Since 2016, Mali has been divided into ten regions and one capital district. A reorganization of the country from eight to nineteen regions was passed into law in 2012, but of the new regions, only Taoudénit (partitioned from Tombouctou Region) and Ménaka (formerly Ménaka Cercle in Gao Region) have begun to be implemented. Each of the regions bears the name of its capital. The regions are divided into 56 cercles. The cercles and the capital district are divided into 703 communes..
In 2023, Mali has added nine new regions to its administrative structure, bringing the total to 19 regions plus the district of Bamako. This reorganization aims to improve governance and bring public services closer to local populations. This initiative continues the decentralization efforts that began with the creation of the Taoudénit and Ménaka regions in 2016. The nineteen regions in turn are subdivided into 159 cercles, 466 districts, 819 communes and 12.712 villages
Demographics The most populated region in 2023 is Ségou with 2.455 million people, and the least populated is Kidal with just 83 thousand people.
Geography Though five regions are composed of mainly desert, they also have half the country's land mass. The largest region is Taoudénit and the smallest is Dioila, excluding Bamako.
Regions The regions are numbered, originally west to east, with Roman numerals.Évaluation de la coopération décentralisée franco-malienne La coopération décentralisée franco-malienne, état des lieux, Ministère des Affaires étrangères et européennes (French Ministry of Foreign Affairs). The numbers were fixed by order in 1977. The numbering after 2023 is stipulated by law 2023-006 and 2023-007 The capital Bamako is administered separately and is in its own district. The regions and the Bamako District are listed below. The population figures are from the 1998 and 2009 censuses..
Region name Region number Area (km2) PopulationCensus 1998 PopulationCensus 2009 Population (2023)Bamako - Capital District 00 252 1,016,296 1,810,366 4,227,569 Kayes 01 63,210 1,374,316 1,993,615 1,840,329 Koulikoro 02 47,040 1,570,507 2,422,108 2,255,157 Sikasso 03 20,800 1,782,157 2,643,179 1,533,123 Ségou 04 52,100 1,675,357 2,338,349 2,455,263 Mopti 05 26,550 1,484,601 2,036,209 935,579 Tombouctou 06 206,000 442,619 674,793 974,278 Gao 07 94,846 341,542 542,304 727,517 Kidal 08 151,430 38,774 67,739 83,192 Taoudénit 09 292,000 – 18,160 100,358 Ménaka 10 78,100 – 54,456 318,876 Bougouni 15 15,964 – – 1,570,979 Dioila 13 12,330 – –675,965 Nioro 11 23,350 – –678,061 Koutiala 16 14,600 – –1,169,882 Kita 12 35,680 – –681,671Nara 14 31,250 – –307,777 Bandiagara 19 24,850 – –868,916 San 17 14,200 – –820,807 Douentza 18 23,310 – –446,179
See also List of regions of Mali by Human Development Index Cercles of Mali ISO 3166-2:ML
References