The Bawku West District is one of the 261 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in Ghana, and forms part of the 15 of Municipalities and Districts in the Upper East Region.

The District is located in the north-eastern section of the Upper East Region with Zebilla as the District Administrative capital.  

Significantly, two tributaries of the Volta River namely the White Volta and the Red Volta run contiguous to the districts eastern and western boundaries respectively. There is a strong relationship between the geology and the relief of the district.

The Bawku West District is bordered to the north by the Republic of Burkina Faso, to the east by the Binduri District, to the west by Talensi District and Nabdam District respectively and to the south by East Mamprusi Municipal.

In terms of size, it covers a total land area of 1,069 square kilometres.

The population of the District according to 2021 population and housing census stands at 144,189 with 70,781 males and 73,408 females.