The
Pokot people (also spelled
Pökoot) live in
West Pokot County and
Baringo County in
Kenya and in the Pokot District of the eastern
Karamoja region in
Uganda. They form a section of the
Kalenjin ethnic group and speak the
Pökoot language, which is broadly similar to the related Marakwet, Nandi, Tuken and other members of the
Kalenjin language group. Kenya's 2009 census puts the total number of Pokot speakers at about 620,000 in Kenya (roughly 133,000 Pokot in Baringo county and close to 500,000 in West Pokot county). In addition, there are close to 100,000 Pokot speakers in Uganda. A fair estimate thus places the number of Pokot speakers in Kenya and Uganda at 700,000.