Issia Department

Issia Department is a department of Haut-Sassandra Region in Sassandra-Marahoué District, Ivory Coast. In 2021, its population was 410,628 and its seat is the settlement of Issia. The sub-prefectures of the department are Boguédia, Iboguhé, Issia, Nahio, Namané, Saïoua, and Tapéguia.

Issia Department Département d'Issia
Department
Location in Ivory Coast. Issia Department has retained the same boundaries since its creation in 1980.
Country	Ivory Coast
District	Sassandra-Marahoué
Region	Haut-Sassandra
1980	Established as a first-level subdivision via a division of Daloa Dept
1997	Converted to a second-level subdivision
2011	Converted to a third-level subdivision
Departmental seat	Issia
Government [1]
• Prefect	Benjamin Effoli
Area
• Total	3,470 km2 (1,340 sq mi)
Population  (2021 census)[2]
• Total	410,628
• Density	120/km2 (310/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+0 (GMT)

History

Issia Department was created in 1980 as first-level subdivision via a split-off from Daloa Department.^[3] In 1997, regions were introduced as new first-level subdivisions of Ivory Coast; as a result, all departments were converted into second-level subdivisions. Issia Department was included in Haut-Sassandra Region.

In 2011, districts were introduced as new first-level subdivisions of Ivory Coast. At the same time, regions were reorganised and became second-level subdivisions and all departments were converted into third-level subdivisions. At this time, Issia Department remained part of the retained Haut-Sassandra Region in the new Sassandra-Marahoué District.