A Commune is the third-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 regions 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 Rive ...

). These subdivisions bear the name of their principal city. The regions are divided into 49 Cercles. The Cercles and the district are divided into 703 Communes, with 36 Urban Communes and 667 Rural Communes, while some larger Cercles still contain

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' ...

above the Commune level, these are organisational areas with no independent power or office. Rural Communes are subdivided in Villages, while Urban Communes are subdivided into ''Quartier'' (wards or quarters). Communes usually bear the name of their principal town. The capital,

, consists of six Urban Communes. There were initially 701 communes until the Law ''No. 01-043'' of 7 June 2001 created two new Rural Communes in the desert region in the north east of the country: Alata,

Ménaka Cercle Ménaka Cercle is an administrative subdivision of Ménaka Region, Mali. Its administrative center is the town of Ménaka. Ménaka Cercle's population as of 2009 was 56,104 people. Ménaka is located in the middle of the Sahara Desert, along Wa ...

in the Gao Region and Intadjedite, Tin-Essako Cercle in the Kidal Region.. Not every built up area (which might be described as a town) is a Commune, and not every Commune (especially Rural Communes) contains a large town. In most cases where towns and Communes coincide, Commune borders extend beyond built up areas and are, like the

Communes of France The () is a level of administrative division in the French Republic. French are analogous to civil townships and incorporated municipalities in the United States and Canada, ' in Germany, ' in Italy, or ' in Spain. The United Kingdom's e ...

on which they were based during the colonial period, an administrative structure. Unlike French Communes, they are not the lowest level administrative structure of the nation. Legally, the Commune structure was created by Law ''no 96- 059/AN- RM of 4 November 1996''. The communes generally retain the same boundaries as the former

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' ...

. Commune affairs are directed by a Commune Council (''conseil communal'') of elected members and a Commune executive (''bureau communal'') of the elected Mayor and three adjutants. The executive is tasked with carrying out the directives voted by the Council. National policies are carried out by a Sub-Prefect (''sous préfet''), who also carries out certain of the Council's directives over the local arms or national bodies.Presidency of the Republic of Mali, Project on Food Security.
Plan De Securite Alimentaire Commune Rurale De Bafoulabe 2007- 2011
. Projet de Mobilisation des Initiatives en matière de Sécurité Alimentaire au Mali (PROMISAM), l'USAID/Mali (December 2006) The communes are listed below:

References

External links

*. Includes GIS data files for Mali.
Statsoid.com : MaliMATCL - MINISTERE DE L'ADMINISTRATION TERRITORIALE ET DES COLLECTIVITES LOCALES
Government of the Republic of Mali.
Maplibrary: vector maps of national subdivisions of Mali
{{Mali topics Subdivisions of Mali Mali 3 Communes, Mali

See also

References

External links