The Southern Province is one of three provinces of Sierra Leone. It covers an area of 19,694 km² and has a population of 1,377,067 (2004 census). It consists of four districts (Bo, Bonthe, Moyamba, and Pujehun). Its capital and administrative center is Bo, which is also the second largest and second most populated city in Sierra Leone after the nation's capital Freetown. The population of the southern province is largely from the Mende ethnic group.