{{Short description|County of Kenya}} {{Use British English|date=May 2013}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2022}} {{Infobox settlement | official_name = Tharaka Nithi County | settlement_type = [[Counties of Kenya|County]] | image_caption = | image_flag = Flag of Tharaka Nithi County.gif | flag_size = 150px | image_shield = Coat of Arms of Tharaka-Nithi County.png | shield_size = 150px | image_map = Tharaka-Nithi County in Kenya.svg | map_caption = Location of Tharaka-Nithi County in Kenya | coordinates = {{coord|0|18|S|38|0|E|region:KE-400_type:adm2nd|display=inline,title}} | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = {{flag|Kenya}} | established_title = Formed | established_date = 4 March 2013 | seat_type = Capital | seat = [[Kathwana]] | leader_title = [[County Governors of Kenya|Governor]] | leader_name = [[Muthomi Njuki]] | area_total_km2 = 2,609 | area_land_km2 = | area_water_km2 = | elevation_m = | population_total = 393,177 | population_as_of = 2019 | population_footnotes = <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/36672705/Kenya-Census-2009|title = Kenya Census 2009 | PDF | Census | Waste Management}}</ref> | population_density_km2 = auto | website = {{URL|http://www.tharakanithi.go.ke/}} | footnotes = | timezone = [[East Africa Time|EAT]] | utc_offset = +3 }} '''Tharaka-Nithi County''' is one of the 47 [[counties of Kenya]] located in Kenya located in the eastern [[Mount Kenya region]]. The county has an area of 2609 km<sup>2</sup> and as of the 2019 census a population of 393,177.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Kenya 2009 Population and Housing Census Highlights|publisher=Kenya national Bureau of Statistics|url=http://www.knbs.or.ke/Census%20Results/KNBS%20Brochure.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100921055446/http://knbs.or.ke/Census%20Results/KNBS%20Brochure.pdf|archive-date=21 September 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> It is home to the [[Meru people]].
Tharaka-Nithi County is home to the Chuka, Muthambi, Mwimbi and Tharaka subgroups of the [[Meru people|Ameru]] community. The people of Tharaka-Nithi County are predominantly [[Christians|Christian]], with [[Catholics]], [[Presbyterianism|Presbyterians]], and [[Methodism|Methodists]] being the predominant religious communities.
The county consists of three [[List of constituencies of Kenya|constituencies]]: [[Maara Constituency|Maara]], [[Chuka/Igambang'ombe Constituency|Chuka]] and [[Tharaka Constituency|Tharaka]].
==History== In 1992, [[Meru District, Kenya|Meru District]] was broken up into four new districts: Meru Central, [[Meru North District|Meru North]], [[Meru South District|Meru South]] and Tharaka. Subsequently, Meru South, also known as Nithi, combined with Tharaka into the Tharaka-Nithi District. In 1998, the Tharaka-Nithi District was split into two districts, Nithi and Tharaka,<ref>Sheila Aikman, Elaine Unterhalter: (2005) ''Beyond access: transforming policy and practice for gender equality in education''. Oxfam, [https://books.google.com/books?id=XC1jGwGLiVwC&pg=PA107 page 107].</ref> but a 2009 [[High Court (Kenya)|High Court]] decision declared that split unconstitutional and re-combined the two.<ref>{{Cite news|author=Nyasato, Robert|date=5 September 2009|title=High Court outlaws 210 districts created by Moi and Kibaki since 1992|newspaper=The Standard|url=http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/business/article/1144023253/high-court-outlaws-210-districts-created-by-moi-and-kibaki-since-1992 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140701200608/http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/business/article/1144023253/high-court-outlaws-210-districts-created-by-moi-and-kibaki-since-1992|archive-date=1 July 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> Subsequently, under the revised [[Constitution of Kenya|constitution of 2010]], Tharaka-Nithi became a county.<ref>{{Cite web|title=First Scheduke, Article 6 (1)|work=Constitution of Kenya (2010)|page=167|url=http://www.kenyalaw.org/kl/fileadmin/pdfdownloads/Constitution_of_Kenya__2010.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140314000451/http://www.kenyalaw.org/kl/fileadmin/pdfdownloads/Constitution_of_Kenya__2010.pdf|archive-date=14 March 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Economy== Like other counties surrounding [[Mount Kenya]], the primary economic activity in Tharaka-Nithi County is farming. Crops planted include tea and coffee in the higher areas of the county while sorghum, maize, green grams and millet in the low altitude areas. Dairy farming and fish farming are also practiced in the county.
==Religion== Religion in Tharaka-Nithi County<ref name=Census2019>{{cite web |url=https://housingfinanceafrica.org/app/uploads/VOLUME-IV-KPHC-2019.pdf |title=2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census Volume IV: Distribution of Population by Socio-Economic Characteristics |access-date=2 May 2021 |website=Kenya National Bureau of Statistics |df=dmy |archive-date=9 October 2022 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://housingfinanceafrica.org/app/uploads/VOLUME-IV-KPHC-2019.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" |- ! style="width:100px;"|Religion (2019 Census) ! style="width:80px;"|Number |- |[[Catholicism]]||108,266 |- |[[Protestantism]] ||172,266 |- |[[Evangelical churches]] ||70,043 |- |[[African-initiated church|African-instituted churches]] ||18,749 |- |[[Orthodoxy]]||2,656 |- |Other [[Christianity|Christian]]||9.114 |- |[[Islam]]||724 |- |[[Hinduism]] ||9 |- |[[Traditional African religions|Traditionism]]||251 |- |Other||4,082 |- |[[Irreligion|No religion]] or [[atheism]]||4.461 |- |Don't know||615 |- |Not stated||67 |- |}
==Prominent personalities== * [[Bernard Mate]], politician; member of the [[Legislative Council of Kenya|Legislative Council]] and [[Parliament of Kenya|Parliament]] * [[Muthomi Njuki]], governor of Tharaka-Nithi County *[[Kithure Kindiki]], Deputy president, politician; former Senator and former Cabinet Secretary of Interior and Administration *[[Mzalendo Kibunjia]], archaeologist and museum director *[[James Ngugi]], entrepreneur and economist * Erastus Njoka, politician and former and founding vice chancellor of [[Chuka University]]. * Peter K. Muriungi, the first and founding vice chancellor of Tharaka University.
==See also== *[[Isiolo County]] *[[Meru County]] *[[Embu County]] *[[Kitui County]]
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[http://ochaonline.un.org/OchaLinkClick.aspx?link=ocha&docid=1086876 Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs – Kenya AdminLevels 1-4] (.pdf) *[http://kenyanewsagency.go.ke/en/newly-elected-tharaka-nithi-county-governor-muthomi-njuki-is-sworn/ Muthomi Njuki Elected Governor – Tharaka Nithi County 2017] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171006035934/http://kenyanewsagency.go.ke/en/newly-elected-tharaka-nithi-county-governor-muthomi-njuki-is-sworn/ |date=6 October 2017 }}
{{First and second-level administrative divisions of Kenya}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Tharaka-Nithi County| ]] [[Category:Counties of Kenya]] [[Category:Mount Kenya region]]