Wajir County
Introduction
Wajir County is located in North Eastern Province and had a total population of 915,000 in 2025. According to the 2019 census, Wajir had a total population of 781,263 people, consisting of 127,932 households and an average household size of 6.1 people per household.
Wajir County has a total land area of 56,773.1 square kilometres and had a population density of 14 people per square kilometre in 2019.
Wajir County is bordered to the North by Mandera, the East by Somalia, the South by Garissa, the South-West by Isiolo, the West by Marsabit, and the North-West by Ethiopia.
Sub-counties in Wajir County include Buna, Eldas, Habaswein, Tarbaj, Wajir East, Wajir North, Wajir South, and Wajir West.
Wajir County Economy
In 2023, Wajir County's average Gross County Product at current prices was Ksh 69 billion, representing an average county contribution to Gross Value Added of 0.5%.
The county contributed, on average, 0.8% to agriculture, forestry, and fishing activities and 0.1% to manufacturing activities. The county's average contribution to service activities was 0.4%.
Wajir County had a Gross County Product per capita of Ksh 79,376 in 2023.
Wajir County Poverty Rates
Wajir County's overall headcount poverty rate was 64.7%, with an estimated 539,000 people living in poverty in 2022. Kenya's overall headcount poverty rate was 39.8% in the same year.
The hardcore poverty rate of Wajir County was 10.6%, with 88,000 people estimated to live in extreme poverty in 2022. Overall, in the same year, Kenya had a hardcore poverty rate of 7.1%.
Wajir also had a food poverty rate of 45.6%, with 380,000 people estimated to live in food poverty. In Kenya, the food poverty rate in 2022 was 31.7%.
In 2019, the distribution of poverty by constituency in Wajir County was: Eldas 62.3%, Tarbaj 63.2%, Wajir East 64.9%, Wajir North 56.4%, Wajir South 54%, and Wajir West 67.6%.
In 2022, the mean monthly food and non-food expenditures in Wajir County were Ksh 3,033 and Ksh 2,292, respectively. The percentage share of mean monthly food and non-food expenditures in the same period was 65.1% and 34.9%, respectively.
The major sources of household food consumption in Wajir County are purchase or stock (92.1%), own production (4.6%), and gifts (3.3%).
In 2021, the mean and median per adult equivalent consumption expenditure in Wajir County were Ksh 4,629 and Ksh 3,722, respectively.
Wajir County Demographics
In 2019, Wajir County had a total population of 781,263 people, 415,374 males, 365,840 females, and 49 intersex. Wajir had a median age of 13 years in 2019.
The table below shows the population distribution in Wajir County by sub-county and sex in 2019.
|
Sub county |
Male |
Female |
Inter sex |
Total |
|
Buna |
26,796 |
23,088 |
2 |
49,886 |
|
Eldas |
44,743 |
43,759 |
7 |
88,509 |
|
Habaswein |
94,613 |
79,505 |
16 |
174,134 |
|
Tarbaj |
27,141 |
30,086 |
5 |
57,232 |
|
Wajir East |
59,359 |
51,292 |
3 |
110,654 |
|
Wajir North |
31,990 |
30,209 |
7 |
62,206 |
|
Wajir South |
64,947 |
51,864 |
3 |
116,814 |
|
Wajir West |
65,785 |
56,037 |
6 |
121,828 |
|
Total |
415,374 |
365,840 |
49 |
781,263 |
Marital Status
The percentage distribution of women aged 12 and above in Wajir County who were never married was 40.6% in 2019. The distribution of women married monogamous was 52.4%, while that of women married polygamous was 2.0%. The widowed were 2.3%, while the distribution of the divorced and separated was 2.1% and 0.4%, respectively, in 2021.
Among men aged 12 and above in Wajir, 53% were never married, 40% married monogamously, 5.3% married polygamously, 0.5% were widowed, 0.6% divorced, and 0.5% separated.
According to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey, the median age at first marriage among women aged 20-49 in Wajir County was 19.5 years in 2022. The median age at first marriage among women aged 25-49 in the county was 19.2 years.
In 2022, the median age at first marriage among men aged 30-54 in Wajir was 26 years.
Polygyny
The percentage distribution of women aged 15-49 in Wajir County who had one or more co-wives was 37.5%, 30.9% with one co-wife, and 6.6% with more than two co-wives in 2022. The percentage of women with no co-wives in Wajir was 62.5% in the same year.
Among men aged 15-49 in Wajir County, 16.5% had more than two wives, and 83.5% had one wife in 2022.
Marriage Registration
In 2022, 7.5% of women aged 15-49 in Wajir County had their marriages registered with civil authorities, while the % of those with registered marriages and marriage certificates was 6.6%.
Teenage Marriages in Wajir County
The proportion of married males aged 12-15 and 12-18 in Wajir County was 6% and 7%, respectively. The proportion of married females aged 12-15 and 12-18 in Wajir County was 6.7% and 11.4%, respectively.
The rate of teenage pregnancies in Wajir County, consisting of women aged 15-19 who have ever been pregnant, was 14.8% in 2022.
Total Fertility Rate
The Total Fertility Rate in Wajir County was 6.7 births per woman in 2019, an increase of 3.5% from 6.5 births per woman in 2009. By comparison, Kenya had a total fertility rate of 3.4 births per woman in 2019, a decline of 28.6% from 4.8 births per woman in 2009.
In 2019, Wajir County's total youth fertility rate was 0.7 births per woman, compared to the national youth fertility rate of 1 birth per woman in Kenya.
Wajir County had a Crude Birth Rate of 44.2 births per 1,000 population in 2019, a decline of 15.4% from a crude birth rate of 52.2 births per 1,000 population in 2009. Nationally, Kenya had a Crude Birth Rate of 27.9 births per 1,000 population in 2019, a decline of 27.2% from a Crude Birth Rate of 38.4 births per 1,000 population in 2009.
Place of Birth and Notification Status
In 2019, 49.2% of recent births in Wajir County occurred in a health facility, while 50% occurred in a non-health facility. In Kenya, 85.8% occurred in a health facility, while 14% occurred in a non-health facility.
The completeness of birth registration in Wajir County was 12.2% in 2023.
Place of Death and Notification Status
In 2019, 26% of deaths in Wajir County occurred in a health facility, while 68.8% 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 Wajir County was 13.9% in 2023.
Wajir County had a Crude Death Rate (CDR) of 11.6 deaths per 1,000 population in 2019. Overall, Kenya Crude Death Rate was 10.5%.
Religious Affiliation
Most residents of Wajir County are Islam 767,312, followed by Catholic 3,060, and Other Christians 2,280.
|
Catholic |
3,060 |
|
Protestant |
1,298 |
|
Evangelical Churches |
247 |
|
African Instituted Churches |
263 |
|
Orthodox |
20 |
|
Other Christians |
2,280 |
|
767,312 |
|
|
Hindu |
609 |
|
Traditionists |
3 |
|
Other Religion |
86 |
|
No religion Atheists |
39 |
Wajir County Development
- The Rural Access Index (RAI) in Wajir County was 2% in 2019, representing the percentage of the population living within two kilometres of an all-weather road.
- Household access to electricity in Wajir County was 14.6% in 2019, up from 3.4% in 2009.
- In 2019, 29.8% of households in Wajir County had access to improved sanitation, up from 7.5% in 2009.
- Household access to safe drinking water in Wajir County was 49.2% in 2019, up from 46% in 2009.
- The share of households with access to piped water in Wajir County was 3.3% in 2019, up from 1.5% in 2009.
- Wajir had 23.2% of its public primary schools connected to electricity, ranking 44th nationally in 2019.
The share of the population in Wajir County owning mobile phones in 2019 was 27.9%. Among women, 64.5% owned any type of mobile phone in Wajir County in 2022, while 24.1% owned a smartphone.
Among men, 76.8% in Wajir owned any kind of mobile phone in 2022, while 42.4% 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 86.7% and 72.8%, respectively.
|
Wajir County |
||
|
Mobile Phone Ownership
|
27.90% |
Census 2019 |
|
74.25% |
KDHS 2022 |
|
|
% of the Population Making Mobile Money Transactions |
64.35% |
KDHS 2022 |
|
% of the Population with Mobile Money Accounts |
85.90% |
2021 FinAccess Survey |
|
% of the Population Using the Internet |
3.90% |
Census 2019 |
|
% of Population who have Ever Searched and Bought Goods Online |
1.10% |
Census 2019 |
|
% of Population Using Computer/Tablet/laptop |
2.90% |
Census 2019 |
|
% of the Population Using a Bank
|
13.00% |
KDHS 2022 |
|
5.40% |
2021 FinAccess Survey |
|
Wajir County Finance
In the financial year 2024/25, Wajir County approved a supplementary budget of 13.52 billion, comprising Ksh 5.14 billion and Ksh 8.38 billion allocation for development and recurrent expenditures, respectively.
Other highlights include:
- Equitable share – Ksh 9.89 billion
- Conditional grants and additional allocations – Ksh 1.21 billion
- Own Source Revenue – Ksh 331.72 million
- Cash balances – Ksh 936.62 million
Expenditure in Wajir County
On recurrent expenditure, Wajir County spent Ksh 4,935,240,000 on Salaries/Personnel emoluments, Ksh 2,874,870,000 on Operations and maintenance, and Ksh 3,644,910,000 on development expenditure.
The total expenditure in the financial year 2024/25 was Ksh 11,455,020,000.
Pending Bills in Wajir County
As of the end of the FY 2024/25, Wajir had an outstanding pending bill of Ksh 3,712,600,000.
Travel Expenditure in Wajir County
In FY 2024/25, Wajir County spent Ksh 249,250,000 on Domestic travel and Ksh 11,460,000 on foreign travel, for a total expenditure of Ksh 260,710,000 on travel.
MCA Sitting Allowance in Wajir County
The average sitting allowance for Members of the County Assembly in Wajir was Ksh 57,455.
HIV/AIDS in Wajir County
The prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Wajir County was 0.11%. The number of people living with HIV/AIDS in Wajir was 701, while the number of HIV-related deaths was 54.
|
HIV/AIDS in Wajir County – 2025 |
|
|
HIV Prevalence (%) |
0.11 |
|
People Living with HIV (PLHIV) - Total |
701 |
|
People Living with HIV (PLHIV) - Children |
113 |
|
People Living with HIV (PLHIV) - Adults |
588 |
|
New HIV Infections - Total |
32 |
|
New HIV Infections - Children |
20 |
|
New HIV Infections - Adults |
12 |
|
AIDS Related Deaths - Total |
54 |
|
AIDS Related Deaths - Children |
17 |
|
AIDS Related Deaths - Adults |
37 |
See Also