View source for Regions of Mali

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{{Update|date=October 2023}}
{{Expand French}}
{{Politics of Mali}}
Since 2016, [[Mali]] has been divided into ten [[region]]s and one [[district|capital district]]. A reorganization of the country from eight to nineteen regions was passed into law in 2012,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://malilink.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/20160120-Taoudenit-Cre%CC%81ation..pdf |title=LOI N<sup>o</sup> 2012-017 DU 02 MARS 2012 PORTANT CREATION DE CIRCONSCRIPTIONS ADMINISTRATIVES EN REPUBLIQUE DU MALI |page=364 |work=Journal officiel de la République du Mali |date=2 March 2012 |access-date=21 February 2017}}</ref> but of the new regions, only [[Taoudénit Region|Taoudénit]] (partitioned from Tombouctou Region) and [[Ménaka Region|Ménaka]] (formerly [[Ménaka Cercle]] in Gao Region) have begun to be implemented.<ref name="malijet">{{cite web |url=http://malijet.com/la_societe_malienne_aujourdhui/144815-regionalisation-deux-nouvelles-regions-creees-au-mali.html |title=Régionalisation: Deux Nouvelles régions créées au Mali |date=21 January 2016 |publisher=Malijet |access-date=21 February 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://minusma.unmissions.org/sites/default/files/160328_sg_report_mali_english.pdf |title=Report of the Secretary-General on the situation in Mali |date=28 March 2016 |publisher=[[MINUSMA]] |access-date=21 February 2017}}</ref> Each of the regions bears the name of its capital. The regions are divided into 56 [[Cercles of Mali|cercles]]. The cercles and the capital district are divided into 703 [[Communes of Mali|communes]].<ref>{{citation | year=1999 | title=Loi N°99-035/ Du 10 Aout 1999 Portant Creation des Collectivites Territoriales de Cercles et de Regions | url=http://www.matcl.gov.ml/PDF/LoiCreationCercleReg.pdf | publisher=Ministère de l'Administration Territoriales et des Collectivités Locales, République du Mali | language=fr | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309073942/http://www.matcl.gov.ml/PDF/LoiCreationCercleReg.pdf | archive-date=2012-03-09 }}.</ref>

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 [[Cercle (Mali)|''cercle''s]], 466 ''districts'', 819 [[Communes of Mali|''communes'']] and 12.712 ''villages''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, Revue de presse du Mali. |url=https://www.kas.de/documents/265798/17649333/KAS_Bamako_+Newsletter+4+Mars1+2023.pdf/a1a9f0fc-9eb4-513f-27bb-62c9b0ca78de?version=1.0&t=1677838555412}}</ref>

==Demographics==
The most populated region in 2023 is [[Ségou]] with 2.455 million people, and the least most populated is [[Kidal Region|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 Region|Taoudénit]] and the smallest is Dioila, excluding [[Bamako]].
 
==Regions==
The regions are numbered, originally west to east, with [[Roman numerals]].<ref>[http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/ministere_817/publications_827/cooperation-internationale-developpement_3030/serie-evaluations_4632/evaluations-2003_4660/evaluation-cooperation-decentralisee-franco-malienne_4663/cooperation-decentralisee-franco-malienne-etat-lieux_11737.html 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).</ref> The capital [[Bamako]] is administered separately and is in its own district.
The ten regions and the Bamako District are listed below. The population figures are from the 1998 and 2009 censuses.<ref>{{citation | url=http://www.instat-mali.org/contenu/rgph/tdemo09_rgph.pdf | publisher=République de Mali: Institut National de la Statistique | title=Resultats Provisoires RGPH 2009 | language=fr | access-date=2019-10-19 | archive-date=2020-01-11 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200111002517/http://www.instat-mali.org/contenu/rgph/tdemo09_rgph.pdf | url-status=dead }}.</ref>
[[File:Cartes des régions du Mali,depuis 2023.png|alt=A map of former regions of Mali|thumb|Regions of Mali since 2023]]
{| class="sortable wikitable"
! Region name || Region number || Area (km<sup>2</sup>) || Population<br>Census 1998 || Population<br>Census 2009 || Population<br>Estimate 2020
!Population (2023)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rapport RGPD5 sur la population |url=https://www.instat-mali.org/laravel-filemanager/files/shares/rgph/rapport-resultats-globaux-rgph5_rgph.pdf}}</ref>
|-
|[[Bamako]] - Capital District|| 00 || align="right" | 252 || align="right" | 1,016,296 || align="right" | 1,810,366 || align="right" | 2,643,130
|4,227,569
|-
| [[Kayes Region|Kayes]]|| 01 || align="right" | 63,210 || align="right" | 1,374,316 || align="right" | 1,993,615 || align="right" | 2,910,680
|1,840,329
|-
| [[Koulikoro Region|Koulikoro]]|| 02 || align="right" | 47,040 || align="right" | 1,570,507 || align="right" | 2,422,108 || align="right" | 3,536,280
|2,255,157
|-
| [[Sikasso Region|Sikasso]] || 03 || align="right" | 20,800 || align="right" | 1,782,157 || align="right" | 2,643,179 || align="right" | 3,859,040
|1,533,123
|-
| [[Ségou Region|Ségou]] || 04 || align="right" | 52,100 || align="right" | 1,675,357 || align="right" | 2,338,349 || align="right" | 3,413,990
|2,455,263
|-
| [[Mopti Region|Mopti]] || 05 || align="right" | 26,550 || align="right" | 1,484,601 || align="right" | 2,036,209 || align="right" | 2,972,870
|935,579
|-
| [[Tombouctou Region|Tombouctou]] || 06 || align="right" | 206,000 || align="right" | 442,619 || align="right" | 674,793 || align="right" | 985,200
|974,278
|-
| [[Gao Region|Gao]] || 07 || align="right" | 94,846 || align="right" | 341,542 || align="right" | 542,304 || align="right" | 791,760
|727,517
|-
| [[Kidal Region|Kidal]] || 08 || align="right" | 151,430 || align="right" | 38,774 || align="right" | 67,739 || align="right" | 98,900
|83,192
|-
| [[Taoudénit Region|Taoudénit]] || 09 || align="right" | 292,000 || align="right" | – || align="right" | 18,160 || align="right" | –
|100,358
|-
| [[Ménaka Region|Ménaka]] || 10 || align="right" | 78,100 || align="right" | – || align="right" | 54,456 || align="right" | 79,510
|318,876
|-
| [[Bougouni Region|Bougouni]] || 11 || align="right" | 15,964 || align="right" | 1,500,900 || align="right" | – || align="right" | –
|1,570,979
|-
| [[Dioila Region|Dioila]] || 12 || align="right" | 12,330 || || ||
|675,965
|-
| [[Nioro Region|Nioro]] ||13 || align="right" | 23,350 || || ||
|678,061
|-
| [[Koutiala Region|Koutiala]] || 14 || align="right" | 14,600 || || ||
|1,169,882
|-
| [[Kita Region|Kita]] || 15 || align="right" | 35,680 || || ||
|681,671
|-
|[[Nara Region|Nara]] || 16 || align="right" | 31,250 || || ||
|307,777
|-
| [[Bandiagara Region|Bandiagara]] || 17 || align="right" | 24,850 || || ||
|868,916
|-
| [[San Region|San]] || 18 || align="right" | 14,200 || || ||
|820,807
|-
| [[Douentza Region|Douentza]] || 19 || align="right" | 23,310 || || ||
|170,189
|}

==See also==
*[[List of regions of Mali by Human Development Index]]
*[[Cercles of Mali]]
*[[ISO 3166-2:ML]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Mali regions}}
{{Mali topics}}
{{Articles on first-level administrative divisions of African countries}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Regions of Mali| ]]
[[Category:Subdivisions of Mali]]
[[Category:Lists of administrative divisions|Mali, Regions]]
[[Category:Administrative divisions in Africa|Mali 1]]
[[Category:First-level administrative divisions by country|Regions, Mali]]
[[Category:Mali geography-related lists]]