Katiola Department Département de Katiola
Department
Location in Ivory Coast. Katiola Department has had these boundaries since 2009.
Country	Ivory Coast
District	Vallée du Bandama
Region	Hambol
1969	Established as a first-level subdivision
1974	Divided to create Dabakala Dept
1997	Converted to a second-level subdivision
2009	Divided to create Niakaramandougou Dept
2011	Converted to a third-level subdivision
Departmental seat	Katiola
Government [1]
• Prefect	Yul Lambert Omepieu
Area
• Total	2,810 km2 (1,080 sq mi)
Population  (2021 census)[2]
• Total	162,472
• Density	58/km2 (150/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+0 (GMT)

Katiola Department is a department of Hambol Region in Vallée du Bandama District, Ivory Coast. In 2021, its population was 162,472 and its seat is the settlement of Katiola. The sub-prefectures of the department are Fronan, Katiola, and Timbé.

History

Katiola Department was created in 1969 as one of the 24 new departments that were created to take the place of the six departments that were being abolished. It was created from territory that was formerly part of Centre Department. Using current boundaries as a reference, from 1969 to 1974 the department occupied the same territory as Hambol Region.

In 1974, Katiola Department was divided to create Dabakala 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. Katiola Department was included as part of Vallée du Bandama Region.

In 2009, Katiola Department was divided again to create Niakaramandougou Department.^[3]

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, Katiola Department became part of Hambol Region in Vallée du Bandama District.