Wau County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in the former state of

Western Bahr el Ghazal Western Bahr el Ghazal is a state in South Sudan. It has an area of and is the least populous state in South Sudan, according to the controversial Sudanese census conducted in 2008. It is part of the Bahr el Ghazal region. Its capital is Wau. ...

South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the C ...

. Wau County was home to the state's capital, Wau. It is the most populous county in the state with over 232,910 people. The seat of Wau County is the third most populous

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

in South Sudan.

Geography

Wau County is both the second largest and second smallest county in area of Western Bahr el Ghazal. It is surrounded by

Raga County Raga County is a county in the Western Bahr el Ghazal, South Sudan. It is the largest county in the nation. In Arabic, Raga County can be known as "Raja". Population Raga County's population Population typically refers to the number of peo ...

Jur River County Jur River County is a county in the Western Bahr el Ghazal state in South Sudan, located in east and northeast parts of the state, Jur River County is divided into six Payam (administrative division), payams (districts): Kangi Payam, Udoci Payam, M ...

, Aweil Centre County (county of

Northern Bahr el Ghazal Northern Bahr el Ghazal is a state in South Sudan. It has an area of 30,543 km² and is part of the Bahr el Ghazal region. It borders East Darfur in Sudan to the north, Western Bahr el Ghazal to the west and south, and Warrap and the dis ...

Nagero County Nagero County is one of the 10 counties of Western Equatoria, a state of South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. I ...

and Tombura County (both counties of

Western Equatoria Western Equatoria is a state in South Sudan. It has an area of . Its capital is Yambio. The state was divided into counties, each headed by a County Commissioner. Western Equatoria seceded from Sudan as part of the Republic of South Sudan on ...

). Wau County is in the Northwest region of South Sudan, and is in the middle of Western Bahr el Ghazal.

Ethnic groups

As of 2013, ethnic groups reported in Wau County were Balanda, Azande, Bongo, Gollo, Ndogo, and Bai. Balanda made up the large ethnic group.

References

Counties of South Sudan Western Bahr el Ghazal {{SouthSudan-geo-stub