Narok County
Introduction
Narok County had a total population of 1,355,000 in 2025. According to the 2019 census, the county had 1,157,873 people and 241,125 households. The average household size in Narok County in 2019 was 4.8 people per household.
Narok had a total land area of 17,950.3 square kilometres and a population density of 65 people per square kilometre.
Narok County is bordered to the North by Nakuru, the East by Kajiado, the South by Tanzania, and the West by Migori, Kisii, and Bomet.
Kajiado has seven sub-counties: Narok East, Narok North, Narok South, Narok West, Trans Mara East, Trans Mara West, and Mau Forest.
Narok County Economy
Narok County's average Gross County Product at current prices was Ksh 238.3 billion in 2023, representing a five-year average country contribution to Gross Value Added of 1.7%.
Narok County's average contribution to agriculture, forestry, and fishing activities within the same period was 3.4%. In comparison, its contribution to manufacturing activities was 0.9%. Narok County also contributed 1.3% to service activities.
Narok County had a Gross County Product per capita of Ksh 185,582 in 2023.
Poverty Rates in Narok County
The overall headcount poverty rate of Narok County in 2022 was 26.2%, with an estimated 323,000 people living in poverty. The national poverty rate in the same period was 39.8%.
In 2022, Narok's food poverty rate was 27.5%, lower than the national food poverty rate of 31.7%. This represents an estimated 339,000 people living in food poverty.
The estimated number of people living in hardcore poverty in Narok was 27,000 in 2022, with the county having a hardcore poverty rate of 2.2%. The country's hardcore poverty rate was 7.1% in 2022.
The map below shows the poverty rates by constituency in Narok County in 2019. Emurua Dikirr had a poverty rate of 16.1%, Kilgoris 16.8%, Narok East 13.3%, Narok North 18%, Narok South 14.9%, and Narok West 35.8%.
The mean monthly food and non-food expenditure in Narok County was Ksh 3,690 and Ksh 3,393 in 2022, with 59.4% of expenditures going toward food and 40.6% going toward non-food expenditures.
The major sources of household food consumption in Narok County were 75.9% purchase of stock, 20.9% own production, and 3.3% gifts.
The mean and median per adult equivalent consumption expenditure in Narok County in 2021 were Ksh 6,318 and Ksh 5,246, respectively.
Narok County Demographics
Narok County had a total population of 1,157,873 people in 2019, consisting of 579,042 males, 578,805 females, and 26 intersex. Narok had a median age of 14 years in 2019.
The table below shows the distribution of the population in Narok County by Sex and sub-county.
|
Sub county |
Male |
Female |
Intersex |
Total |
|
Narok East |
58,699 |
56,617 |
7 |
115,323 |
|
Narok North |
128,024 |
123,829 |
9 |
251,862 |
|
Narok South |
118,441 |
120,029 |
2 |
238,472 |
|
Narok West |
97,085 |
98,198 |
4 |
195,287 |
|
Trans Mara East |
54,545 |
56,637 |
1 |
111,183 |
|
Trans Mara West |
122,220 |
123,491 |
3 |
245,714 |
|
Mau Forest |
28 |
4 |
0 |
32 |
|
Total |
579,042 |
578,805 |
26 |
1,157,873 |
Marital Status
The percentage distribution of women aged 12 and above in Narok County who were never married in 2019 was 33.9%, while those who were in monogamous marriages were 47.6%. Those married polygamously in the county was 11.2%, and the widowed were 3.4%. The county's share of divorced and separated was 0.6% and 1.2%, respectively.
Among men aged 12 and above in Narok County, the never married in 2019 was 49.1%, while those who married monogamously were 42.7%. The share of men married polygamously in Narok was 6.7%, with 0.3% being widowed, 0.3% divorced, and 0.6% separated.
According to the 2022 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey, the median age at first marriage among women aged 20-49 in Narok County was 19.1 years. Among women aged 25-49 years in Narok, the median age at first marriage was 18.5 years.
In men aged 30-54, the median age at first marriage in Narok was 25.7 years in 2022.
Polygyny
The distribution of currently married women aged 15-49 in Narok County who had one or more co-wives in 2022 was 18.2%. Those with one co-wife were 15.2%, while those with more than two co-wives were 2.9%. The share of women without co-wives was 79.9%.
Among men aged 15-49 in Narok County, the percentage distribution with more than two wives was 8.5%, while those with a single wife was 91.5%.
Marriage Registration
The percentage of currently married women in Narok County aged 15-49 whose marriage was registered with civil authorities in 2022 was 12.9%. Those whose marriage was registered with civil authorities and had a marriage certificate were 10.6%.
Teenage Marriages in Narok County
The proportion of married males aged 12-15 in Narok County was 5.4% in 2019. The proportion of married females of the same age group in 2019 was 5.9%. However, among women aged 12-18, the proportion that was married was 9.9%.
According to the 2022 KDHS, the percentage of teenage pregnancies in Narok County, consisting of women aged 15-19 who have ever been pregnant, was 28.1%.
Total Fertility Rate
Narok County had a Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of 4.6 births in 2019, a 26.7% decline from 6.3 births in 2009. Kenya’s total fertility rate in the same year was 3.4 births, a 28.6% decrease from 4.8 births in 2009.
The total fertility rate among the youth aged 15-24 in Narok County was 1.6 births, compared to a national youth TFR of 1 birth per woman in 2019.
Narok County had a Crude Birth Rate of 32.9 births per 1,000 people in 2019, a 36% decline from 51.3 births in 2009. By comparison, Kenya's Crude Birth Rate in 2019 was 27.9 births per 1,000 population, a drop 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 Narok County that occurred in a health facility in 2019 was 60.6%, while those in a non-health facility were 39.1%. By comparison, the share of recent births in Kenya that occurred in a health facility in 2019 was 85.8%, while those that occurred in a non-health facility were 14%.
The completeness of birth registration in Narok County was 52.8% in 2023.
Place of Death and Notification Status
In 2019, 57% of deaths in Narok County occurred in a health facility, while 41.7% 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 completeness of death registration in Narok County was 18.6% in 2023.
Narok County had a Crude Death Rate (CDR) of 14.1 deaths per 1,000 population in 2019. Overall, Kenya had a Crude Death Rate of 10.5%.
Religious Affiliation
Most residents of Narok County are Protestants 417,457, followed by members of Evangelical Churches 350,885, and Catholics 152,607.
|
Catholic |
152,607 |
|
Protestant |
417,457 |
|
Evangelical Churches |
350,885 |
|
African Instituted Churches |
57,673 |
|
Orthodox |
6,227 |
|
Other Christians |
71,598 |
|
4,805 |
|
|
Hindu |
249 |
|
Traditionists |
15,953 |
|
Other Religion |
22,476 |
|
No religion Atheists |
45,617 |
Development in Narok County
The Rural Access Index (RAI) in Narok County was 36%, representing the percentage of the population living within two kilometres of an all-weather road in 2019.
- Household access to electricity in Narok County was 19.9% in 2019, up from 5.9% in 2009.
- Household access to improved sanitation in Narok County was 60.6% in 2019, up from 36.7% in 2009.
- Household access to safe drinking water in Narok County was 30% in 2019, up from 21.4% in 2009.
- In 2019, household access to piped water in Narok County was 4.6%, down from 6.9% in 2009.
- Narok had 20% of its public primary schools connected to electricity, ranking 45th nationally in 2019.
The share of the population in Narok County owning mobile phones in 2019 was 34.30%. Among women, 67.1% owned any type of mobile phone in Narok County in 2022, while 26.5% owned a smartphone.
Among men, 84.9% in Narok owned any kind of mobile phone in 2022, while 44.4% 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 84.8% and 70.6%, respectively.
|
Narok County |
||
|
Mobile Phone Ownership
|
34.30% |
Census 2019 |
|
76.00% |
KDHS 2022 |
|
|
% of the Population Making Mobile Money Transactions |
77.70% |
KDHS 2022 |
|
% of the Population with Mobile Money Accounts |
63.90% |
2021 FinAccess Survey |
|
% of the Population Using the Internet |
7.30% |
Census 2019 |
|
% of Population who have Ever Searched and Bought Goods Online |
1.50% |
Census 2019 |
|
% of Population Using Computer/Tablet/laptop |
4.10% |
Census 2019 |
|
% of the Population Using a Bank
|
22.75% |
KDHS 2022 |
|
9.70% |
2021 FinAccess Survey |
|
Narok County Finance
In the financial year (FY) 2024/25, Narok County approved a supplementary budget of Ksh17.57 billion, comprising Ksh 5.33 billion and Ksh 12.23 billion allocation for development and recurrent expenditures, respectively.
Other highlights in the FY 2024/2025 include:
- Equitable share – Ksh 9.98 billion
- Conditional grants and additional allocations – Ksh 245.45 million
- Own Source Revenue – Ksh 5.69 billion
- Cash balances – Ksh 13.06 million
- Expenditure on personnel emoluments – Ksh 5,548,940,000.
- Expenditure on operations and maintenance – Ksh 6,329,060,000.
- Development expenditure – Ksh 3,960,270,000.
- Total expenditure – Ksh 15,838,270,000.
- Expenditure on Domestic travel – Ksh 445,080,000.
- Expenditure on foreign travel – Ksh 19,990,000.
- Total expenditure on travel – Ksh 465,070,000.
- Narok County outstanding pending bill – Ksh -
- The average MCA sitting allowance – Ksh 67,689.
HIV/AIDS in Narok County
The prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Narok County was 1.47% in 2025. The number of people living with HIV/AIDS in Narok was 13,598, while the number of HIV-related deaths was 452.
|
HIV/AIDS in Narok County – 2025 |
|
|
HIV Prevalence (%) |
1.47 |
|
People Living with HIV (PLHIV) - Total |
13,598 |
|
People Living with HIV (PLHIV) - Children |
849 |
|
People Living with HIV (PLHIV) - Adults |
12,749 |
|
New HIV Infections - Total |
356 |
|
New HIV Infections - Children |
98 |
|
New HIV Infections - Adults |
258 |
|
AIDS Related Deaths - Total |
452 |
|
AIDS Related Deaths - Children |
58 |
|
AIDS Related Deaths - Adults |
400 |
See Also