Top 10 Counties Ranked by Longest Tarmacked Class C Roads

Murang’a County has the longest network of tarmacked Class C roads in Kenya, according to the Economic Survey 2026. The county recorded 389.6 kilometres of paved roads, representing 70.6 percent of its total 552.1-kilometre Class C network.

The figure is up from 333.6 kilometres in 2024. Kiambu follows closely with 387.6 kilometres of paved roads, or 54.7 percent of its 709.1-kilometre total. Nakuru ranks third with 376.4 kilometres.

Class C roads are national trunk routes that link regionally important centres to each other or to higher-class A and B roads. They fall under national authorities such as the Kenya Rural Roads Authority rather than county governments.

Kenya’s overall Class C rural road network expanded from 18,321 kilometres in 2024 to 28,150 kilometres in 2025. The sharp rise came largely from the 2025 Road Inventory and Condition Surveys, which mapped thousands of previously unrecorded roads.

Paved Class C roads grew more modestly, from 4,854 kilometres to 5,163 kilometres over the same period. Unpaved roads increased from 13,467 kilometres to 22,987 kilometres.

Counties in the northern and eastern regions saw some of the largest jumps in unpaved length. Marsabit’s unpaved network grew by 130.9 percent to 1,079.4 kilometres. Garissa rose by 89.6 percent to 1,102.8 kilometres, while Turkana increased by 71.4 percent to 1,018.7 kilometres.

These areas remain heavily dependent on earth and gravel surfaces that can become impassable during rains. The data highlights a continuing gap between central and Rift Valley counties, which have higher paved coverage, and those in the north and east.

Government road spending is projected at KSh 168.7 billion for the 2025/26 financial year. Of that total, KSh 97.7 billion is set aside for development, including KSh 83.0 billion for trunk and primary roads and KSh 14.7 billion for urban roads. Maintenance and repair account for KSh 71.0 billion.

Nyeri ranks fourth with 275.0 kilometres of paved Class C roads. Uasin Gishu follows with 266.2 kilometres, Migori with 241.0 kilometres, Kirinyaga with 157.3 kilometres, Narok with 157.5 kilometres, Machakos with 163.4 kilometres and Baringo with 185.1 kilometres.

The ranking is based on data drawn from the 2025 Road Inventory and Condition Surveys and published in the Economic Survey 2026.