# Homa Bay County

Homa Bay County is a county in the former Nyanza Province of Kenya. Its capital and largest town is Homa Bay. The county has a population of 1,131,950 (2019 census) and an area of 3,154.7 km$^2$. Lake Victoria is a major source of livelihood for Homa Bay County. It has 40 wards, each represented by an MCA in the Homa Bay county assembly located in Homa Bay town, which is the county headquarters.
Homa Bay County has eight sub counties just like the constituencies.

## Demographics

Homa Bay County has a total population of 1,131,950 persons, of which 539,560 are males, 592,367 females and 23 intersex persons. It has 262,036 households with an average of 4.3 people per household. The county has a population density of 359 people per square kilometre.
Population By Sub-County :
| Sub-County | Population |
| Homa Bay | 117,439 |
| Ndhiwa | 218,136 |
| Rachuonyo North | 178,686 |
| Rachuonyo East | 121,822 |
| Rachuonyo South | 130,814 |
| Rangwe | 117,732 |
| Suba North | 124,938 |
| Suba South | 124,938 |
| Total | 1,131,950 |
Source

### Religion

Religion in Homa Bay County
| Religion (2019 Census) | Number |
| Catholicism | 183,946 |
| Protestant | 433,102 |
| Evangelical Churches | 241,060 |
| African instituted Churches | 200,900 |
| Orthodox | 6,731 |
| Other Cristian | 28,805 |
| Islam | 7,469 |
| Hindu | 138 |
| Traditionists | 3,407 |
| Other | 15,093 |
| No ReligionAtheists | 4,799 |
| Don't Know | 394 |
| Not Stated | 53 |

## Administrative and political units
### Administrative Units

The county has been subdivided into 8 sub-counties with 40 county assembly wards. There are a total of 19 divisions, with 116 locations and 226 sub-locations.

#### Electoral constituencies

The county has eight electoral constituencies:
* Homa Bay Town Constituency
* Kabondo Kasipul Constituency
* Karachuonyo Constituency
* Kasipul Constituency
* Suba North Constituency
* Ndhiwa Constituency
* Rangwe Constituency
* Suba South Constituency

### Political leadership

Gladys Wanga is the current governor after being elected in the 2022 general elections that took place on August 9. Moses Otieno Kajwang’ is the senator and was elected in 2015 in a by - election due to the death of his brother, Gerald Otieno Kajwang. He retained his seat in the 2017 General elections. Gladys Atieno Nyasuna Wanga is the second woman representative to hold the office after being elected in 2017.

#### Members of parliament

| Constituency | Member of Partliament | Party | Session |
| Homa Bay Town Constituency | Peter Opondo Kaluma | ODM | 12th Parliament (2017 - 2022) |
| Homa Bay Town Constituency | Hon Joyce Osogo | ODM | 13th Parliament (2022 - 2027) |
| Ndhiwa Constituency | Hon Martin Peters Owino | ODM | 13th Parliament (2022 - 2027) |
| Kasipul Constituency | Hon Charles Ong'ondo Were | ODM | 13th Parliament (2022 - 2027) |
| Suba North Constituency | Hon Millie Grace Akoth Odhiambo | ODM | 13th Parliament (2022 - 2027) |
| Karachuonyo Constituency | Hon Andrew Adipo Okuome | ODM | 13th Parliament (2022 - 2027) |
| Suba South Constituency | Hon Caroli Omondi | ODM | 13th Parliament (2022 - 2027) |
| Rangwe Constituency | Hon Lilian Achieng Gogo | ODM | 13th Parliament (2022 - 2027) |
| Kabondo Kasipul Constituency | Hon Eve Akinyi Obara | ODM | 13th Parliament (2022 - 2027) |

## Health

There are a total of 206 health facilities across the county of which 144 are public and 62 are private.
Health Facilities by Ownership :
| Public | Number |
| Level 5 | 1 |
| Level 4 | 11 |
| Level 3 | 31 |
| Level 2 | 101 |
| Private | |
| Hospitals (Mission/NGO) | 3 |
| Health centres | 36 |
| Dispensaries | 23 |
| Total | 206 |
Source

## Education

The county has 1451 ECD centres of which are 991 public and 460 private. There are 1089 primary schools, 312 secondary schools, 50 youth polytechnic, 2 technical training institutions, 2 university colleges.
Education Institutions :
| Category | Public | Private | Total |
| ECD Centres | 991 | 460 | 1451 |
| Primary schools | 868 | 221 | 1089 |
| Secondary schools | 294 | 18 | 312 |
| Youth Polytechnic | 50 | 0 | 50 |
| Technical Training Institutions | 2 | | 2 |
| Universities | 2 | | 2 |
Source

## Transport and communication

The county is covered by road network of 3225 km of which 1840 is covered by earth surface, 1240 km is gravel and 184 km is covered by bitumen. There are 13 postal services with 3,300 installed letter boxes, 1,605 rented letter boxes 1,695 vacant letter boxes.

## Trade and commerce

The county grows a variety of agricultural crops based on the ecological zones found in the county. Coffee, sugarcane, maize, beans, tobacco, dairy and fish farming in Rachuonyo subcounty. Maize, millet, pineapples, sorghum, sunflower and tomatoes are grown in Gwasi Hills of Suba. Millet, green grams, tobacco, sugarcane, pineapples, sisal are grown in Ndhiwa, Homa Bay town and Rangwe. Cotton was grown in Rachuonyo and central Mbita before the collapse of the cotton industry. There are efforts that are underway to revive cotton farming across the county. Some of the animals kept in the county include dairy cattle, beef cattle, sheep, hair goats, dairy goats, meat pigs, rabbit and poultry.
The county is also a tourist attraction center because of the mysterious lake found in Karachuonyo constituency, Lake Simbi Nyaima, a little volcanic lake well known for its ancient origins and its undiscovered prehistoric sites that make it a Kenya safari tourist destination of the worldwide interest. The lake is known for seasonal migration of Flamingo birds from Lakes Bogoria, Natron and Nakuru National Park among other lakes from the rift valley.

## Villages and settlements

* Andiwo's Village
* Awach Tende
* Awino
* Oyugis
* Akelo's Village