Laikipia County

"Laikipia" redirects here. For other uses, see Laikipia (disambiguation).

Laikipia County
County
Flag of Laikipia County
Flag
Coat of arms of Laikipia County
Coat of arms
Location in Kenya
Location in Kenya
Country Kenya
Formed4 March 2013
CapitalRumuruti
Government
 • GovernorJoshua Irungu
Area
 • Total
8,696.1 km2 (3,357.6 sq mi)
Population
 (2019)
 • Total
518,560[1]
Time zoneUTC+3 (EAT)
Websitelaikipia.go.ke

Laikipia County is one of the 47 counties of Kenya, located on the Equator in the former Rift Valley Province. Laikipia is a cosmopolitan county and is listed as county number 31. The county has two major urban centres: Nanyuki to the southeast, and Nyahururu to the southwest. Its county government headquarters town is Rumuruti.[2]

The county lies between latitudes 0° 18" South and 0° 51" North and between longitudes 36° 11" and 37° 24' East. It borders Samburu County to the north, Isiolo County to the north east, Meru County to the east, Nyeri County to the south east, Nyandarua County to the south, Nakuru County to the south west and Baringo County to the west.[3]

Economic activities in the county consists mainly of tourism and agriculture, chiefly grain crops, ranching and greenhouse horticulture.

The county encompasses the high, dry Laikipia Plateau, and has a cool, temperate climate with both rainy and dry seasons.[4]

Demographics

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Laikipia County has a total population of 518,560, of whom 259,440 are males, 259,102 females and 18 intersex persons. There are 149,271 households with an average household size of 3.4 persons per household and a population density of 54 people per square kilometre.[5]

Religion

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Religion in Laikipia County [6]

Religion (2019 Census) Number
Catholicism 147,752
Protestant 152,699
Evangelical Churches 108,701
African Instituted Churches 35,236
Orthodox 1,648
Other Christian 27,854
Islam 8,475
Hindu 205
Traditionists 7,127
Other 7,238
No religion/atheism 15,695
Don't know 1,221
Not stated 28

Administrative and political units

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Administrative units

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There are five sub-counties, fifteen county assembly wards, and 52 locations.[7]

Sub-counties

[edit]
  • Laikipia Central
  • Laikipia East
  • Laikipia North
  • Laikipia West
  • Nyahururu
  • Kirima (newly created)

Source[8]

Electoral constituencies

[edit]

Source[9]

Political leadership

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Joshua Irungu is the current governor,[when?] serving his second and final term as governor. He returned after governor Ndiritu Muriithi defeated him in the 2017 general elections.[10][11] He is deputised by Reuben Kamuri, the current Deputy Governor, after Irungu did not run a second time with his previous deputy governor Gitonga Kabugi. John Kinyua Nderitu is the senator. He has been in office since 2017, replacing the first senator, Godfrey Gitahi Kariuki.[12][13] Jane Kagiri was elected women representative for the county in 2022.

For Laikipia County, the County Executive Committee comprises:

County Executive Committee
Number
Governor 1
Deputy Governor 1
County Secretary 1
CEC Members 6
Total 9

Source[14]

Members of Parliament 2022-2027 (Laikipia County)

[edit]

Education

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There are 600 ECD centres, 304 primary schools and 99 secondary schools. The county has also four teachers' training colleges, nine youth polytechnics, 94 adult training institutions and two universities.[17][18]

Health

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There are a total of 175 health facilities in the county, with three county referral hospitals, 10 sub-county hospitals, 21 health centers and 141 dispensaries. The county has 1024 health personnel of different cadre.[19] The HIV prevalence rate stands at 3.2 per cent.[20]

Transport and communication

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The county is covered by 1112.2 km of road network. Of this, 77.0 km is covered by earth surface, 705.5 km is murram surface and 319.7 km is covered by bitumen.[21][22]

There are 19 post offices with 2,299 installed letter boxes, 2,079 rented letter boxes and 220 vacant letter boxes.[8]

Administrative divisions

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Urban areas
Authority Type Population*
Nanyuki Municipality 56,421
Nyahururu Municipality 58,943
Rumuruti Town 37,810
Kinamba County 2,658
Total - 155,832
* Laikipia CIDP 2015 projections. Source: [1]
Administrative divisions
Division Population* Urban pop.* Headquarters
Central 77,478 28,489 Nanyuki
Lamuria 38,517 0 Lamuria
Mukogondo 13,176 624 Dol Dol
Ngarua 65,545 2,813 Kinamba
Nyahururu 37,412 22,459 Nyahururu
Olmoran 11,069 0
Rumuruti 78,894 4,061 Rumuruti
Total 322,187 58,466 -
* 1999 census. Sources: [2], [3],

The county has three constituencies:

Population

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Historical population
YearPop.±%
1979 134,524—    
1989 218,957+62.8%
1999 322,187+47.1%
2009 399,227+23.9%
2019 518,560+29.9%
source:[23]

See also

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[edit]

References

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  1. ^ "Kenya Census 2009 | PDF | Census | Waste Management".
  2. ^ MUNYEKI, JAMES. "Laikipia county headquaters [sic] to be moved to Rumuruti". The Standard. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  3. ^ Laikipia County Integrated Development Plan CIDP 2018-2022. Laikipia County Government. 2018. p. 13.
  4. ^ Laikipia, County Government of. "Living in Laikipia". County Government of Laikipia. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  5. ^ 2019 Kenya Population and House Census: Volume 1- Population by County and Sub-county. Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. 2019. pp. 17, 19, 20. ISBN 9789966102096.
  6. ^ "2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census Volume IV: Distribution of Population by Socio-Economic Characteristics" (PDF). Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  7. ^ interior_admin. "Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government". interior.go.ke. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  8. ^ a b "Publications". Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  9. ^ "The Report of the Interim Independent Boundaries Review Commission (IIBRC): Delimitation of Constituencies and Recommendations on Local Authority Electoral Units and Administrative Boundaries for Districts and Other Units" (PDF). IEBC. 2010. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  10. ^ "Governors & Deputy Governors". cog.go.ke. Archived from the original on 27 July 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  11. ^ "Ndiritu Muriithi". Mzalendo. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  12. ^ "Members of the Senate | The Kenyan Parliament Website". parliament.go.ke. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  13. ^ "John Kinyua Nderitu". Mzalendo. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  14. ^ "179. County executive committees – Kenya Law Reform Commission (KLRC)". klrc.go.ke. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  15. ^ "Sara Paulata Korere". Mzalendo. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  16. ^ "Hon. Korere, Sarah Paulata | The Kenyan Parliament Website". parliament.go.ke. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  17. ^ Laikipia, County Government of. "Education & Social Development". County Government of Laikipia. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  18. ^ County Statistical Abstract Laikipia County 2015. Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. 2015. pp. 26, 27, 28, 29.
  19. ^ "Laikipia County Statistical Abstract 2023".
  20. ^ "Kenya HIV Estimates Report 2018" (PDF). National AIDS Control Council. 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  21. ^ "Kenya Rural Roads Authority". kerra.go.ke. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  22. ^ "Kenya Urban Roads Authority". kura.go.ke. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  23. ^ KENYA: Administrative Division population statistics

0°5′N 36°40′E / 0.083°N 36.667°E / 0.083; 36.667

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