Kajiado County is a county in the former Rift Valley Province of Kenya. As of 2019, Kajiado county spanned an area of 21,292.7 km2, with a recorded population of 1,117,840. The county borders Nairobi and extends to the Tanzania border further south. The county capital is Kajiado town, but the largest town is Ongata Rongai. Its main tourist attraction is its wildlife.
Kajiado is a town in Kajiado County, Kenya.The town is located 80 km (49.7 mi) south of Nairobi, along the Nairobi – Arusha highway (A104 road). Kajiado has an urban population of 24,678 (2019 census). Local people are predominantly of the Maasai tribe.
Kajiado is headquarters to Kajiado County.
The name “Kajiado” comes from the word “Olkeju-ado.” Which means “The Long River” in Maasai language. The seasonal river named after the town runs from West to the East of the town.
The original name for Kajiado was “Olpurapurana”, which means “a round elevation.”
Demographics
Kajiado county has a total population of 1,117,840 people, of which 557,098 being male, 560,704 are females and 38 intersex people.There are 316,179 households with an average size of 3.5 person per household and a population density of 51 people per square kilometre.[3]
| Sub-county | Population |
|---|---|
| Isinya | 210,473 |
| Kajiado Central | 161,862 |
| Kajiado North | 306,596 |
| Kajiado West | 82,849 |
| Loitokitok | 191,846 |
| Mashuuru | 64,214 |
| Total | 1,117,840 |
Source
| Sub County | Division | Location | Sub Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kajiado North | 4 | 30 | 72 |
| Kajiado Central | 5 | 35 | 69 |
| Isinya | 2 | 9 | 18 |
| Mashuru | 2 | 11 | 19 |
| Loitokitok | 4 | 16 | 34 |
| Total | 17 | 101 | 212 |
Source
Constituencies
- Kajiado Central Constituency
- Kajiado North Constituency
- Kajiado South Constituency
- Kajiado East Constituency
- Kajiado West Constituency
Political Leadership
Joseph Jama Ole Lenku is the governor serving his first term after being elected in 2017 on and is deputised by Martin Moshisho Martin.[7] Phillip Salau Mpaayeiwas is serving his first term as the senator and was elected in 2017.[8] Janet Marania Teyiaa is the second women representative for the county and was also elected in 2017 on a Jubilee Party ticket.
Education
Kajiado has 811 ECD centres, 568 primary schools, 124 secondary schools, 18 tertiary institutions and 7 polythenic.[6]
| Category | Public | Private | Total | Enrolment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ECD Centres | 423 | 388 | 811 | 24,631 |
| Primary schools | 372 | 186 | 568 | 158,064 |
| Secondary schools | 71 | 53 | 124 | 24,709 |
| Youth Polytechnics | 7 | 0 | 7 | |
| Technical Training Institutes | 7 | 0 | 7 | |
| University Campuses | 1 | 5 | 6 | |
| Universities | 5 | 5 |
Source
Health
The doctor population ratio is 1:26,094, Public Health Staff is 1: 7,619, and the nurse population ratio is 1: 1,068.
| Government | FBO | Private | NGO | TOTAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hospitals | 4 | 1 | 10 | 16 | 41 |
| Health centres | 16 | 6 | 20 | 3 | 45 |
| Dispensaries | 74 | 13 | 4 | 2 | 93 |
| Clinics | 1 | 2 | 149 | 7 | 159 |
Source
Transport and Communication
A total of 2,419.2 km of road network cover the county. of this 1,111.9 km ic covered by earth surface, 932.3 km is murram surface and 375 km is covered by bitumen.
There are 11 Post Offices with 4,105 installed letter boxes, 3,220 rented letter boxes and 885 vacant letter boxes.
Kajiado has a station on the Magadi Soda Railway line which runs from Konza (on the Nairobi-Mombasa line) to Magadi. However this line operates limited passenger services, the most convenient way to travel to Kajiado from Nairobi is by using a matatu number 134, with NAEKANA sacco dominating the road transport to Kajiado town.
Trade and Commerce
There are one hundred trading centres in the county.
Tomato, Cabbage, Kales and Banana are mainly grown for horticulture production. Crops grown for cereal production include maize, sorghum millet, beans, cowpeas and greengrams. Some of the tubers grown are sweet potatoes, cassava, Irish potatoes.
The three main livestock kept are cattle, sheep, goats and they are kept for meat, offal, raw fats, fresh hides and skins.[14]
Services
| County | Stats for the County (Percent) |
|---|---|
| Literacy | 55.4 |
| Attending School (15-18 Yrs) | 44.9 |
| Paved Roads | 5.9 |
| Good Roads | 38.4 |
| Electricity Access | 39.8 |
| Stats for the County |
Source: USAid Kenya
Nairobi Metro
Kajiado County (blue) within Nairobi Metro (green)
Kajiado County is within Greater Nairobi metro. The counties are:
| Area | County | Area (km2) | Population Census 2019 | Cities/towns/municipalities in the county |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core Nairobi | Nairobi County | 694.9 | 4,397,073 | Nairobi |
| Northern Metro | Kiambu County | 2,449.2 | 2,417,735 | Kiambu, Thika, Limuru, Ruiru, Karuri, Kikuyu |
| Southern Metro | Kajiado County | 21,292.7 | 1,117,840 | Kajiado, Olkejuado, Bissil, Ngong, Kitengela, Kiserian, Ongata Rongai |
| Eastern Metro | Machakos County | 5,952.9 | 1,421,932 | Kangundo–Tala, Machakos, Athi River |
| Totals | Nairobi Metro | 30,389.7 | 9,354,580 |
Source: NairobiMetro Kenya Census
Stats
Population development
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 149,005 | — |
| 1989 | 258,659 | +73.6% |
| 1999 | 406,054 | +57.0% |
| 2009 | 687,312 | +69.3% |
| 2019 | 1,117,840 | +62.6% |
| source:[17] |
Urbanisation
| County | Urbanisation in Nairobi Metro (Percent) |
|---|---|
| Nairobi County | 100 |
| Kiambu County | 60.8 |
| Machakos County | 52 |
| Kajiado County | 41.4 |
 Kenya Average | 32.3 |
| Urbanisation by County within Nairobi Metro |
Source: OpenDataKenya
Wealth/Poverty Level
| County | Poverty Level in Nairobi Metro (Percent) |
|---|---|
| Kajiado County | 11.6 |
| Kiambu County | 21.8 |
| Nairobi County | 22 |
| Machakos County | 59.6 |
| Kenya Average | 45.9 |
| Poverty level by County |
Source: OpenDataKenya Worldbank
