<< Click to Display Table of Contents >> Navigation:  Finance and Economic Planning > CFSP > 2018-19 FY CFSP > ALIGNING CFSP WITH BUDGET POLICY STATEMENT 201 > County Economic Performance and Prospects > Overview of county economy

There are 3 basic components of Human Development Index (HDI). These are; health, education, and income. ElgeyoMarakwet‘s HDI stands at between 0.38-0.40 which is lower than the national HDI of 0.520 (Kenya Human Development Report, 2013). Kenya’s HDI is lower than the global average but higher than the Sub-Saharan Africa. Inequality Human Development Index (IHDI) takes into accounthow achievements inhealth, education, and income are distributed among its citizens by “discounting” each dimension’s average value according to its level of inequality. The IHDI value for Kenya in 2012 was 0.344, compared to a HDI of 0.519 (UNDP, 2013). Ideally, the IHDI equals the HDI when there is no inequality across people but is less than the HDI as inequality rises. In this sense, the IHDI is the actual level of human development (accounting for this inequality), while the HDI can be viewed as an index of “potential” human development (or the maximum level of HDI) that could be achieved if there was no inequality. Explanations to poor IHDI performance in Kenya include inequalities in human development, life expectancy, education attainment, income per capita, and gender, among others. The county’s IHDI stands at 0.4 against national IHDI of between 0.38-0.39 which implies that the county is more unequal than the nation.

 

The county’s economy and livelihoodsdepend onagriculture. Over76 percent of county’s rural population relies on agriculture. Promotingsubstantial investments in agriculture is key to the county’s economic transformation. Improvement in agriculture will eventually lead to reduction in inequality levels and eventual improvement in economic growth.