Kitale is an agricultural town in western Kenya situated between Mount Elgon and the Cherengani Hills at an elevation of around 6000 feet.
Latitude (DMS): 1° 1' 0N
Longitude (DMS): 35° 0' 0E Altitude (meters): 1896 |
Standard Time Zone: East Africa Time (EAT) Time Offset : UTC/GMT +03:00 hours |
It is the administrative centre of the Trans-Nzoia District of Rift Valley Province. The main cash crops grown in the area are sunflower, tea, coffee, Pyrethrum, seed beans and seed maize. Kitale is a market town for the local agricultural area and is known for the Kitale Museum and an agroforestry centre. Saiwa Swamp National Park lies near the town.
The town was founded in 1908 by white settlers. A branch line of the Uganda Railway from Eldoret reached Kitale in 1926 which promoted growth of the town. Kitale is among the most diverse towns in the country.
PEOPLE AND POPULATION. The population of Kitale comprises of different ethnic groups ranging from the local Luhya, Kalenjin, Luo, Kikuyu, Kisii, Teso, Turkana to the international communities that include Asians, Britons, Americans and Sudanese from Southern Sudan. The population of Kitale region has an increasing population of up to 20,000 people per annum. The Trans-Nzoia population census projected from 1999, showing 2007-2010 in the table below:
Year |
Male |
Female |
TOTAL |
2007 |
363,655 |
380,015 |
743,670 |
2008 |
373,205 |
389,995 |
763,200 |
2009 |
382,939 |
400,168 |
783,107 |
2010 |
392,860 |
410,534 |
803,394 |
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