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Eastern Province Mkoa wa Mashariki | |
|---|---|
 Location of the Former Province in Kenya. | |
| Coordinates:0°0′N38°0′E / 0.000°N 38.000°E /0.000; 38.000 | |
| Country |  Kenya |
| No. of Counties: | 8 |
| Capital | Embu |
| Area | |
• Total | 140,698.6 km2 (54,324.0 sq mi) |
| Population (2009) | |
• Total | 5,668,123[1] |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (EAT) |
TheEastern Province (Swahili:Mashariki) ofKenya was one of 8Provinces of Kenya. Its northern boundary ran along with that ofEthiopia; theNorth Eastern Province andCoast Province lay to the east and south; and the remainder of Kenya's provinces, includingCentral Province, ran along its western border. The provincial capital wasEmbu.
On 16 July 2009, the province was sub-divided into three: Lower Eastern withMachakos as headquarters, Central Eastern withEmbu as headquarters, and Upper Eastern withMarsabit as headquarters; however, those changes never took effect due to the political wrangles in the Kenyancoalition government at the time. The sub-division of provinces was carried out in sevenprovinces of Kenya, excludingNairobi. As of March 2013 after theKenyan general election, 2013, the Eastern Province was subdivided into eight counties, namely:
| Code | County | Former province | Area (km2) | Population census 2009 | Capital |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Marsabit | Eastern | 66,923.1 | 291,166 | Marsabit |
| 11 | Isiolo | Eastern | 25,336.1 | 143,294 | Isiolo |
| 12 | Meru | Eastern | 7,003 | 1,356,301 | Meru |
| 13 | Tharaka-Nithi | Eastern | 2,609.5 | 365,330 | Chuka |
| 14 | Embu | Eastern | 2,555.9 | 516,212 | Embu |
| 15 | Kitui | Eastern | 24,385.1 | 1,012,709 | Kitui |
| 16 | Machakos | Eastern | 5,952.9 | 1,098,584 | Machakos |
| 17 | Makueni | Eastern | 8,008.9 | 884,527 | Wote |
| Totals | 140,698.6 | 5,668,123 | - |
The province was principally inhabited by theMeru,Kamba,Embu, and severalpastoralist communities. In 1979, its population was 2.7 million; in 1999, 4,631,779 (according to the 1999 census) and in 2009 the province would have had a population of 5,668,123.[2] In terms of area, it was the second largest province at (140,698.6 km2) in Kenya.
Eastern Province of Kenya includes theChalbi Desert,Mount Kenya, and the eastern half ofLake Turkana. The climate in the region is arid to semi-arid. Its most important permanent river isEwaso Ng'iro.
