Bo

Bo is the second largest city in Sierra Leone and the administrative capital of the Southern Province. Located approximately 240 km south-east of Freetown, it is a commercial and educational hub with a predominantly Mende population.

Founded during the colonial era, Bo was for decades home to Bo School — an institution established to educate the sons of chiefs and that shaped a generation of Sierra Leonean political leaders. Today the city is known for its markets, its secondary and tertiary educational institutions, and as the commercial gateway to the diamond fields of the Eastern Province. The Southern Province's cultural identity — shaped by Mende tradition, the Sande society, and strong connections to the forest environment — is vibrantly present in Bo's neighbourhoods and markets.