Meru Central District is one of the seventy-one districts of Kenya, located in that country's Eastern Province. In 1992, it was split from the large Meru District, along with Meru North District, Meru South District, and Tharaka District.
Meru Central District is the home of the Ameru (Meru) tribe, which is sometimes described as being related to other tribes living around the Mount Kenya region: the Kikuyu and the Embu people. The Ameru are generally called "Bantu" people who have been native to the Mt. Kenya area for many, many years — well before colonization of Kenya by Great Britain in the 19th Century. The people of Meru Central District are now predominantly Christian — Methodist, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, and other denominations, reflecting the work of missionaries — with also minorities of Indian descent, who are mainly Hindus, and African/Arab descent, who are Muslims. Meru Central also has some resident Europeans predominantly British in ancestry.
The district headquarters is in Meru. The district has three constituencies: South Imenti, Central Imenti and North Imenti.
| Local authorities (councils) | |||
| Authority | Type | Population* | Urban pop.* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meru | Municipality | 42,677 | 42,677 |
| Meru County | County | 456,203 | 10,589 |
| Total | - | 498,880 | 53,266 |
| * 1999 census. Source: [1] | |||
| Administrative divisions | |||
| Division | Population* | Urban pop.* | Headquarters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abogeta | 56,575 | 0 | |
| Abothuguchi Central | 29,673 | 0 | |
| Abothuguchi East | 37,020 | 0 | |
| Abothuguchi West | 59,823 | 0 | |
| Buuri | 40,517 | 0 | |
| Igoji | 45,173 | 0 | Igoji |
| Miriga Mieru East | 56,958 | 2,961 | |
| Miriga Mieru West | 69,469 | 36,360 | Meru |
| Nkuene | 54,554 | 8,051 | |
| Timau | 49,118 | 1,338 | Timau |
| Total | 498,880 | 48,710 | - |
| * 1999 census. Sources: [2], [3], | |||
