Sub-counties are the decentralised units through which county governments of Kenya will provide functions and services. Except for the parts which fall under urban areas, sub-counties will coincide with the constituencies created under article 89 of the
Constitution of Kenya
The Constitution of Kenya is the supreme lawof the Republic of Kenya. There have been three significant versions of the constitution, with the most recent redraft being enabled in 2010. The 2010 edition replaced the 1963 independence constitu ...
. Sub-counties will be headed by a sub-county administrator, appointed by a County Public Service Board.
Under the former Constitution of Kenya, the Provinces of Kenya were subdivided into a number of districts ('' wilaya''). In line with restructuring the national administration to fit with the devolved government system brought in by the 2010 Constitution, that came into full effect following elections in March 2013, the 8 provinces and their administrators and districts were replaced by County Commissioners at the county level, while former districts existing as of 2013 were re-organised as sub-counties, and had Deputy Commissioners appointed over them.
List of the 46 districts plus the capital of Kenya (since 1992, but prior to 2003)
Following a High Court ruling in September 2009, there were 46 legal districts in Kenya, excluding Nairobi which constituted a 47th district.
Following the Kenyan general election, 2013, these districts and Nairobi now constitute the 47 counties which will be the basis for rolling out
devolution
Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories h ...
as set out in the 2010
Constitution of Kenya
The Constitution of Kenya is the supreme lawof the Republic of Kenya. There have been three significant versions of the constitution, with the most recent redraft being enabled in 2010. The 2010 edition replaced the 1963 independence constitu ...
(district headquarters are in parenthesis):
Coast Province:
*
Kilifi District
Kilifi County was formed in 2010 as a result of a merger of Kilifi District and Malindi District, Kenya. Its capital is Kilifi and its largest town is Malindi. Kilifi county is one of the five counties that harbor the Kenyan Coast with 109km ...
Lamu
Lamu or Lamu Town is a small town on Lamu Island, which in turn is a part of the Lamu Archipelago in Kenya. Situated by road northeast of Mombasa that ends at Mokowe Jetty, from where the sea channel has to be crossed to reach Lamu Island. ...
)
*
Mombasa District
)
, pushpin_map = Kenya
, mapsize =
, map_caption = Location of Mombasa County
, seat_type = Capital
, seat = Mombasa
, subdiv ...
Garissa
Garissa ( so, Gaarrisa) is the capital of Garissa County, Kenya. It is situated in the former North Eastern Province.
Geography
The Tana River, which rises in Mount Kenya east of Nyeri, flows through the Garissa. The Bour-Algi Giraffe Sanctuar ...
Mandera
Mandera ( so, Mandheera) is the capital of Mandera County in the former North Eastern Province of Kenya. It is situated at around , near the borders with Somalia and Ethiopia.
Districts
Mandera is the capital of the Mandera District.
As a whol ...
Embu
Embu may refer to:
Places
; in Brazil
* Embu das Artes
* Embu-Guaçu
; in Kenya
* Embu, Kenya
* Embu County
Other
* Embu people of Kenya
*Embu language
Embu, also known as Kîembu, is a Bantu language of Kenya. It is spoken by the Embu peopl ...
Isiolo
Isiolo is a town in Isiolo County, of which it is the capital. It is located in the upper eastern region of Kenya and geographically considered the centre of the country Kenya. It lies 285 kilometres north of the capital Nairobi. The town grew ar ...
)
*
Kitui District
Kitui County is a county in the former Eastern Province of Kenya. Its capital and largest town is Kitui, although Mwingi is also another major urban centre. The county has a population of 1,136,187 (2019 census). and an area of 30,430 km2. ...
(
Kitui
Kitui is a town and capital of Kitui County in Kenya, 180 kilometres east of Nairobi and 105 kilometres east of Machakos. it covers an area approximately 30,496.4 km squares and lies between latitudes 0°10 South and 3°0 South and longitudes ...
Machakos
Machakos, also called Masaku is a town in Kenya, southeast of Nairobi. It is the capital of the Machakos County, Kenya. Its population is rapidly growing and was 150,041 as of 2009 and Machakos County had a population of 1,421,932 as of 2019 ...
)
*
Makueni District
Makueni County (formerly Makueni District) is a county in the former Eastern Province of Kenya. Its capital and largest town is Wote. The county has a population of 987,653 (2019 census). The county lies between Latitude 1° 35' and 2° 59' Sou ...
(
Makueni
Makueni County (formerly Makueni District) is a county in the former Eastern Province of Kenya. Its capital and largest town is Wote. The county has a population of 987,653 (2019 census). The county lies between Latitude 1° 35' and 2° 59' Sou ...
)
*
Marsabit District
Marsabit County is a county in Kenya. Covering a surface area of 66,923.1 square kilometres. Marsabit is the second largest county in Kenya. Its capital is Marsabit and its largest town Moyale. According to the 2019 census, the county has a pop ...
Mutomo District
Mutomo District was a former district in the Eastern Province of Kenya.Office of Public CommunicationsList of Provinces, Districts & Contacts Retrieved 17 March 2013. Its population is 180,000. The administrative center of the district is Mutomo ...
(
Mutomo
Mutomo is an urban centre located in Kenya's Kitui County. It is located in former Mutomo District of which Mutomo Town was its administrative centre. It has a population of 17,000 inhabitants. It is located about 70 km from Kitui and 230 km fro ...
Kerugoya
Kerugoya is the biggest town in Kirinyaga County. Kerugoya is located 10 kilometres east of Karatina and 40 kilometres west of Embu.
It is situated in the former District of Kirinyaga. Travel directions by road from Nairobi, is through Thika ro ...
Murang'a
Murang'a (or Muranga) is a town in Murang'a County of Kenya. Before the independence of Kenya in 1963, this town used to be called Fort Hall. It is the administrative centre of Murang'a County and is mainly inhabited by the Kikuyu community.
A ...
Baringo District
Baringo County is one of the 47 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.
Geographical location
Baringo bounded by Turkana Coun ...
Kericho District
Kericho County is one of the 47 counties in Kenya. The county seats between longitude 35°02' and 35°40' East and between the equator and latitude 0°23' South with an altitude of about 2002m above the sea level. It borders Uasin Gishu Count ...
Kapsabet
Kapsabet is a town in Kenya. It is the capital of Nandi County and is located 40 kilometres southwest of Eldoret on the way to Chavakali.
The name Kapsabet comes from "Kap"- 'belong to/area of' and "sabit" or "sobet" – 'live' and has come to ...
)
*
Narok District
Narok County is a county in Kenya with an estimated population of 1,157,873 according to 2019 Census, with the dominant ethnic group being the Maasai. Its capital and largest town is Narok. The other major urban centre in Narok County is Kilgor ...
Samburu District
Samburu County is a county in the former Rift Valley Province, Kenya. It covers an area of roughly 21,000 km2 (8,000 mi2) in northern Kenya where the Samburu, Turkana and many other tribes live. It stretches north from the Wuaso Ng' ...
Kitale
Kitale is an agricultural town in northern Rift Valley Kenya situated between Mount Elgon and the Cherangany Hills at an elevation of around . Its population is 106,187 as of 2009. Kitale is the headquarter town of Trans-Nzoia County. Kitale is r ...
)
*
Turkana District
Turkana County is a county in the former Rift Valley Province of Kenya. It is Kenya's largest county by land area (followed by Marsabit County), and also its northwesternmost. It is bordered by the countries of Uganda to the west; South Sudan an ...
Uasin Gishu District
Uasin Gishu County is one of the 47 counties of Kenya located in the former Rift Valley Province. Eldoret has the county's largest population center as well as its administrative and commercial center. “It lies between longitudes 34 degrees 50 ...
(
Eldoret
Eldoret is a principal town in the Rift Valley region of Kenya and serves as the capital of Uasin Gishu County. The town was referred to by white settlers as Farm 64, 64 and colloquially by locals as 'Sisibo'. As per the 2019 Kenya Population ...
Kakamega
Kakamega is a town in western Kenya lying about 30 km north of the Equator. It is the headquarters of Kakamega County that has a population of 1,867,579 (2019 census).
Kakamega is 52 km north of Kisumu, the tenth largest city in Ken ...
Nyanza Province
Nyanza Province (; sw, Mkoa wa Nyanza) was one of Kenya's Provinces of Kenya, eight administrative provinces before the formation of the Counties of Kenya, 47 counties under the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 constitution. Six counties were organis ...
Migori District
Migori District was an administrative district in the Nyanza Province of Kenya. It is located in southwestern Kenya. Its capital town was Migori. The district has a population of 514,897 and an area of 2,005 km2.
In 1992, the district was cre ...
Nyamira District
Nyamira County is a county in the former Nyanza Province of Kenya. It shares common boundaries with what was known as Nyamira District. The main cash crops grown are bananas and tea. The county has a population of 605,576 (2019 census). Its cap ...
(
Nyamira
Nyamira is a town in Kenya. It is the capital of its Nyamira County. It has an urban population of around 10.000 (1999 censusThe main government hospital is Nyamira District Hospital with a bed capacity of 203.
Notable people
*Emily Orwaru
...
)
*
Siaya District
Siaya County is one of the counties in the former Nyanza Province in the Western part of Kenya. It is bordered by Busia County to the north, Kakamega County and Vihiga County's to the northeast and Kisumu County to the southeast. It shares a wa ...
( Siaya)
All these 46 districts (plus Nairobi) have been replaced with 47 counties since March 2013, promoting them as the first level of administrative subdivisions of the country, and the 8 former provinces (which were the first level of subdivisions) have been dissolved.
New districts started to be created by President Moi, and there were up to 57 districts in 2003 when President Kibaki first came into office.
List of the 70 districts of Kenya (starting 2007)
In early January 2007, 37 new districts were created by the government from the 14 former districts, rising their number to 70.
*
Baringo District
Baringo County is one of the 47 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.
Geographical location
Baringo bounded by Turkana Coun ...
Butere/Mumias District Butere/Mumias District was an administrative district in the Western Province of Kenya. Its capital town was Butere. The district had a population of 476,928 (1999 census) and an area of 939 km In 2010, the district was eliminated and inco ...
Embu
Embu may refer to:
Places
; in Brazil
* Embu das Artes
* Embu-Guaçu
; in Kenya
* Embu, Kenya
* Embu County
Other
* Embu people of Kenya
*Embu language
Embu, also known as Kîembu, is a Bantu language of Kenya. It is spoken by the Embu peopl ...
Garissa
Garissa ( so, Gaarrisa) is the capital of Garissa County, Kenya. It is situated in the former North Eastern Province.
Geography
The Tana River, which rises in Mount Kenya east of Nyeri, flows through the Garissa. The Bour-Algi Giraffe Sanctuar ...
)
*
Gucha District Gucha District was a former district in Nyanza Province, western Kenya. It was also known by the name: South Kisii District or Ogembo District. In 1999, its population was approximately 461,00 Its district headquarters were at Ogembo which houses m ...
(
Ogembo
Ogembo is a small farming town in Kisii County, Kenya. Her inhabitants are the abagusii community. The town started around 1860 by the locals and around 1920s it became a commercial center for the Indians and a government centre for the colonial ru ...
Isiolo
Isiolo is a town in Isiolo County, of which it is the capital. It is located in the upper eastern region of Kenya and geographically considered the centre of the country Kenya. It lies 285 kilometres north of the capital Nairobi. The town grew ar ...
Kakamega
Kakamega is a town in western Kenya lying about 30 km north of the Equator. It is the headquarters of Kakamega County that has a population of 1,867,579 (2019 census).
Kakamega is 52 km north of Kisumu, the tenth largest city in Ken ...
Iten
Iten is a town in Elgeyo-Marakwet County in the Republic of Kenya. Iten serves as the capital and is the largest town in the county. The town is located along the road between Eldoret and Kabarnet at the junction of the road heading to Kapsowar. ...
Kericho District
Kericho County is one of the 47 counties in Kenya. The county seats between longitude 35°02' and 35°40' East and between the equator and latitude 0°23' South with an altitude of about 2002m above the sea level. It borders Uasin Gishu Count ...
Kilifi District
Kilifi County was formed in 2010 as a result of a merger of Kilifi District and Malindi District, Kenya. Its capital is Kilifi and its largest town is Malindi. Kilifi county is one of the five counties that harbor the Kenyan Coast with 109km ...
Kerugoya
Kerugoya is the biggest town in Kirinyaga County. Kerugoya is located 10 kilometres east of Karatina and 40 kilometres west of Embu.
It is situated in the former District of Kirinyaga. Travel directions by road from Nairobi, is through Thika ro ...
Kitui District
Kitui County is a county in the former Eastern Province of Kenya. Its capital and largest town is Kitui, although Mwingi is also another major urban centre. The county has a population of 1,136,187 (2019 census). and an area of 30,430 km2. ...
(
Kitui
Kitui is a town and capital of Kitui County in Kenya, 180 kilometres east of Nairobi and 105 kilometres east of Machakos. it covers an area approximately 30,496.4 km squares and lies between latitudes 0°10 South and 3°0 South and longitudes ...
Kuria District
Kuria District was an administrative district in the Nyanza Province of Kenya. Its capital town is Kehancha (sometimes spelled as ''Kihancha''). The district has a population of 256,086 (2009 census) and an area of 581/km2. It is inhabited by a mi ...
(
Kehancha
Kehancha is a town in Kenya's Migori County. It has a total population of 256,086 people.
References
Migori County
Populated places in Kenya
{{Kenya-geo-stub ...
Lamu
Lamu or Lamu Town is a small town on Lamu Island, which in turn is a part of the Lamu Archipelago in Kenya. Situated by road northeast of Mombasa that ends at Mokowe Jetty, from where the sea channel has to be crossed to reach Lamu Island. ...
Machakos
Machakos, also called Masaku is a town in Kenya, southeast of Nairobi. It is the capital of the Machakos County, Kenya. Its population is rapidly growing and was 150,041 as of 2009 and Machakos County had a population of 1,421,932 as of 2019 ...
)
*
Makueni District
Makueni County (formerly Makueni District) is a county in the former Eastern Province of Kenya. Its capital and largest town is Wote. The county has a population of 987,653 (2019 census). The county lies between Latitude 1° 35' and 2° 59' Sou ...
(
Makueni
Makueni County (formerly Makueni District) is a county in the former Eastern Province of Kenya. Its capital and largest town is Wote. The county has a population of 987,653 (2019 census). The county lies between Latitude 1° 35' and 2° 59' Sou ...
)
*
Malindi District Malindi District was a former administrative district in the Coast Province of Kenya. Its capital was the coastal town of Malindi. When it was eliminated and merged into Kilifi County in 2010, the district had a population of 544,30 Malindi Town is ...
Mandera
Mandera ( so, Mandheera) is the capital of Mandera County in the former North Eastern Province of Kenya. It is situated at around , near the borders with Somalia and Ethiopia.
Districts
Mandera is the capital of the Mandera District.
As a whol ...
Marsabit District
Marsabit County is a county in Kenya. Covering a surface area of 66,923.1 square kilometres. Marsabit is the second largest county in Kenya. Its capital is Marsabit and its largest town Moyale. According to the 2019 census, the county has a pop ...
Mbeere
The Mbeere or Ambeere people are a Bantu ethnic group inhabiting the former Mbeere District in the now-defunct Eastern Province of Kenya. According to the 2019 Kenya National census, there are 195,250 Ambeere who inhabit an area of 2,093 km ...
)
*
Meru Central District
Meru County is one of the 47 counties of Kenya, located in the former Eastern Province. The county lies between 0° 6′ North and 0° 1′ South and between latitudes 37° West and 38° East. It borders Isiolo County to the North, Tharaka/Nit ...
Migori District
Migori District was an administrative district in the Nyanza Province of Kenya. It is located in southwestern Kenya. Its capital town was Migori. The district has a population of 514,897 and an area of 2,005 km2.
In 1992, the district was cre ...
Mount Elgon District
Mount Elgon District (Mt. Elgon District) was an administrative district in the Western Province of Kenya. Its capital town was Kapsokwony. In 2010, it was merged into Bungoma County.
Geography and demographics
The district was located on southea ...
(
Mount Elgon
Mount Elgon is an extinct shield volcano on the border of Uganda and Kenya, north of Kisumu and west of Kitale. The mountain's highest point, named "Wagagai", is located entirely within Uganda.
Murang'a
Murang'a (or Muranga) is a town in Murang'a County of Kenya. Before the independence of Kenya in 1963, this town used to be called Fort Hall. It is the administrative centre of Murang'a County and is mainly inhabited by the Kikuyu community.
A ...
Nandi
Nandi may refer to:
People
* Nandy (surname), Indian surname
* Nandi (mother of Shaka) (1760–1827), daughter of Bhebe of the Langeni tribe
* Onandi Lowe (born 1974), Jamaican footballer nicknamed Nandi
* Nandi Bushell (born 2010), South Afri ...
(
Kapsabet
Kapsabet is a town in Kenya. It is the capital of Nandi County and is located 40 kilometres southwest of Eldoret on the way to Chavakali.
The name Kapsabet comes from "Kap"- 'belong to/area of' and "sabit" or "sobet" – 'live' and has come to ...
)
*
Narok District
Narok County is a county in Kenya with an estimated population of 1,157,873 according to 2019 Census, with the dominant ethnic group being the Maasai. Its capital and largest town is Narok. The other major urban centre in Narok County is Kilgor ...
Nyamira District
Nyamira County is a county in the former Nyanza Province of Kenya. It shares common boundaries with what was known as Nyamira District. The main cash crops grown are bananas and tea. The county has a population of 605,576 (2019 census). Its cap ...
(
Nyamira
Nyamira is a town in Kenya. It is the capital of its Nyamira County. It has an urban population of around 10.000 (1999 censusThe main government hospital is Nyamira District Hospital with a bed capacity of 203.
Notable people
*Emily Orwaru
...
Awasi
Awasi is a small town in Kisumu County, Kenya
)
, national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates ...
Rachuonyo District
Rachuonyo District was an districts of Kenya, administrative district in the Nyanza Province of Kenya. Its capital town was Kosele, and previously, Oyugis. The district had a population of 307,126 (1999 census) and an area of 945 km². The dis ...
(
Oyugis
Oyugis is the second-largest town (after Homa Bay town) in Homa Bay County in Nyanza Kenya. The town lies along the Kisumu-Kisii highway. It is the commercial and financial centre of Rachuonyo Sub-County in Homa Bay County of the former Nyanza Prov ...
)
*
Samburu District
Samburu County is a county in the former Rift Valley Province, Kenya. It covers an area of roughly 21,000 km2 (8,000 mi2) in northern Kenya where the Samburu, Turkana and many other tribes live. It stretches north from the Wuaso Ng' ...
Siaya District
Siaya County is one of the counties in the former Nyanza Province in the Western part of Kenya. It is bordered by Busia County to the north, Kakamega County and Vihiga County's to the northeast and Kisumu County to the southeast. It shares a wa ...
Mbita Mbita Point is a town in the former province of Nyanza, Kenya, currently in Homa Bay County, on the shores of Lake Victoria. It is home to the Thomas Odhiambo campus of the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE). A public pri ...
Tharaka
Tharaka () was a mythological king from Sri Lanka.
According to legend, he designed the craft " Dandu Monara", which was able to fly, but he was unable to build it. Instead the king Ravana built it, and stories from Ramayana tell of him using it ...
Thika
Thika Thika (pronounced ˆÎ¸ika is an industrial town and a major commerce hub in Kiambu County, Kenya, lying on the A2 road 42 kilometres (26 mi) Northeast of Nairobi, near the confluence of the Thika and Chania Rivers. Although Thika town ...
)
*
Trans Mara District Trans Mara District was an administrative district in the former Rift Valley Province of Kenya. Its capital town was Kilgoris. The district had a population of 170,591 (1999 census) and an area of 2,846 km It was created in 1994, when Tran ...
Kitale
Kitale is an agricultural town in northern Rift Valley Kenya situated between Mount Elgon and the Cherangany Hills at an elevation of around . Its population is 106,187 as of 2009. Kitale is the headquarter town of Trans-Nzoia County. Kitale is r ...
)
*
Turkana District
Turkana County is a county in the former Rift Valley Province of Kenya. It is Kenya's largest county by land area (followed by Marsabit County), and also its northwesternmost. It is bordered by the countries of Uganda to the west; South Sudan an ...
Uasin Gishu District
Uasin Gishu County is one of the 47 counties of Kenya located in the former Rift Valley Province. Eldoret has the county's largest population center as well as its administrative and commercial center. “It lies between longitudes 34 degrees 50 ...
(
Eldoret
Eldoret is a principal town in the Rift Valley region of Kenya and serves as the capital of Uasin Gishu County. The town was referred to by white settlers as Farm 64, 64 and colloquially by locals as 'Sisibo'. As per the 2019 Kenya Population ...
More recent (defunct) districts (after 2007 up to March 2013)
Many more districts have been created since then, such that in July 2009 there were 254 districts (an up to 256 districts plus Nairobi on 20 September 2009, when the High Court outlawed 210 of them).
The creation of new districts has been criticised by opponents for being waste of money and a populist attempt to please local residents. The government, however, say new districts bring services closer to the people and will provide security.
The following list contains 208 districts, taken from a Kenyan government website in July 2009 (the list is incomplete, but their number stopped growing after the High Court decision in September 2009):
Sub-counties (since March 2013)
In August 2009, however, the
High Court of Kenya
The High Court of Kenya is a court of unlimited original jurisdiction in criminal and civil matters established under article 165 of the constitution of Kenya
The Constitution of Kenya is the supreme lawof the Republic of Kenya. There have b ...
declared all districts created after 1992 illegal. The judge stated that the districts were created ''"in complete disregard of the law"''. As a result, Kenya had only 46 legal districts (excluding Nairobi with its special constitutional status as the capital of the country).The Standard, 27 September 2009 After Ringera, House to take on Kibaki over new districts /ref> Following the March 2013 elections, these 46 districts – together with the City of Nairobi – constitute the 47 counties into which Kenya is now divided administratively, and they are also the 47 constituencies for the elections to the National Senate.
All the former districts have disappeared (as well as the former 8 provinces whose devolution was transferred to the new 47 counties), and are now considered only as "sub-counties", without autonomy; they are used in urban areas for a limited organisation for providing public services locally. These remaining sub-counties are transitional and could be replaced by more efficient cooperative structures grouping the local services in organised cities and their surrounding towns, either for dedicated missions or for temporary plans; so they may be deeply reorganised or disappear at any time. The remaining sub-counties already do not match with the subdivision of the new 47 counties into electoral-only "wards" (based on resident population, to determine the number of elected seats for each county in the National Senate.
Nairobi sub-counties