Nakuru County

Introduction

Nakuru County is Kenya's third most populous county, with a total of 2.4 million people in 2024, behind Kiambu County, which has 2.7 million people, and Nairobi, which has 4.8 million people.

As of 2019, Nakuru County had a total land area of 7,462.4 square kilometers. The county has a population density of 321 people per square kilometer in 2024.

Nakuru County is bordered to the South by Narok County, to the North by Baringo County, to the East by Nyandarua County, to the North East by Laikipia County, and to the South East by Kiambu and Kajiado Counties. 

Nakuru County has 11 sub-counties: Gilgil, Kuresoi North, Kuresoi South, Molo, Naivasha, Nakuru East, Nakuru North, Nakuru West, Njoro, Rongai, and Subukia.

Nakuru County Economy

Nakuru County has the third-largest economy in Kenya, worth 600.5 billion, behind Nairobi County, worth 3,379.4 billion, and Kiambu County, worth 721.2 billion. Nakuru had a larger economy than Mombasa County, which has 564.1 billion, and Kisumu, 312.6 billion. Nakuru's economy accounts for 4.9% of the total Gross County Product (GCP), behind Nairobi County, which accounts for 27.5%, Kiambu County 5.7%, and Mombasa County 4.9%.

Between 2018 and 2022, Nakuru County contributed on average 5.2% to agriculture, forestry, and fishing activities in the country, the second highest after Meru, which contributed 7.6% and ahead of Nyandarua 4.5%, Murang'a 4.1%, Kiambu 4.0%, and Bungoma 3.7%.

Nakuru contributed, on average, 3.9% to manufacturing activities between 2018 and 2022, behind Kilifi 4.6%, Machakos 7.8%, Kiambu 8.4%, Mombasa 9.6%, and Nairobi 36.9%. Nakuru County’s average contribution to service activities between 2018 and 2022 was 4.4% behind Kiambu 5.0%, Nakuru 5.6%, and Nairobi 37.3%.

Nakuru County had a Gross County Product (GCP) of 261,188 in 2022, the seventh in the country behind Kiambu at Ksh 277,147, Nyandarua at Ksh 290,577, Embu at Ksh 292,827, Nyeri at Ksh 293,944, Mombasa at Ksh 439,390, and Nairobi at Ksh 723,335. 

Poverty Rates

Nakuru County's overall headcount poverty rate was 39.4%, above the national poverty rate of 38.6% in 2021. This represented a total of 893,000 people living in poverty in that year. The food and hardcore poverty rates for Nakuru County were 20.7% and 0.1% respectively. 

The mean and median per adult equivalent consumption expenditure in Nakuru County in 2021 was Ksh 7,976 and Ksh 6,096, respectively. Overall, the share spent on food items was 52.9%, while the share of expenditure on non-food items in Nakuru was 47.1%. This corresponds to, on average, Ksh 3,563 spent on food and Ksh 4,413 spent on non-food items.

Purchased food accounted for 82.9% of total food consumed by households in Nakuru County, with 14.7% and 2.4% sourced from own production and gifts, respectively.

The map below shows the poverty rates by constituency in Nakuru County. Bahati had a poverty rate of 21.4%, Gilgil 20.8%, Kuresoi North 20.5%, Kuresoi South 22.1%, Molo 36.3%, Naivasha 12.5%, Nakuru Town East 17%, Nakuru Town West 67.5%, Njoro 57.1%, Rongai 35.2%, and Subukia 21.3%. 

Nakuru County Demographics

According to the 2019 census, Nakuru County had 2,162,202 people, with 1,077,272 being male, 1,084,835 female, and 95 intersex. Nakuru had a median age of 19 years in 2019. Nakuru had 616,046 households with an average household size of 3.5 people.

Marital Status

Out of the 758,731 women aged 12 and above in Nakuru County in 2019, 40.8% were never married, 48% were married monogamously, and 1.2% were in polygamous unions. The distribution of widowed women in Nakuru was 4.9%, while the divorced and separated were 1.3% and 3.7% respectively.

The total number of men aged 12 and above in Nakuru County was 738,126, with 47.7% having never been married. In contrast, 47.2% were married monogamously, and 1.6% polygamously. The distribution of the widowed was 0.8%, while that of divorced and separated women in the county was 0.6% and 2.0%, respectively.

The median age at first marriage among women aged 25-49 living in Nakuru County in 2022 was 21.3 years compared to a national average of 21 years. Among men aged 30-54 in Nakuru, the median age at first marriage was 25.5 years compared to a national average of 25.8 years.

Polygyny

The KDHS estimated that 2.5% of married women aged 15-49 in Nakuru County had a co-wife, while 0.4% had more than two co-wives. Among married men aged 15-49 in Nakuru in 2022, the KDHS found that 4.7% had more than two wives, while 95.3% were married monogamously.

Marriage Registration

In 2022, 15.6% of married women aged 15-49 in Nakuru had their marriages registered with the civil authorities, while 12.6% had marriage certificates.

Teenage Marriages

The proportion of married males and females aged 12-15 in Nakuru County was 2.8% and 3.1% respectively. Nationally, the proportion of married males and females aged 12-15 was 3.9% and 4.1% respectively.

According to KDHS estimates, in 2022, Nakuru County had a teenage pregnancy rate of 16.5%, consisting of women aged 15-19 who have ever been pregnant.

Total Fertility Rate

The total fertility rate of Nakuru County in 2019 was 3.4 births per woman, which is equal to the national TFR of 3.4 births per woman. However, this was a 23.8% decline in TFR from a high of 4.4 births per woman in 2009. The decline in Kenya’s TFR between 2009 and 2019 was 28.6%.

The total fertility rate among the youth in Nakuru County aged 15-24 in 2019 was 1 birth per woman, similar to the national TFR for the same age group, which has 1 birth per woman.

Nakuru County had a Crude Birth Rate of 28.1 births per 1000 population in 2019, above the national average of 27.9 births per 1000. However, this was a 30.2% decline from 40.2 births per 1000 people in 2009.

Place of Death and Notification Status

In 2019, 63.1% of deaths in Nakuru County occurred in a health facility, while 36.1% 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 Nakuru County that were notified in 2019 was 92.6%. Overall, the share of deaths that were notified in Kenya in 2019 was 85.6%.

Nakuru County had a Crude Death Rate (CDR) of 9.5 deaths per 1,000 population in 2019. Overall, Kenya had a Crude Death Rate of 10.5%.

Religious Affiliation

The total number of individuals who are atheists or do not have a religion in Nakuru County was 67,640 in 2019.

People with Disabilities

The distribution of the population aged 5 and above in Nakuru County with a disability was 1.8% in 2019 for a total of 33,933 people with disabilities. Males with disabilities totaled 14,498, while females with disabilities were 19,428.

Of those with disabilities in Nakuru County, 12,425 had visual disabilities, 4,256 had hearing disabilities, 14,270 had mobility disabilities, 6,947 had cognition disabilities, and 5,110 had self-care disabilities. Those with communication disabilities were 4,078.

The distribution of persons with albinism in Nakuru County was 232, with 100 males and 132 females.

Development in Nakuru County

1. The Rural Access Index in Nakuru County in 2019 was 61%, representing the share of the population living within two kilometers of an all-weather road.
2. The share of households accessing electricity in Nakuru County in 2019 was 64.3%, up from 34% in 2009.
3. The share of households accessing improved sanitation in Nakuru County in 2019 was 89.1%, up from 76.9% in 2009.
4. The share of households accessing safe drinking water in Nakuru County was 71.6% in 2019, up from 61.6% in 2009.
5. The share of public primary schools in Nakuru County connected to electricity was 93.5% in 2019.

Nakuru County had a mobile ownership of 52.7% in 2019, higher than the national average of 47%. Mobile phone ownership among men was 52.8%, while ownership among women was 52.6%.

According to the 2022 KDHS estimates, 80.3% of women in Nakuru County owned mobile phones, while 46.6% owned smartphones. Among men, 75.1% owned mobile phones, while 50.8% owned smartphones.

See Also 

1. Nairobi County
2. Mombasa County
3. Kisumu 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).
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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).
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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).