Counties of Kenya

Counties of Kenya Kaunti za Kenya (Swahili)
Category	Semi-devolved state
Location	Republic of Kenya
Number	47 counties
Government	County Government, Government of Kenya
Subdivisions	Sub-Counties

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The Counties of Kenya (Swahili: Kaunti za Kenya) are geographical units created by the 2010 Constitution of Kenya as the new units of devolved government. They replaced the previous provincial system.^[1] The establishment and executive powers of the counties is provided in Chapter Eleven of the Constitution on devolved government, the Constitution's Fourth Schedule and any other legislation passed by the Senate of Kenya concerning counties. The counties are also single-member constituencies which elect members of the Senate,^[2] and special woman members to the National Assembly.^[3]

As of 2022, there were 47 counties whose size and boundaries were based on 1992 districts. Following the re-organization of Kenya's national administration, counties were integrated into a new national administration with the national government posting a county commissioner to each county to serve as a collaborative link with national government.^[4]

County governments were established in all 47 counties^[5] after the general elections in March 2013. The counties' names are set out in the First Schedule of the Constitution.

Under the new constitution, Kenya is now divided into 47 counties for administrative purposes. They are grouped below according to the former province they were separated from, with their areas and populations as of the 2009^[6] and the 2019 census:^[7]

Code	County	Former Province	Area (km2)	Population (2009 Census)	Population (2019 Census)	Capital	Postal Abbreviations
1	Mombasa	Coast	212.5	939,370	1,208,333	Mombasa	MSA
2	Kwale	Coast	8,270.3	649,931	866,820	Kwale	KWL
3	Kilifi	Coast	12,245.9	1,109,735	1,453,787	Kilifi	KLF
4	Tana River	Coast	35,375.8	240,075	315,943	Hola	TRV
5	Lamu	Coast	6,497.7	101,539	143,920	Lamu	LMU
6	Taita–Taveta	Coast	17,083.9	284,657	340,671	Wundanyi	TVT
7	Garissa	North Eastern	45,720.2	623,060	841,353	Garissa	GRS
8	Wajir	North Eastern	55,840.6	661,941	781,263	Wajir	WJR
9	Mandera	North Eastern	25,797.7	1,025,756	867,457	Mandera	MDR
10	Marsabit	Eastern	66,923.1	291,166	459,785	Marsabit	MRS
11	Isiolo	Eastern	25,336.1	143,294	268,002	Isiolo	ISL
12	Meru	Eastern	7,003.1	1,356,301	1,545,714	Meru	MRU
13	Tharaka-Nithi	Eastern	2,609.5	365,330	393,177	Kathwana	TNT
14	Embu	Eastern	2,555.9	516,212	608,599	Embu	EMB
15	Kitui	Eastern	24,385.1	1,012,709	1,136,187	Kitui	KTU
16	Machakos	Eastern	5,952.9	1,098,584	1,421,932	Machakos	MCK
17	Makueni	Eastern	8,008.9	884,527	987,653	Wote	MKN
18	Nyandarua	Central	3,107.7	596,268	638,289	Ol Kalou	NDR
19	Nyeri	Central	2,361.0	693,558	759,164	Nyeri	NYR
20	Kirinyaga	Central	1,205.4	528,054	610,411	Kerugoya	KRG
21	Murang'a	Central	2,325.8	942,581	1,056,640	Murang'a	MRG
22	Kiambu	Central	2,449.2	1,623,282	2,417,735	Kiambu	KMB
23	Turkana	Rift Valley	98,597.8	1,100,399	1,504,976	Lodwar	TRK
24	West Pokot	Rift Valley	8,418.2	512,690	621,241	Kapenguria	WPK
25	Samburu	Rift Valley	20,182.5	223,947	310,327	Maralal	SBR
26	Trans-Nzoia	Rift Valley	2,469.9	818,757	990,341	Kitale	TNZ
27	Uasin Gishu	Rift Valley	2,955.3	894,179	1,163,186	Eldoret	UGS
28	Elgeyo-Marakwet	Rift Valley	3,049.7	369,998	454,480	Iten	EMK
29	Nandi	Rift Valley	2,884.5	752,965	885,711	Kapsabet	NDI
30	Baringo	Rift Valley	11,075.3	555,561	666,763	Kabarnet	BRG
31	Laikipia	Rift Valley	8,696.1	399,227	518,560	Rumuruti	LKP
32	Nakuru	Rift Valley	7,509.5	1,603,325	2,162,202	Nakuru[8][9]	NKR
33	Narok	Rift Valley	17,921.2	850,920	1,157,873	Narok	NRK
34	Kajiado	Rift Valley	21,292.7	687,312	1,117,840	Kajiado	KJD
35	Kericho	Rift Valley	2,454.5	752,396	901,777	Kericho	KRC
36	Bomet	Rift Valley	1,997.9	730,129	875,689	Bomet	BMT
37	Kakamega	Western	3,033.8	1,660,651	1,867,579	Kakamega	KKG
38	Vihiga	Western	531.3	554,622	590,013	Mbale	VHG
39	Bungoma	Western	2,206.9	1,375,063	1,670,570	Bungoma	BGM
40	Busia	Western	1,628.4	743,946	893,681	Busia	BSA
41	Siaya	Nyanza	2,496.1	842,304	993,183	Siaya	SYA
42	Kisumu	Nyanza	2,009.5	968,909	1,155,574	Kisumu	KSM
43	Homa Bay	Nyanza	3,154.7	963,794	1,131,950	Homa Bay	HBY
44	Migori	Nyanza	2,586.4	917,170	1,116,436	Migori	MGR
45	Kisii	Nyanza	1,317.9	1,152,282	1,266,860	Kisii	KSI
46	Nyamira	Nyanza	912.5	598,252	605,576	Nyamira	NMR
47	Nairobi	Nairobi	694.9	3,138,369	4,397,073	Nairobi	NBI
			581,309.0	38,610,997	47,564,296	Nairobi

County governments are responsible for county legislation (outlined in article 185 of the Constitution of Kenya), executive functions (outlined in article 183), functions outlined in the fourth schedule of the constitution of Kenya, functions transferred from the national government through article 187 of the constitution of Kenya, functions agreed upon with other counties under article 189(2) of the constitution of Kenya, and establishment and staffing of a public service (under article 235 of the Constitution of Kenya).^[10] The functions of governments assigned to counties by the fourth schedule of the Constitution of Kenya are:^[11]

• Crop and animal husbandry
• Livestock sale yards
• County abattoirs (slaughterhouses)
• Plant and animal disease control
• Fisheries
• Kishada

• County health facilities and pharmacies
• Ambulance services
• Promotion of primary health care
• Licensing and control of undertakings that sell food to the public
• Veterinary services (excluding regulation of the profession)
• Cemeteries, funeral parlors and crematoria
• Refuse removal, refuse dumps and solid waste disposal.
• Food distribution and Free services for pregnant mothers

• Control of air pollution, noise pollution, other public nuisances and outdoor advertising

• Betting, casinos and other forms of gambling
• Racing
• Liquor licensing
• Cinemas
• Video shows and hiring
• Libraries
• Museums
• Sports and cultural activities and facilities
• County parks, beaches and recreation facilities
• Ice skating
• Sport fishing
• Golf
• Horse racing
• Rugby
• soccer

• County roads
• Street lighting
• Traffic and parking
• Public road transport
• Ferries and harbors, excluding the regulation of international and national shipping and matters related thereto
• SGR- Madaraka Express (modern railway experience).^[12]

• Markets
• Trade licenses, excluding regulation of professions
• Fair trading practices
• Local tourism
• Cooperative societies

• Statistics
• Land surveying, planning and mapping of resources
• Boundaries and fencing
• Housing
• Electricity and gas reticulation and energy regulation

• Pre-primary education, village polytechnics, homecraft center's and childcare facilities
• Adult education and national exam registration for the same.

• Implementation of specific national government policies on natural resources and environmental conservation
• Soil and water conservation
• Forestry

• Stormwater management systems in built-up areas
• Water and sanitation services

Counties are mandated by the 2010 constitution of Kenya to enact legislation and laws that ensures management and controls of fire fighting.

• Ensuring and coordinating the participation of communities and locations in governance at the local level
• Assisting communities and locations to develop the administrative capacity for the effective exercise of the functions and powers and participation in governance at the local level

The county governor and the deputy county governor are the chief executive and deputy chief executive of the county, respectively.^[13] The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission^[14] shall not conduct a separate election for the deputy governor but shall declare the running mate of the person who is elected county governor to have been elected as the deputy governor.^[15] Each county will be run by an executive committee, consisting of:

• A governor, elected directly by the people
• A deputy, elected as running mate of the successful candidate for governorship
• A number of committee members not exceeding a third (or ten where a county assembly has more than 30 members) of the members of the respective county assembly
• A county secretary,^[16] nominated by the governor and approved by the county assembly, who will double up as head of the county public service, and secretary to the county executive committee^[17]

Uniquely among democracies, Kenyan law requires governors to have a recognised university degree.^[18]

The counties each have an assembly^[19] whose members are elected from single-member constituencies known as wards.^[20] There may also be a number of nominated members as is necessary to ensure that neither male nor female members constitute more than two-thirds of the assembly.^[21] There will also be six nominated members to represent marginalised groups (persons with disabilities, and the youth) and a county assembly speaker who will be an ex officio member of the assembly.^[22]

• List of counties of Kenya by population
• List of counties of Kenya by GDP
• List of counties of Kenya by poverty rate
• Provinces of Kenya
• Kenyan general election, 2013
• ISO 3166-2:KE

• Kenya county websites
• OpenData Tharaka-Nithi