Regions of Mali


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 and Ménaka 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 most 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. 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 nameRegion numberArea Population
Census 1998		Population
Census 2009		Population
Estimate 2020		Population
Bamako - Capital District002521,016,2961,810,3662,643,1304,227,569
Kayes0163,2101,374,3161,993,6152,910,6801,840,329
Koulikoro0247,0401,570,5072,422,1083,536,2802,255,157
Sikasso0320,8001,782,1572,643,1793,859,0401,533,123
Ségou0452,1001,675,3572,338,3493,413,9902,455,263
Mopti0526,5501,484,6012,036,2092,972,870935,579
Tombouctou06206,000442,619674,793985,200974,278
Gao0794,846341,542542,304791,760727,517
Kidal08151,43038,77467,73998,90083,192
Taoudénit09292,000–18,160–100,358
Ménaka1078,100–54,45679,510318,876
Bougouni1115,9641,500,900––1,570,979
Dioila1212,330675,965
Nioro1323,350678,061
Koutiala1414,6001,169,882
Kita1535,680681,671
Nara1631,250307,777
Bandiagara1724,850868,916
San1814,200820,807
Douentza1923,310170,189