Mopti (Fulfulde: 𞤁𞤭𞥅𞤱𞤢𞤤 𞤃𞤮𞥅𞤩𞤼𞤭𞥅, transliterated Diiwal Moobti) is the fifth administrative region of Mali, covering 26,550 km2. Its capital is the city of Mopti. During the 2012 Northern Mali conflict, the frontier between Southern Mali which is controlled by the central government and the rebel-held North ran through Mopti Region.
Geography Mopti Region borders Tombouctou Region to the north; the Bandiagara and Douentza Regions to the east; San Region to the south; and the Ségou Region to the west.
The population in the 2009 census was 2,037,330. The region contains a number of ethnic groups including Fulani, Malinke, and Bambara.
The Niger River crosses the region and is joined by the Bani, an important tributary, at the city of Mopti.
The region is separated into several areas: the Inland Niger Delta around Mopti, the Bandiagara cliffs and the plain of Bankass along the Burkina Faso frontier. Mount Hombori, the highest point in Mali at 1153 meters, is in the Mopti Region, near the city of the same name.
In terms of its climate, Mopti Region is considered part of the Sahel.
The largest towns of the region are Mopti, Sévaré (which lies within Mopti Commune), Djenné, and Youwarou.
Transportation and economy
An airport at Mopti provides air service for the region, while the Niger River provides transportation to Koulikoro and Ségou to the west and Tombouctou and Gao to the east.
The region is well-irrigated and its agriculture is well-developed, with particularly successful fishing. Mopti serves as an important commercial crossroads between Mali's north, south and bordering nations. Tourism is also well-developed, notably in the cities of Djenné and Mopti (the former of which boasts the Great Mosque of Djenné, the largest mud structure in the world) and in Dogon country.
History
Though Mopti's location, once a Bozo village named Sanga, had long been inhabited, rapid expansion began under Seku Amadu's Massina Empire around 1820. Expansion continued under the Toucouleur Empire of El Hadj Umar Tall as well as the French colonial administration.
Culture The region is a melting pot, made up of various ethnic groups, which live in harmony with one another. Common languages of the area include Fulani, Dogon, Songhai, Bozo, Bambara and Tamashek.
World Heritage Sites The city of Djenné in the region has been named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO since 1988, being one of four such sites in Mali. In 2009, Mali placed several prominent regional sites on its UNESCO tentative list for future World Heritage nomination, including the Komoguel Mosque of Mopti and the Hamdullahi Historic City. The Bandiagara Escarpment has also been inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1989 but now lies in the neighboring Bandiagara Region.
Administrative subdivisions
Mopti is divided into 8 Cercles encompassing 108 communes:.
Cercle name Area (km2) PopulationCensus 1998 PopulationCensus 2009 Bandiagara10,520237,139317,965 Bankass9,054195,582263,446 Djenné4,563155,551207,260 Douentza23,481155,831247,794 Koro10,937267,579361,944 Mopti7,262263,719368,512 Ténenkou11,297127,237163,641 Youwarou7,13981,963106,768
There are more than 1,000 villages in Mopti Region occupied by ethnic Dogon, Songhay, Fula, and other peoples.
Demographics
The Mopti Region is the eighth most populated region in Mali, with a population of 935,579 in 2022. With a total fertility rate at 5.1 births per woman, Mopti has a lower TFR than the Malian national average of 6.1 births per woman.
Ethnicity
In 2022, the Fula, Bambara, and Bozo represented the three largest ethnic groups in the region. Mopti has the highest concentration of Fula and Bozo people in Mali. Minorities in Mopti include the Songhai, Dogon, Soninke, Tuareg, Mandinka, and Mossi.
Religion The 2022 census found that 99.10% of the population in Mopti was Muslim, 0.84% was Christian, 0.01% were adherents of traditional faiths, 0.01% practiced other religions, and 0.04% had no religion.
See also Dogon country Regions of Mali Cercles of Mali
References
External links
Official site for the Mopti Region. .
This article was significantly expanded from the corresponding article from the French Wikipedia, retrieved on July 10, 2005.