Kikuyu is a municipality in Kiambu County, Kenya, which grew from a settlement of colonial missionaries. The town is located about 20 km (12 mi) northwest of central Nairobi. It is about 20 minutes from Nairobi via a number of routes, including a dual carriage road, and has a railway station on the Mombasa – Malaba Railway Line. The town is named after the Kĩkũyũ people, the major ethnicity that settled in the area. As of 2009 the total population is 233,231. Due to its geology and rich soil texture, the chief activities are livestock and crop farming. With the recent completion of the Southern Bypass that connects Mombasa to Nairobi via Kikuyu, the town is poised for greater growth as is the only town on the Bypass. Kikuyu hosts a Sub-County Administration which is the administrative division in Kiambu County.