Mombasa

Consolidated city-county
	City and County of Mombasa
	Coordinates: 4°03′S 39°40′E / 4.050°S 39.667°ECoordinates: 4°03′S 39°40′E / 4.050°S 39.667°E
Country	Kenya
County	Mombasa County
Founded	900 A.D.
Area
• Land	219.9 km2 (84.9 sq mi)
Elevation	50 m (160 ft)
Population (2019)
• Urban	1,208,333
• Metro	3,528,940
Time zone	UTC+3 (EAT)
Website	mombasa.go.ke

Mombasa is the second largest city in Kenya; about 1.3 million people live there. It is a major port city, and has an international airport.

Mombasa has a tropical savanna climate (As in the Köppen climate classification). Mombasa is a tourism-based city.

Geography

Map of Mombasa's extent.

Mombasa is a coastal town with flat topography. The town of Mombasa is centred on Mombasa Island, but extends to the mainland. The island is separated from the mainland by two creeks.

Demography

Downtown Mombasa

Mombasa city has a population of 1,208,333^[1] in 2019.

Mombasa has a cosmopolitan population, with the Swahili people and Mijikenda predominant. Other communities include the Akamba and Taita Bantus as well as a significant population of Luo and Luhya peoples from Western Kenya. The major religions practised in the city are Islam, Christianity and Hinduism.^[2] Over the centuries, many immigrants and traders have settled in Mombasa, particularly from the Middle East, Somalia, and India.

Economy

Mombasa is a centre of coastal tourism in Kenya. Many people visit the Old Town and Fort Jesus.

Mombasa is a major trade centre and home of large seaport. The Kenyan Dock Worker's Union is in Mombasa and has 5,000 members.^[3] Other local industries include an oil refinery with a capacity of 80,000 barrels (13 ML) a day,^[4] and a cement factory capable of producing over 1.1 million tons per year.^[5]

Transport

Moi International Airport serves the city of Mombasa. Flights to Nairobi and other Kenyan, European and Middle Eastern destinations depart from the airport each day.

Mombasa currently has a modern railway station that replaced the century-old station built by the British. Kenya Railways transports passengers and cargo between Nairobi to Mombasa. The journey takes approximately five hours between the two cities.

Mombasa's port is the largest in East Africa, with two oil terminals.^[6]

In popular culture

In the film Out of Africa, Mombasa is the train destination as the seaport for voyages to Europe via the Suez Canal.

One-Way Ticket to Mombasa (Menolippu Mombasaan) is a 2002 Finnish film directed by Hannu Tuomainen.^[7]

In the Indian movie Mr. India, Mombasa is mentioned in the popular song "Hawa Hawaii".^[8]

Mombasa is featured in the 2010 movie, Inception, where Cobb meets Eames and Yusuf before the job takes place.

Most of the events in the 2017 story "Consummation in Mombasa" (by Andrei Gusev) take place in Mombasa and in the nearest district Mtwapa.^[9]^[10]

In the US, the Walt Disney World resort recreated a Kenyan village in the Africa section of the Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park named "Harambe", which is modelled after Mombasa. The village features a store called the "Mombasa Marketplace".^[11]

Mombasa Media

Mombasa was under Portuguese rule from 1593 to 1698 and again from 1728 to 1729. Portuguese presence in Kenya lasted from 1498 until 1730.
C. 1953 – A newly constructed East African Railways Beyer Garratt locomotive being unloaded at Mombasa
Mombasa CBD.jpg

MombasaCBD
Renovated Mama Ngina Drive
Tudor, Mombasa
Moonlight view from Mombasa
Old Town across Mombasa Harbour
Seafront of Nyali Beach, north coast (from the Voyager Resort).