Laikipia County

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

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]

Laikipia County
County
Flag Coat of arms
Location in Kenya
Country	Kenya
Formed	4 March 2013
Capital	Rumuruti
Government
• Governor	Joshua Irungu
Area
• Total	8,696.1 km2 (3,357.6 sq mi)
Population  (2019)
• Total	518,560[1]
Time zone	UTC+3 (EAT)
Website	laikipia.go.ke

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

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

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

Administrative units

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

Sub-counties

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

Source^[8]

Electoral constituencies

• Laikipia East Constituency
• Laikipia West Constituency
• Laikipia North Constituency

Source^[9]

Political leadership

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)

• Hon. Mwangi Kiunjuri Laikipia East Constituency of the Service Party
• Hon. Wachira Karani of United Democratic Alliance Member of Parliament Laikipia West Constituency
• Hon. Korere, Sarah Paulata^[15] of Jubilee Party Member of Parliament Laikipia North Constituency.^[16]

Education

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

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

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

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:

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: , ,

The county has three constituencies:

• Laikipia North Constituency
• Laikipia West Constituency
• Laikipia East Constituency

Population

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
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

• Marmanet
• Samburu County
• Isiolo County
• Meru County
• Nyeri County
• Nyandarua County
• Nakuru County
• Baringo County

External links

• www.laikipia.org
• Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs – Kenya AdminLevels 1-4
• Laikipia County County Integrated Development Plan

References

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. "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

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