page_title: Cercles of Mali
section_title: Kidal Region
hierarchical_section_title: Cercles of Mali / Kidal Region
caption_attribution_description: English: Map of the cercles of Kidal region in Mali. Created using MapInfo Professional v8.5 and various mapping resources.
context_page_description: A cercle is the second level administrative unit in Mali. Mali is divided into eight régions and one capital district; 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 were, prior to the 1999 local government reorganisation, further divided into Arrondissements, especially in urban areas or the vast northern regions, 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 which have elected councils at each level. There are 703 communes, 36 urban communes and 667 rural communes. The cercles are listed below.
context_section_description: Abeibara Cercle
  Kidal Cercle
  Tessalit Cercle
  Tin-Essako Cercle
caption: Cercles of Kidal Region
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