Elgeiyo-Marakwet County

Elgeyo Marakwet County is an administrative county in the Rift Valley Province of Kenya. Its capital town is Kapsowar. Has an area of 3,029.8 km². It comprises of the following constituencies;

• Marakwet East
• Marakwet West
• Keiyo North
• Keiyo South

Population and people

Elgeyo Marakwet County has a population of 369,998 a male population of 183,738 and a female population of 186,260 (2009 Cencus). Local people are predominantly of the elgeyo and Marakwet tribe.

Economic Activities

Elgeyo Marakwet falls under the North region, classified as the country’s food basket. The main economic activity is agriculture which includes; dairy farming, horticulture and cereals production that accounts for 85 per cent of the county’s economy. The area produces mangoes, tomatoes, potatoes and other crops, which are supplied to leading regional markets.

Education
Private and public Primary schools
Private and public Secondary schools
Private and public colleges
Private and public universities

Health care
Elgeyo Marakwet county has estimated 138 health facilities spread across the county. The doctor/population ratio is about 1:119,879 showing an over-utilization of doctors.

Issues

The main issues concerning population and development in Elgeyo Marakwet County are:

• High unemployment rate and drug abuse, common among the young.
• Poor health facilities.
• Poor education facilities.
• Poor infrastructure
• Insecurity