Dioila Cercle

Dioïla Cercle (fr. Dioïla Cercle) is an administrative subdivision of the Koulikoro Region of Mali. Its seat is the city of Dioïla, which is also its largest city. It lies at the southeast corner of the region, and prior to 1977, it was combined with what is now Kati Cercle and the Capitol District of Bamako in the "Bamako Cercle", with the capitol city as its seat. Dioïla Cercle's population as of 1998 was 341,400 people, making it the seventh most populous Cercle in the nation. [ [http://www.statoids.com/yml.html Statsoid, Population: 1998 census] .]

The Dioïla Cercle is divided into 23 Arrondissements and their constituent communes. It covers some 13,000 square kilometers.

Dioïla Cercle is home to primarially Bambara farmers, and formed part of the pre-colonial Bambara Empire. Because of this, and its rural character, Animism persisted in this area well into the 20th century. There are also populations of Muslim Maraka, Fula, and Bozo fishing communities. The Cercle falls largely south of the dryer Sahel land, in the wetter Sudan. It is also home to the headwaters of the Bani River.

References

*See [http://mali-reforme-telecom.mctmtl.com/ PROJET DE RÉFORME DU SECTEUR DES TÉLÉCOMMUNICATIONS AU MALI] : Government of Mali, Project for Reform of the Telecomunications Sector. (2001-2002). Site includes 1998 population figures for all Cercles and Communes, and administrative structure as of 2001. [http://mali-reforme-telecom.mctmtl.com/MaliArp.exe Cartographie des infrastructures communales du Mali] and [http://mali-reforme-telecom.mctmtl.com/previsions.pdf Prévisions de desserte des communes pour la période de 2001-2005] .
* [http://www.afdevinfo.com/htmlreports/ml01.html Regions, Cercles and Places in 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.
*Pascal James Imperato. Historical Dictionary of Mali. Scarecrow Press/ Metuchen. NJ - London (1986) ISBN 0810813696