The Western Area Rural District is one of the sixteen 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, Tombo and Regent. Most of the towns and villages in the Western area rural District are close to the capital Freetown; and are part of the Freetown Metropolitan Area.

The Western Area Rural District is bordered by 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.

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. 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 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 and Christians in the district.

Like the other fifteen districts of Sierra Leone, the Western Area Rural District has its own directly elected 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 (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 (SLPP) and the All People's Congress (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 of the APC won 59% of the votes in Western Area Rural District, while Julius Maada Bio of the SLPP received 40% of the votes in the Western Area Rural District.

Administrative divisions

Chiefdoms 
After the 2017 local administrative reorganization, Western Area Rural District has made up of four chiefdoms as the third level of administrative subdivision.

 Koya Rural
 Mountain Rural
 Waterloo Rural
 York Rural

Largest cities and towns 

 Waterloo, largest city 
 Newton, second largest city
 Benguema
 Tombo
 Leicester

Small towns and villages 

 Leicester
 Regent
 Bureh Town
 Jui
 Grafton
 York
 Adonkia
 Lakka
 Tokeh
 Kwama
 Samuel Town
 Kola Town
 Joe Town
 Charlotte
 Sussex
 Bathurst
 Baw Baw
 Dublin
 Ricketts
 Fogbo
 Gloucester
 Kent
 Kerry Town
 Kebbie Town
 Tissana
 Bathkump
 Kossoh Town
 Cole Town
 Rokel
 Rokupa
 Russell
 Stones Town

Religion

References 

Districts of Sierra Leone
Western Area