Ségou Region
Ségou is the fourth administrative region in
Mali, whose capital is the city of
Ségou.
Situated at the center of Mali, Ségou Region covers 64 947 km² (around 5% of Mali). The region is bordered by
Sikasso Region on the south,
Tombouctou and
Mopti on the east,
Burkina Faso to the southeast and
Koulikoro to the west.
Ségou Region is on the
Sahel and has a semi-arid climate (average yearly rainfall: 513 mm). Several waterways, particularly the
Niger River, allow
irrigation for
agriculture.
In 2004, the region was inhabited by 1,887,100 people, of which nearly half are younger than 15 years old. The
population growth was estimated in 1998 as 2.1% per year. 79% of the population is
rural.
The region is divided into 7
Cercles (
Baroueli,
Bla,
Macina,
Niono,
San, Ségou and
Tominian) encompassing 118 communes and 2166 villages. The major cities are Ségou, San, Niono, Dioro, and
Markala, the latter of which has Mali's principal hydroelectric dam.
The region was the home of the
Bambara Empire of the early
eighteenth century; it was later conquered by the
Toucouleur Empire (
1860s) and the
French colonial army (
1890s).
