It has a population of 1.55 million people. Meru County is the home of the Ngaa people (Meru), who are related to other ethnicities living around the Mount Kenya region: the Kikuyu, Embu people and to some extent the Kamba people Also, peoples from the east coast of Kenya, along the Indian Ocean, like the Bajuni, Swahili, Mijikenda, and further inland, the Taita, Taveta and westwards to the Lake Victoria coast, the Kisii and Maragoli as well as other Luhya people, are all related to the Meru.
The county headquarters is in the town of Meru. The current governor of Meru County is Hon. Kiraitu Murungi of Jubilee Party. The deputy governor is Titus Ntuchiu and the women representative is Kawira Mwangaza.