The Central Province (Swahili: Kati, Gikuyu: Gichigo gia Gatagati) was a region in central Kenya until 2013, when Kenya's provinces were replaced by a system of counties. It covered an area of 11,449 km (4,420 sq mi) and was located to the north of Nairobi and west of Mount Kenya (see maps). The province had 4,383,743 inhabitants according to the 2009 census. The provincial headquarters was Nyeri.
Central Province was the ancestral home of the Gikuyu people.
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The Kikuyu (also Agĩkũyũ/ Gĩkũyũ) are a Bantu ethnic group native to Central Kenya. At a population of 8,148,668 as of 2019, they account for 17.13% of the total population of Kenya, making them Kenya's largest ethnic group.
The term Kikuyu is the Swahili borrowing of the autonym Gĩkũyũ (Gikuyu pronunciation: [ɣèkòjóꜜ]).
Mount Kenya (Meru: Kĩrĩmaara, Kikuyu: Kĩrĩmanyaga, or "Kīrī-nyaga", Kamba: Ki nyaa, Embu: Kĩ nyaga) is the second-highest peak in Africa, after Kilimanjaro. The highest peaks of the mountain are Batian (5,199 metres (17,057 feet)), Nelion (5,188 m (17,021 ft)) and Point Lenana (4,985 m (16,355 ft)). Mount Kenya is located in the former Eastern and Central provinces of Kenya; its peak is now the intersection of Meru, Embu, Kirinyaga, Nyeri and Tharaka Nithi counties, about 16.5 kilometres (10.3 miles) south of the equator, around 150 km (90 mi) north-northeast of the capital Nairobi. Mount Kenya is the source of the name of the Republic of Kenya.
Mount Kenya is a volcano created approximately 3 million years after the opening of the East African Rift. Before glaciation, it was 7,000 m (23,000 ft) high. It was covered by an ice cap for thousands of years. This has resulted in very eroded slopes and numerous valleys radiating from the peak. There are currently 11 small glaciers, which are shrinking rapidly, and may disappear by 2050. The forested slopes are an important source of water for much of Kenya.
Kikuyu or Gikuyu (Gikuyu: Gĩkũyũ [ɣēkōjó]) (also known as Gĩgĩkũyũ) is a Bantu language spoken by the Gĩkũyũ (Agĩkũyũ) of Kenya. Kikuyu is mainly spoken in the area encompassing the former Central Province (between Nyeri, Kirinyaga, Kiambu, Murang'a and Nyahururu) and surrounding areas like Nairobi, Nakuru and Laikipia. The Kikuyu people traditionally identify their ancestral lands by the surrounding mountain ranges in Central Kenya, including Mount Kenya, which they call Kĩrĩmanyaga and the Aberdare Range.
Kenya's former provinces were replaced by a system of 47 counties in 2013, following the general elections held on March 4, 2013, which fully implemented the devolved government system outlined in the Constitution of Kenya 2010.