The Northern Province (commonly referred to as Northern Sierra Leone or simply the North) is one of the four provincial divisions of Sierra Leone. It is located in the Northern geographic region of Sierra Leone. It comprises the following five Districts: Bombali, Port Loko, Kambia, Koinadugu and Tonkolili. The Northern Province covers an area of with a population of 1,718,240 (2004 census). Its administrative and economic center is Makeni. The North borders the Western Area to the West, the Republic of Guinea to the north-east, the Eastern Province and Southern Province to the south-east.