Badialan III — Bamako Neighborhood

Badialan III is one of three sectors making up Badialan, together with Badialan I and Badialan II, in Bamako's Commune III.

One of the historic downtown neighborhoods

Badialan I, II, and III are counted among Bamako's historic neighborhoods, located at the heart of Commune III, the commune that holds the capital's administrative and commercial center. This central location places Badialan III close to the main traffic arteries and business areas of downtown Bamako.

From Farako to Badialan

According to research on Bamako's urban toponymy, the area was first known as Farako, named for a river running through it, before the neighborhood was created around 1945 on the initiative of Governor Louveau. The name is said to have evolved into "Bajalan" ("the dry river") after drainage canals dried up the watercourse, then into Badialan, chosen around 1962 by activists of the Rassemblement Démocratique Africain (RDA), who could not agree on honoring Governor Louveau.

Hub of the supply cooperative

When the three sectors split in 1972, as part of the reorganization of consumer cooperatives under President Modibo Keïta, it was the cooperative based in Badialan III that then controlled food distribution for the whole of Badialan — a monopoly said to have prompted Badialan II residents to request independence in food supply matters around the same time.

A residential sector at the heart of the city

Like the other Badialan sectors, this neighborhood combines a residential function with immediate proximity to the institutions and businesses that make Commune III Bamako's central hub. Commune III covers roughly 20.70 km² and had 128,666 residents in 2009, with a density of 6,216 people per km². Established by ordinance in 1978, with boundaries amended by a February 1982 law and then confirmed in 1991, the commune borders Dogodouman, Dialakorodji, and Communes II, IV, and V, on the left bank of the Niger River — a position that has, over the decades, favored the concentration of administrative and commercial activity around sectors like Badialan, reinforcing its role at the city's institutional core.

Population in 2023

According to the 2023 edition of the Directory of Localities of Mali by the national statistics institute (INSTAT), Badialan III has 5,856 inhabitants in 2023: 2,814 men and 3,042 women. These are 2023 projections based on the 2022 general census (RGPH5).

In the 2023 administrative division used by INSTAT, the Bamako district has seven arrondissements. Badialan III belongs to arrondissement 3 (180,815 inhabitants), where it ranks 12th by population out of 22 neighbourhoods.

Frequently asked questions

Which commune of Bamako is Badialan III in?

Since law no. 2023-005, the Bamako district has been divided into seven arrondissements, which replaced the six communes. Badialan III is in the 3rd arrondissement. Before that reform, the neighbourhood was part of Commune III, which corresponds to this arrondissement.

How many people live in Badialan III?

5,856 inhabitants in 2023 (2,814 men and 3,042 women) according to INSTAT's Directory of Localities, making it the 12th most populous neighbourhood of its arrondissement, out of 22.

Sources: Wikipedia — Commune III, Bamako, ADR Bamako — Présentation CIII, OpenEdition — Dynamiques urbaines, composition toponymique : le cas de Bamako, INSTAT — Directory of Localities of Mali, 2023 edition (French)