The Western Area Rural District is one of the sixteen

districts of Sierra Leone The provinces of Sierra Leone are divided into 16 districts, as of July 2017. Previously, the country was divided into 14 districts. The Western Area is divided into two districts. Sierra Leone's capital Freetown is located in the Western Area of ...

. It is located mostly around the

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...

in the

Western Area The Western Area or Freetown Peninsula (formerly the Colony of Sierra Leone) is one of five principal divisions of Sierra Leone. It comprises the oldest city and national capital Freetown and its surrounding towns and countryside. It covers an a ...

of Sierra Leone. The Western Area Rural District has a 2015 census population of 442,951. The district capital and largest city is Waterloo. Other major towns in the district include

Newton Newton most commonly refers to: * Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist * Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton Newton may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film * Newton ( ...

Benguema {{Infobox settlement , official_name = Benguema, Sierra Leone , other_name = , native_name = , nickname = , settlement_type = , motto = , image_skyline = , images ...

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

, Tombo and

Regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

. Most of the towns and villages in the Western area rural District are close to the capital

Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and p ...

; and are part of the Freetown

Metropolitan Area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...

. The Western Area Rural District is bordered by the country's capital

to the east and west;

Port Loko District Port Loko District is a Districts of Sierra Leone, district in the North West Province, Sierra Leone, North West Province of Sierra Leone. It is the most populous District in the North and the second most populous District in Sierra Leone, after t ...

to the north; and the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

to the south and east. In October 2009, the Sierra Leone government officially moved the Rural District capital from

to the city of Waterloo, after the completion of the newly built government complex for the rural district council. This provides more regional focus. The Western Area Rural District is one of the most ethnically diverse districts in Sierra Leone. No single ethnic group form more than 25% of the population in the District. The district has a significant population of the Krio and

Sherbro people The Sherbro people are a native people of Sierra Leone, who speak the Sherbro language; they make up 1.9% of Sierra Leone's population or 134,606. The Sherbro are found primarily in their homeland in Bonthe District, where they make up 40% of ...

. The Western Area Rural District is the only district in Sierra Leone that is home to an ethnic Krio majority town or village, as several villages and a couple of small towns have Krio majority population in the District. There are large proportions of both

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

and

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

in the district. Like the other fifteen districts of Sierra Leone, the Western Area Rural District has its own

directly elected Direct election is a system of choosing political officeholders in which the voters directly cast ballots for the persons or political party that they desire to see elected. The method by which the winner or winners of a direct election are cho ...

district government, known as a district council, headed by a directly elected district council chairman. This person leads the district council executive branch and enforces laws passed by members of the district council. The current district council chairman is Joseph Holland Cole of the

All People's Congress The All People's Congress (APC) is one of the two major political parties in Sierra Leone, the other being its main political rival the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP). The APC has been the main opposition party in Sierra Leone since 4 Apr ...

(APC). He was elected with 53% of the votes in the 2018 Western Area Rural District council election. The Western Area Rural District is traditionally a swing district, with about equal support for both of the two main political parties in Sierra Leone, the

Sierra Leone People's Party The Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) is one of the two major political parties in Sierra Leone, along with its main political rival the All People's Congress (APC). It has been the ruling party in Sierra Leone since April 4, 2018. The SLPP do ...

(SLPP) and the

(APC). However, in recent elections from 2007 to the most recent election in 2018, the Western Area Rural District voted by majority for the All People's Congress in presidential, parliamentary and local elections. In the 2018 Sierra Leone Presidential election,

Samura Kamara Dr Samura Mathew Wilson Kamara is a Sierra Leonean politician and economist. He was the All Peoples Congress (APC) Party's candidate for President of Sierra Leone in the 2018 election. He was the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International ...

of the APC won 59% of the votes in Western Area Rural District, while

Julius Maada Bio Julius Maada Wonie Bio (born 12 May 1964) is a Sierra Leonean politician, and the current president of Sierra Leone since 4 April 2018. He is a retired brigadier general in the Sierra Leone Army and was the military head of state of Sierra Leo ...

of the SLPP received 40% of the votes in the Western Area Rural District.

Largest cities in the Western Area Rural District

* Waterloo, largest city *

, second largest city *

Benguema {{Infobox settlement , official_name = Benguema, Sierra Leone , other_name = , native_name = , nickname = , settlement_type = , motto = , image_skyline = , images ...

* Tombo *

Small towns and villages

Bureh Town Bureh Town is a small resort town in the Rural District in the Western Area of Sierra Leone. Bureh Town is located around the Sierra Leone peninsular; and is home to the Bureh Beach, one of the main tourists attracting centers in Sierra Leonhtt ...

* Jui * Grafton *

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

* Adonkia *

Lakka Lakka or is a liqueur produced in Finland which derives its flavor from the cloudberry fruit. The word means cloudberry in Finnish. The beverage is produced by soaking the berries in alcohol anywhere between two and six months until sweetene ...

* Tokeh * Kwama * Samuel Town *

Kola Town Kola Town is a village in the Rural District in the Western Area of Sierra Leone. Kola Town is located around the highway From Freetown to Waterloo Due to its close proximity to Freetown, Kola Town has a very diverse population. The major econo ...

Joe Town {{Infobox settlement , official_name = Joe Town , other_name = , native_name = , nickname = , settlement_type = Village , motto = , image_skyline = , imagesize ...

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

* Bathurst * Baw Baw *

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

* Ricketts * Fogbo *

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

* Kerry Town * Kebbie Town *

Tissana Tissana is a coastal village near the city of Waterloo in the Western Area Rural District of Sierra Leone. Tissana village is near the neighborhood village of Russell, Sierra Leone, Russell along the Freetown-Waterloo highway. The major economic ...

Bathkump Bathkump is a village in the Rural District in the Western Area of Sierra Leone. Bathkump is located about twenty miles east of Freetown. The major economic activity in Bathkump is farming. Bathkump is within very close proximity to its neighbori ...

* Kossoh Town * Cole Town * Rokel * Rokupa * Russell * Stones Town

Religion

References

{{Districts of Sierra Leone Districts of Sierra Leone Western Area