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A cercle is the second-level administrative unit in
Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Ma ...
. Mali is divided into eight ''régions'' and one capital district (
Bamako Bamako ( bm, ߓߡߊ߬ߞߐ߬ ''Bàmakɔ̌'', ff, 𞤄𞤢𞤥𞤢𞤳𞤮 ''Bamako'') is the capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2009 population of 1,810,366 and an estimated 2022 population of 2.81 million. It is located on the Niger River ...
); the ''régions'' are subdivided into 49 ''cercles''. These subdivisions bear the name of their principal city. During
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
colonial rule in
Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Ma ...
, 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 French West Africa (french: Afrique-Occidentale française, ) was a federation of eight French colonial territories in West Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan (now Mali), French Guinea (now Guinea), Ivory Coast, Upper Volta (now B ...
, the term ''cercle'' was changed to
prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...
or
department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
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 An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''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'' (wuarters, 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 Bamako ( bm, ߓߡߊ߬ߞߐ߬ ''Bàmakɔ̌'', ff, 𞤄𞤢𞤥𞤢𞤳𞤮 ''Bamako'') is the capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2009 population of 1,810,366 and an estimated 2022 population of 2.81 million. It is located on the Niger River ...


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


Koulikoro Region

*
Banamba Cercle Banamba Cercle is an administrative subdivision of the Koulikoro Region of Mali. Its seat is the town of Banamba, which is also its largest settlement. It lies at the center east of the region. Banamba Cercle is home to primarily Bambara far ...
* Dioila Cercle * Kangaba Cercle * Koulikoro Cercle * Kolokani Cercle * Kati Cercle * Nara Cercle


Mopti Region

*
Bandiagara Cercle Bandiagara Cercle is an administrative subdivision of the Mopti Region of Mali. The administrative center (''chef-lieu'') is the town of Bandiagara. The cercle is divided into these communes:. * Bandiagara * Bara Sara * Borko * Dandoli * Dia ...
*
Bankass Cercle Bankass Cercle is an administrative subdivision of the Mopti Region of Mali. The administrative center (''chef-lieu An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the c ...
*
Djenné Cercle Djenné Cercle is an administrative subdivision of the Mopti Region of Mali. The administrative center ('' chef-lieu'') is the town of Djenné. In the 2009 census the cercle had a population of 207,260 people. Administrative subdivisions The ...
* Douentza Cercle * Koro Cercle * Mopti Cercle * Tenenkou Cercle * Youwarou Cercle


Ségou Region

*
Bla Cercle Bla Cercle is an administrative subdivision of the Ségou Region of Mali. The administrative center (''chef-lieu'') is the town of Bla. The cercle is divided into 17 communes:. Names of communes are in upper-case without accents. * Beguené * ...
* Barouéli Cercle * Macina Cercle * Niono Cercle * Ségou Cercle *
San Cercle San Cercle is an administrative subdivision of the Ségou Region of Mali. The administrative center (''chef-lieu'') is the town of San. The cercle is divided into 25 communes:. Names of communes are in upper-case without accents. * Baramandoug ...
* Tominian Cercle


Sikasso Region

* Bougouni Cercle *
Kolondieba Cercle Kolondiéba Cercle is an administrative subdivision of the Sikasso Region of Mali. The administrative center (''chef-lieu An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where th ...
* Kadiolo Cercle * Koutiala Cercle * Sikasso Cercle * Yanfolila Cercle * Yorosso Cercle


Tombouctou Region

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


See also

*
Arrondissements of Mali The cercles of Mali are divided into arrondissements. These are further divided into 703 communes, 19 urban and 684 rural. Unlike communes or cercles, arrondissements have no administrative power or elected officials: they are merely territorial ...
*
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 (partitioned from Tombouctou Region) a ...


References


MATCL - Ministère de l'Administration Territoriale et des Collectivités Locales
government of the Republic of Mali.
Maplibrary: vector maps of national subdivisions of Mali


African Development Information Services Database. Contains listing of Arrondissements under each Cercle page, as well as some Communes and places of interest in each 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) {{Mali topics Subdivisions of Mali Mali, Cercles Second-level administrative divisions by country Mali geography-related lists