Laikipia County is one of the 47

counties of Kenya The counties of Kenya () are geographical units created by the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 Constitution of Kenya as the new units of devolution, devolved government. They replaced the previous Provinces of Kenya, provincial system. The establ ...

, located on the

Equator The equator is the circle of latitude that divides Earth into the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Southern Hemisphere, Southern Hemispheres of Earth, hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, about in circumferen ...

in the former

Rift Valley Province Rift Valley Province () of Kenya, bordering Uganda, was one of Kenya's eight provinces, before the 2013 Kenyan general election. Rift Valley Province was the largest and one of the most economically important provinces in Kenya. It was dominated ...

. Laikipia is a cosmopolitan county and is listed as county number 31. The county has two major urban centres:

Nanyuki Nanyuki is a market town in Laikipia County of Kenya lying northwest of Mount Kenya along the A2 road (Kenya), A2 road and at the terminus of the branch railway from Nairobi. The name is derived from Enyaanyukie Maasai word for resemblance. It ...

to the southeast, and

Nyahururu Nyahururu (formerly known as Thomson Falls) is a town in Kenya, lying north east of Nakuru. The town derives its name from the Maasai word e-naiwurruwurr, meaning waterfall or windy or place of storms. It is located in both Laikipia County and ...

to the southwest. Its county government headquarters town is

Rumuruti Rumuruti is a town in Laikipia County in Kenya's former Rift Valley Province. It is approximately 40 kilometers due north of Nyahururu, on the Nyahururu- Maralal road ( A4). Despite being smaller than either Nanyuki or Nyahururu, which are on the ...

. 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 Isiolo County is a county in the former Eastern Province of Kenya. Its population was 268,002 according to 2019 census. The capital and largest town in the county is Isiolo. Isiolo County is set to be the first county to be developed as part ...

to the north east, Meru County to the east,

Nyeri County Nyeri County is a county located in the central region of Kenya. Its capital and largest town is Nyeri. It had a population of 759,164 according to the 2019 census and an area of 2361 km2. Mutahi Kahiga was governor . Previous governors in ...

to the south east,

Nyandarua County Nyandarua County is a county in the former Central Province of Kenya, with its capital and largest town being Ol Kalou. Formerly, the capital was Nyahururu, which is now part of Laikipia County. Nyandarua County had a population of 596,268 ...

to the south,

Nakuru County Nakuru County is a county in Kenya. It is county number 32 out of the 47 Kenyan counties. Nakuru County is a host to Kenya's Fourth City – Nakuru City. On 1 December 2021, President Uhuru Kenyatta awarded a City Charter status to Nakuru, ran ...

to the south west and

Baringo County Baringo County is one of the 47 Counties of Kenya, counties in Kenya. It is located in the former Rift Valley Province. Its headquarters and largest town is Kabarnet. The county is home to Lake Baringo, Lake Bogoria and Lake Kamnarok. Geographi ...

to the west. Economic activities in the county consists mainly of

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

and

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

, 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.

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.

Religion

Religion in Laikipia County

Administrative and political units

Administrative units

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

Sub-counties

* Laikipia Central * Laikipia East * Laikipia North * Laikipia West * Nyahururu * Kirima (newly created) Source

Electoral constituencies

Laikipia East Constituency Laikipia East Constituency is an Constituencies of Kenya, electoral constituency in Kenya. It is one of three constituencies in Laikipia County, in the former Rift Valley Province. The constituency was established for the 1966 elections. Members ...

* Laikipia West Constituency *

Laikipia North Constituency Laikipia North (sub-county) is a constituency in Kenya. It is one of three constituencies in Laikipia County Laikipia County is one of the 47 counties of Kenya, located on the Equator in the former Rift Valley Province. Laikipia is a cosmopo ...

Source

Political leadership

Joshua Irungu is the current governor, serving his second and final term as governor. He returned after governor Ndiritu Muriithi defeated him in the 2017 general elections. 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. Jane Kagiri was elected women representative for the county in 2022. For Laikipia County, the County Executive Committee comprises: Source

Members of Parliament 2022-2027 (Laikipia County)

* Hon. Mwangi Kiunjuri

of the Service Party * Hon. Wachira Karani of United Democratic Alliance Member of Parliament Laikipia West Constituency * Hon. Korere, Sarah Paulata of Jubilee Party Member of Parliament

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.

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. The HIV prevalence rate stands at 3.2 per cent.

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

Administrative divisions

The county has three constituencies: *