean. Its capital city was Mombasa. It was inhabited by the Mijikenda and Swahili peoples, among others. The provinc ...

* Msuakini * Mteza * Mto Panga * Mtungi * Mudomo * Mugome * Muhaka Mbavu * Mukunguni * Mulemwa * Muliloni * Mulunguni * Munguvini * Muritu * Mutuli * Mvindeni * Mvuleni * Mwabani * Mwabaya Nyundo * Mwabila * Mwachirunge Bomu * Mwachirunje ya Pwani * Mwaembe * Mwaga * Mwaketutu * Mwakunde * Mwalili * Mwambiri * Mwamkuchi * Mwana Mwinga * Mwanachini * Mwanathumba * Mwandoni * Mwangoni * Mwangulu * Mwanyora * Mwakinyungu * Mwarungu * Mwazare * Mwazi * Mweza * Mwogahendi * Myabogi * Nasibu * Ndile * Ndome *

Ngambinyi The Coast Province () was one of Kenya's eight provinces prior to 2010. It covered the entire country's coastline on the Indian Ocean. Its capital city was Mombasa. It was inhabited by the Mijikenda and Swahili peoples, among others. The provinc ...

* Ngombani * Nguruweni * Ngutuni * Ngwaru * Ngwena * Njele * Nkunumbi * Nyalani * Nyambogi * Nyangwani * Rhoka * Ria Kalui * Safarisi * Saidibabo * Sailoni * Samicha * Samikaro * Selaloni * Semandaro * Sendeni * Shakadula * Shambini * Shambweni * Shelemba * Sungululu * Takwa Milinga * Thuva * Tindini * Waldena * Yedi

References

{{Authority control Provinces of Kenya Former provinces 2013 disestablishments in Kenya