Subdivisions of Sierra Leone Subdivisions of Sierra Leone The subdivisions of Sierra Leone are as follows: Sierra Leone is divided into 4 provinces and a Western Area for the capital Freetown. The provinces of Sierra Leone are divided into 16 districts. 14 are rural, with the capital Freetown divided into 2 districts. One traditional leader from each district occupies a seat in Sierra Leone's parliament. Sierra Leone is further divided into 149 chiefdoms. The chiefdoms are hereditary, tribal units of local governance. The World Bank sponsored the creation of elected local councils in 2004. Chiefs have the power to "raise taxes, control the judicial
Languages of Sierra Leone Languages of Sierra Leone Sierra Leone is a multilingual country. English is the "de facto" official language, and Krio is the most widely spoken. Other major languages include Mende, which is spoken by 31% of the population as a mother tongue and as a lingua franca in southern Sierra Leone, and Temne, which is spoken by 37% as a mother tongue and also as a lingua franca in the northern province, north Western province, and other part of Sierra Leone and some part of the Capital and the Western Area. Other languages include Kono, Kissi, Kuranko, Limba, Fula (Pular),Mandingo and