Country Sierra Leone Area 544 km² Province Western Area | Capital Waterloo Local time Saturday 6:27 AM Largest city Waterloo, Sierra Leone | |
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Time zone Greenwich Mean Time (UTC-5) Weather 25°C, Wind N at 2 km/h, 100% Humidity Points of interest Bureh Beach, Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, Banana Islands | ||
The Western Area Rural District is one of the 14 Districts of Sierra Leone. It is located mostly around the peninsula, in the Western Area 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, Benguema, Leicester and Tombo. Most of the towns and villages in the Western area rural District are within close proximity to the capital Freetown; and are part of the Freetown Metropolitan Area.
Map of Western Area Rural, Republic of Sierra Leone
The Western Area Rural District borders the country's capital Freetown to the east and west; Port Loko District to the north; and the atlantic ocean to the south and east.
The Western Area Rural District is one of the most ethnically diverse districts in Sierra Leone. No single ethnic group form a majority in the district. The Western Area Rural District is home to many different ethnic groups, including a significant population of the Krio and Sherbro people. The district is home to a large population of both Muslims and Christians.
Like the other thirteen districts of Sierra Leone, the Western Area Rural District has its own directly elected district government known as district council, headed by a directly elected district council chairman, who leads the district council executive branch and enforces laws passed by members of the district council. The current district council chairman of the Western Area Rural District is Alhassan Cole of the All People's Congress (APC).
In October 2009, the Sierra Leone government officially moved the Rural District capital from Freetown to the city of Waterloo after the completion of the newly built government complex for the rural district council.