Cercles of Mali



A cercle is the second-level administrative unit in Mali. Mali is divided into eight régions and one capital district (Bamako); the régions are subdivided into 49 cercles. These subdivisions bear the name of their principal city.

During French colonial rule in Mali, a cercle was the smallest unit of French political administration that was headed by a European officer. A cercle consisted of several cantons, each of which in turn consisted of several villages. In 1887, the Cercle of Bafoulabé was the first cercle to be created in Mali. In most of former French West Africa, the term cercle was changed to prefecture or department after independence, but this was not done in Mali.

Some cercles (and the district) were, prior to the 1999 local government reorganisation, further divided into arrondissements, especially in urban areas or the vast northern regions (such as Kidal), which consisted of a collection of communes. Since these reforms, cercles are now directly subdivided into rural and urban communes, which in turn are divided in quartiers (quarters, or villages and encampments in rural areas) which have elected councils at each level. There are 703 communes, 36 urban communes (including six in Bamako District) and 667 rural communes. The cercles are listed below.

Bamako Capital District

 * Bamako

Gao Region

 * Ansongo Cercle
 * Bourem Cercle
 * Gao Cercle

Kayes Region

 * Bafoulabé Cercle
 * Diema Cercle
 * Kita Cercle
 * Kéniéba Cercle
 * Kayes Cercle
 * Nioro du Sahel Cercle
 * Yélimané Cercle

Kidal Region

 * Abeibara Cercle
 * Kidal Cercle
 * Tessalit Cercle
 * Tin-Essako Cercle
 * Achibogo Cercle

Koulikoro Region

 * Banamba Cercle
 * Dioila Cercle
 * Kangaba Cercle
 * Koulikoro Cercle
 * Kolokani Cercle
 * Kati Cercle
 * Nara Cercle

Mopti Region

 * Bandiagara Cercle
 * Bankass Cercle
 * Djenné Cercle
 * Douentza Cercle
 * Koro Cercle
 * Mopti Cercle
 * Tenenkou Cercle
 * Youwarou Cercle

Ségou Region

 * Bla Cercle
 * Barouéli Cercle
 * Macina Cercle
 * Niono Cercle
 * Ségou Cercle
 * San Cercle
 * Tominian Cercle

Sikasso Region

 * Bougouni Cercle
 * Kolondieba Cercle
 * Kadiolo Cercle
 * Koutiala Cercle
 * Sikasso Cercle
 * Yanfolila Cercle
 * Yorosso Cercle

Tombouctou Region

 * Diré Cercle
 * Goundam Cercle
 * Gourma-Rharous Cercle
 * Niafunke Cercle
 * Timbuktu Cercle

Colonial usage

 * Benton, Lauren: Colonial Law and Cultural Difference: Jurisdictional Politics and the Formation of the Colonial State in Comparative Studies in Society and History, Vol. 41, No. 3 (Jul., 1999)
 * Crowder, Michael: West Africa Under Colonial Rule Northwestern Univ. Press (1968) ASIN: B000NUU584
 * Crowder, Michael: Indirect Rule: French and British Style Africa: Journal of the International African Institute, Vol. 34, No. 3 (Jul., 1964)
 * Mortimer, Edward France and the Africans, 1944–1960, A Political History (1970)
 * Jean Suret-Canele. French Colonialism in Tropical Africa 1900–1945. Trans. Pica Press (1971)