Western Area

Subdivision of Sierra Leone

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Place in Sierra Leone

Western Area

Nickname:

Freetown Peninsula

Coordinates: 8°20′N 13°00′W﻿ / ﻿8.333°N 13.000°W﻿ / 8.333; -13.000
Country| Sierra Leone
Capital| Freetown
Area

• Total

| 1,310 km2 (510 sq mi)
Population

(2015 national census)

• Total

| 1,493,252
• Density| 1,100/km2 (3,000/sq mi)
Time zone| UTC0 (Greenwich Mean Time)

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 area of 1,310 km2 and has a population of 1,447,271. The Western Area is located mostly around the peninsula and is divided into two districts: the Western Area Rural and the Western Area Urban.

## Geography

[edit]

Western Area is the wealthiest region of Sierra Leone, having the largest economy, the country's financial and cultural center, as well as the seat of the country's national government. Unlike the other regions in Sierra Leone, the western area is not a province.

It is divided into two districts:

* Western Area Rural
* Western Area Urban

Freetown serves as the administrative headquarters of both the Western Area and the Urban District, and served as the capital of the Rural District until 2009 when it was formally moved to the city of Waterloo.

### Borders

[edit]

To the northeast, the Western Area borders the North-Western Province, and to the southeast it borders the Southern Province. However, most of the boundaries of the Western Area is the shoreline of the Atlantic Ocean. The Western Area is the only region of Sierra Leone without a foreign border.

### Cities, towns and villages include

[edit]

* Adonkia
* Banana Islands, including (Dublin Island and Ricketts Island)
* Bathkump
* Bathurst
* Baw Baw
* Benguema
* Bunce Island
* Bureh Town
* Charlotte
* Cole Town
* Dublin
* Fogbo
* Freetown, largest city and national capital
* Gloucester
* Grafton
* Joe Town
* Kebbie Town
* Kent
* Kerry Town
* Kola Town
* Kossoh Town
* Koya
* Kwama
* Lakka
* Leicester
* Newton
* Ricketts
* Rokel[1]
* Rokupa
* Russell
* Samuel Town
* Stones Town
* Sussex[2]
* Tissana
* Tokeh
* Tombo
* Waterloo, second largest city and capital of the Western Area Rural District
* York

## Religion

[edit]

Religion in Western Area District (2015)[3]

Religion |  | Percent(%)
Islam |

| 69.1%
Christianity |

| 30.1%
Baháʼí |

| 0.1%
Traditional African religions |

| 0.0%
Other |

| 0.6%
No Religion |

| 0.1%

## See also

[edit]

* Subdivisions of Sierra Leone

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Rokel, Sierra Leone". Retrieved 13 November 2016.
2. ^ "Domain parking page".
3. ^ "Population and Housing Census" (PDF). sierraleone.unfpa.org. Sierra Leone Statistics. 2015. pp. 1–54. Retrieved 14 March 2023.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Western Area, Sierra Leone.

* 3242455 (x j a h) Western Area on OpenStreetMap

* v
* t
* e

Provinces of Sierra Leone

* Eastern
* Northern
* North Western
* Southern
* Western

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* United States
* Israel

Geographic|

* MusicBrainz area

*[x]: XML raw data
*[j]: JSON raw data
*[a]: OSM Relation Analyzer
*[h]: OSM History Browser
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
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