Djélibougou — Bamako Neighborhood

Djélibougou is one of the nine neighborhoods of Commune I, in northern Bamako. It is among the commune's earlier-urbanized areas, alongside neighborhoods such as Korofina.

An older neighborhood in northern Bamako

Djélibougou sits immediately next to the neighborhoods of Korofina and Fadjiguila, in a part of Commune I marked by earlier urbanization than some of the commune's peripheral areas. This head start shows in a more consolidated urban fabric than in more recently developed neighborhoods.

A northern sector shaped by administrative reorganization

The northern part of Commune I, where Djélibougou lies, has gone through several administrative reorganizations over time. The neighboring Fadjiguila, for instance, was administratively attached to Banconi until the 1968 coup d'état; afterward, the military authorities created a buffer zone between Fadjiguila and Banconi to establish the Korofina-Nord sector, which led to the formal separation of Fadjiguila and Banconi in 1970. Djélibougou, adjoining these sectors, shares in this same history of gradual densification and restructuring across northern Bamako.

The Commune I setting

Commune I covers roughly 34.26 km², about 13% of the Bamako district's total area, and has a population of around 256,000 residents. It groups nine neighborhoods — Banconi, Boulkassombougou, Djélibougou, Doumanzana, Fadjiguila, Sotuba, Korofina Nord, Korofina Sud, and Sikoroni — on the left bank of the Niger River. Djélibougou ranks among the commune's more consolidated sectors, owing to its relatively earlier development compared with the commune's outlying neighborhoods.

Neighborhood life

Like the rest of this older section of Commune I, Djélibougou combines family housing, small local shops, and neighborhood markets, within an urban grid that reflects decades of incremental settlement rather than a single planned development phase.

Little information available in open sources

Beyond its geographic position, administrative status, and this history of reorganization in the commune's northern sector, few precise and verifiable historical details are available in open sources about Djélibougou — though a local video chronicle does recount the neighborhood's history. It nonetheless remains identified as one of Commune I's historic residential hubs, alongside its immediate neighbors Korofina and Fadjiguila, all part of the same historically consolidated stretch of northern Bamako.

Population in 2023

According to the 2023 edition of the Directory of Localities of Mali by the national statistics institute (INSTAT), Djélibougou has 26,771 inhabitants in 2023: 13,227 men and 13,544 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. Djélibougou belongs to arrondissement 1 (957,162 inhabitants), where it ranks 13th by population out of 21 neighbourhoods.

Frequently asked questions

Which commune of Bamako is Djélibougou in?

Since law no. 2023-005, the Bamako district has been divided into seven arrondissements, which replaced the six communes. Djélibougou is in the 1st arrondissement. Before that reform, the neighbourhood was part of Commune I, which corresponds to this arrondissement.

How many people live in Djélibougou?

26,771 inhabitants in 2023 (13,227 men and 13,544 women) according to INSTAT's Directory of Localities, making it the 13th most populous neighbourhood of its arrondissement, out of 21.

Sources: Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralization — District de Bamako, ADR Bamako — Présentation CI, Wikipédia — Commune I (Bamako), INSTAT — Directory of Localities of Mali, 2023 edition (French)