# Kisii County

Kisii County is a county in the former Nyanza Province in southwestern Kenya. Its capital and largest town is Kisii. The county has a population of 1,266,860 people according to the 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census . It borders Nyamira County to the North East, Narok County to the South, and Homa bay and Migori Counties to the West. The county covers an area of 1,318 km$^2$.

## People

The county is inhabited mostly by the Abagusii people.

### Religion

Religion in Kisii County
| Religion (2019 Census) | Number |
| Catholicism | 429,285 |
| Protestant | 575,994 |
| Evangelical Churches | 188,755 |
| African instituted Churches | 26,226 |
| Orthodox | 2,538 |
| Other Christian | 16,062 |
| Islam | 2,753 |
| Hindu | 351 |
| Traditionists | 445 |
| Other | 9,078 |
| No Religion Atheists | 8,574 |
| Don't Know | 354 |
| Not Stated | 98 |

## Demographics

There is total population of 1,266,860 of which 605,784 are males, 661,038 females and 38 intersex persons. There are 308,054 household with an average household size of 4.1 persons per household and a population density 958 people per square kilometre.
Distribution of population by sex and sub-county :
| Sub-County | Male | Female | Intersex | Total |
| Etago | 40,137 | 43,647 | 3 | 83,787 |
| Gucha | 39,631 | 44,108 | 1 | 83,740 |
| Gucha South | 40,022 | 43,598 | 3 | 83,623 |
| Kenyenya | 62,859 | 68,878 | 3 | 131,740 |
| Kisii Central | 81,330 | 85,573 | 3 | 166,906 |
| Kisii South | 64,514 | 70,615 | 5 | 135,134 |
| Kitutu Central | 74,608 | 79,561 | 6 | 154,175 |
| Marani | 50,598 | 56,864 | 2 | 107,464 |
| Masaba South | 58,143 | 64,248 | 5 | 122,396 |
| Nyamache | 62,113 | 68,782 | 3 | 130,898 |
| Sameta. | 31,829 | 35,164 | 4 | 66,997 |
| Total | 605,784 | 661,038 | 38 | 1,266,860 |

## Climatic conditions

Kisii receives an average rainfall of 1500 millimeters, with long rains falling in March and June. Maximum temperature range between 21–30 °C (70–86 °F) and minimum temperatures range between 15–20 °C (59–68 °F).

## Administrative and political units
### County leadership

Simba Arati is the current governor after clinching the seat with 270,928 votes in the 2022 election. Robert Monda served as his deputy between August 2022 and March 2024 who was impeached by the senate and in his place the governor nominated Elijah Obebo, Richard Onyoka as the county senator, and Donya Toto as the county Woman Representative at the National Assembly.
James Ongwae was the first governor after being elected in 2013 and re-elected in 2017 for a second and final term. He was deputized by Joash Maangi Gongera. Prof. Samson Ongeri is the senator and joined office in 2017 after flooring the first senator of the county Chris Obure. Janet Ongera is the woman representative and second to hold office, Mary Keraa-Otara being the first elected women representative.
For Kisii County, the County Executive Committee comprises:
County Executive Committee :
| | Number |
| The Governor | 1 |
| The Deputy Governor | 1 |
| The County Secretary | 1 |
| The CEC Members | 10 |
| Total | 13 |
Source

### Administrative units

There are nine constituencies, eleven sub-counties, forty five county assembly wards, one hundred and three locations and two hundred and thirty seven sub-locations.

### Political units

The county has nine electoral constituencies: The county has eleven sub-counties. They are derived from the same constituency boundaries but two constituencies, Bobasi and South Mugirango, have two sub-counties each. The sub-counties often work directly with national government.
* Bobasi Constituency
** Nyamache sub-county
** Sameta sub-county
* Bonchari Constituency
** Kisii South sub-county
* Bomachoge Borabu Constituency
** Kenyenya sub-county
* Bomachoge Chache Constituency
** Gucha sub-county
* Kitutu Chache North Constituency
** Marani sub-county
* Kitutu Chache South Constituency
** Kitutu Central sub-county
* Nyaribari Chache Constituency
** Kisii Central sub-county
* Nyaribari Masaba Constituency
** Masaba South sub-county
* South Mugirango Constituency
** Etago sub-county
** Gucha South sub-county

## Education

There are 1079 ECD centres 1081 primary schools and 371 secondary schools. The county has also 1 teachers training colleges, 49 Youth Polytechnics, 63 Technical, vocational education and training (VET) 158 adult training, 1 University and 3 university campuses.
Education Institutions in County :
| Category | Public | Private | Total | Enrolment |
| ECD Centres | 701 | 378 | 1079 | 124,991 |
| Primary schools | 705 | 376 | 1081 | 321,082 |
| Secondary schools | 350 | 21 | 371 | 114,166 |
| Youth Polytechnics | 49 | 0 | 49 | 3,882 |
| Technical, Vocational Education and Training | 63 | 0 | 63 | |
| University | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| University Campuses | 3 | 0 | 1 | |
| Adult Education Centres | 158 | | | 9,502 |
Source

## Health

There are a total of 168 health facilities in the county with one county referral hospital. County has 462 health personnel of different cadre.
Health Facilities by Ownership :
| | Government | *FBO | Private | NGO | TOTAL |
| Hospitals | 15 | 3 | 7 | | 25 |
| Health centres | 21 | 6 | | 1 | 28 |
| Dispensaries | 81 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 91 |
| Clinics | 3 | 1 | 19 | 1 | 24 |
*FBO – Faith Based Organizations
Source

## Transport and communication

The county is covered by 1,131.8 km of road network of which 669.2 km is earth roads, 292.6 km is murrammed and 170 km are tarmacked.

## Trade and commerce

There are 102 trading centres, 16,199 registered businesses, 12,110 licensed retail traders, 49 supermarkets, 365 licensed wholesale traders.