Muranga County

Introduction

Murang’a County is located in Central Kenya and had a total population of 1,124,000 people in 2024. According to the 2019 census, Murang’a had a total population of 1,056,640, comprising 318,105 households.

The county had an average household size of 3.3 people per household. Murang'a County has a total land area of 2,524.2 square kilometers and a population density of 419 people per square kilometer.

Murang'a is bordered to the North by Nyeri County, the North East by Kirinyaga County, the East by Embu and Machakos, the South by Kiambu, and the West by Nyandarua County.

Murang’a has nine sub-counties: Murang’a East, Kangema, Mathioya, Kahuro, Murang’a South, Gatanga, Kigumo, Kanadara, and Aberdare Forest. 

Murang’a County Economy

Murang'a County had a Gross County Product at current prices of Ksh 247.6 billion between 2018 and 2022, representing an average county contribution to Gross Value Added of 2% in the same period.

Murang'a County's average contribution to agriculture, forestry, and fishing activities was 4.1%. The county's contribution to manufacturing activities was 1%, while its contribution to service activities was 1.3%.

Murang’a County had a Gross County Product per capita of Ksh 225,007 in 2022.

Poverty Rates

Murang’a County's overall headcount poverty rate was 26.7% in 2022, with an estimated 286,000 people living in poverty. Kenya’s overall poverty rate in the same year was 38.6%.

Murang’a also had a hardcore poverty rate of 3.7%, lower than the country’s hardcore poverty rate of 5.8%. The estimated number of people living in extreme poverty in Murang’a County in 2021 was 40,000. 

The estimated food poverty rate of Murang'a County in 2021 was 22.6%, compared to 30.5% nationally in the same year. The estimated number of people living in food poverty in Murang'a County was 243,000.

The map below shows the distribution of poverty by constituency in Murang’a County in 2019: Gatanga 12%, Kandara 17.8%, Kangema 20%, Kigumo 18.9%, Kiharu 22.3%, Maragwa 24.8%, and Mathioya 18.7%.

The mean monthly food and non-food expenditures in Murang'a County in 2021 were Ksh 3,695 and Ksh 3,333, respectively. The share of food expenditures in Murang'a was 59.1%, while the share of expenditures on non-food items was 40.9%. 

The major source of household food consumption in Murang’a County was 72.7% purchase or stock, 21.7% own production, and 5.7% gifts. 

The mean and median per adult equivalent consumption expenditure in Murang'a County 2021 was Ksh 7,028 and Ksh 5,739, respectively.

Murang’a County Demographics

Murang'a's total population was 1,056,640 in 2019, comprising 523,940 males, 532,669 females, and 31 intersex. Murang'a had median age of 24 years in 2019.

The table below shows the population distribution in Murang'a by sub-county and sex.

Marital Status

The percent distribution of women aged 12 and above in Murang'a County who were never married in 2019 was 34.1%, while those who were married monogamously was 51.2%. On the other hand, the percentage of women in polygamous unions was 0.5%, while the widowed were 9.4%. The divorced and separated in Murang'a County in 2019 were 1% and 3.8%, respectively.

Among men aged 12 and above in Murang'a, the % who were never married in 2019 was 45.1%, while those married monogamously were 47.5%. The share of men in polygamous unions was 0.8%, while those who were widowed were 1.8%. The percentage of the divorced and separated in Murang'a was 0.9% and 3.9%, respectively, in 2019.

According to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022, the median age at first marriage among women aged 25-49 in Murang'a County was 21.9 years, while the median age at first marriage among men aged 30-54 in 2022 was 25.1 years.

Polygyny

The percentage of married women aged 15-49 in Murang’a County who had one or more co-wives in 2022 was 8.4%. The share of married women in the county without co-wives was 91.2%, while those with a single co-wife was 7.4%. The share of women with more than two co-wives was 1%.

Among married men aged 15-49 in Murang'a County, the percentage with more than two wives was 4.8%, while the share with only one wife was 95.2% in 2022.

Marriage Registration

The % of currently married women aged 15-49 whose marriage was registered with the civil authorities in Murang'a County was 17.8%. Those whose current marriage was registered with the civil authority and with a marriage certificate were 10.6%.

Teenage Marriages

The proportion of married males aged 12-15 in Murang'a County was 3%. In comparison, the proportion of married females in the same age group was 3.2%. In females aged 12-18 in Murang'a, the proportion that was married in 2019 was 4.5%.

The rate of teenage pregnancies in Murang’a County, comprising of women aged 15-19 who have ever been pregnant, was 7.4% in 2022.

Total Fertility Rate

Murang'a County had a Total Fertility Rate of 3.2 births per woman in 2019, a 4.8% decline from 3.4 births per woman in 2009. Kenya's total fertility rate in 2019 was 3.4 births per woman in 2019, a drop of 28.6% from 4.8 births per woman in 2009.

Murang’a had a total youth (15-24) fertility rate of one birth per woman, similar to Kenya’s youth fertility rate of one birth per woman in 2019.

Murang'a County had a Crude Birth Rate of 21.9 births per 1,000 population in 2019, a decline of 6.6% from a crude birth rate of 23.5 births per 1,000 population in 2009. Kenya's Crude Birth Rate in 2019 was 27.9 births per 1,000 population, a decline of 27.2% from 38.4 births per 1,000 population in 2009.

Place of Birth and Notification Status

The share of recent births in Murang'a County that occurred in a health facility in 2019 was 95.5%, while those in a non-health facility were 4.5%. Overall, the share of births in Kenya that occurred in a health facility in 2019 was 85.8%, while those that did not occur in health facilities were 14%. 

The share of recent births in Murang'a County that were notified in 2019 was 97.9%, while those that were not notified were 2.1%. Nationally, the share of recent births that were notified in Kenya was 90.4%, while those that were not were 9.3% in 2019.

Place of Death and Notification Status

In 2019, 60.3% of deaths in Murang’a County occurred in a health facility, while 39.6% occurred in the community. In Kenya, 59% of deaths in 2019 occurred in a health facility, while 40% did not occur in a health facility.

The share of deaths in Murang’a County that were notified in 2019 was 97.3%. Overall, the share of deaths that were notified in Kenya in 2019 was 85.6%.

Murang’a County Crude Death Rate (CDR) was 10.8 deaths per 1,000 population in 2019. Overall, Kenya had a Crude Death Rate of 10.5%.

Religious Affiliation

Most residents of Murang’a County are Protestants 415,159, followed by Catholics 259,936, and members of Evangelical Churches 207,410.

Development

1. The Rural Access Index (RAI) in Murang’a County was 97%, representing the share of the population living within two kilometers of an all-weather road in 2019.
2. Household access to electricity in Murang’a County was 60.5% in 2019, up from 13.9% in 2009.
3. Household access to improved sanitation in Murang’a County was 94.2% in 2019, up from 69.1% in 2009.
4. Households access to safe drinking water in Murang’a County was 66.1% in 2019, up from 43.2% in 2009.
5. Murang’a had 99.8% of its public primary schools connected to electricity, ranking 4^th highest in 2019.

The share of the population in Murang’a County owning mobile phones in 2019 was 57.4%. Among women, 82% owned any type of mobile phone in Murang’a County in 2022, while 46.4% owned a smartphone.

Among men, 81.6% in Murang’a owned any kind of mobile phone in 2022, while 44.1% owned a smartphone. The percentage of men and women who had used a mobile phone for financial transactions in the year preceding the 2022 KDHS survey was 82.6% and 80.8%, respectively^.

See Also

1. Nyeri County
2. Nyandarua County
3. Kirinyaga County
4. Kiambu County

References

1. KNBS. (2022). 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census: Analytical report on population projections (Vol. XVI, pp. 23-25).
2. KNBS. (2022). 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census: Population by county and subcounty (Vol. I, p. 7).
3. KNBS. (2019). 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census: Population by county and subcounty (Vol. I, p. 9).
4. KNBS. (2019). 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census: Population by county and subcounty (Vol. I, p. 10).
5. KNBS. (2023). 2023 Gross County Product: Measuring the economic evolution of counties (pp. 8-10).
6. KNBS. (2023). 2023 Gross County Product: Measuring the economic evolution of counties (pp. 15-21).
7. KNBS. (2023). The Kenya Poverty Report: Based on the 2021 Kenya Continuous Household Survey (pp. 35-47).
8. Commission on Revenue Allocation. (2022). Kenya County Factsheet (3rd ed., p. 120).
9. KNBS. (2023). The Kenya Poverty Report: Based on the 2021 Kenya Continuous Household Survey (pp. 27-31).
10. KNBS. (2022). 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census: Analytical report on fertility and nuptiality (Vol. VI, pp. 14-19).
11. KNBS and ICF. 2023. Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022: Volume 1. Nairobi, Kenya, and Rockville, Maryland, USA: KNBS and ICF. (p. 143).
12. KNBS and ICF. 2023. Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022: Volume 1. Nairobi, Kenya, and Rockville, Maryland, USA: KNBS and ICF. (pp. 137-140).
13. KNBS and ICF. 2023. Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022: Volume 1. Nairobi, Kenya, and Rockville, Maryland, USA: KNBS and ICF. (pp. 135-136).
14. KNBS. (2022). 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census: Analytical report on fertility and nuptiality (Vol. VI, pp. 19-21).
15. KNBS and ICF. 2023. Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022: Volume 1. Nairobi, Kenya, and Rockville, Maryland, USA: KNBS and ICF. (pp. 169-170).
16. KNBS. (2022). 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census: Analytical report on fertility and nuptiality (Vol. VI, pp. 34-42).
17. KNBS. (2022). 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census: Analytical report on fertility and nuptiality (Vol. VI, pp. 43-46).
18. KNBS. (2019). 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census: Distribution of population by socioeconomic status (Vol. IV, p. 422).
19. Commission on Revenue Allocation. (2022). Kenya County Factsheet (3rd ed., p. 120).