The West Mamprusi District is one of 45 new districts created in 1988 under the Government of Ghana’s decentralization and local government reform policy. Carved out of the old Gambaga District in the Northern Region. The district capital is Walewale, which lies on the Tamale-Bolgatanga trunk road, approximately 68 miles away from Tamale.
The district is bordered to the north by Builsa, Kassena-Nankana and Bolgatanga districts, in the Upper East Region; to the south west by Gonja, Tolon-Kumbungu and Savelugu district in the Northern Region; to the west by the Sissala and Wa districts; and to the east by East Mamprusi and Gushiegu-Karaga Districts.