What is the population of Bamako?
Bamako has a city population of 4,227,569. That is the population within the city's own boundary, not its wider metropolitan area. City population, GeoNames.
12.609, -7.975
About Bamako
With a city-proper population of 4,227,569, Bamako ranks among Africa's largest urban centers. The metropolitan area extends to 2,926,000 residents, growing at 5% annually—a rate that reflects sustained demographic expansion. At an elevation of 374 m, the city experiences a notably high population density of 11,943 people per km², concentrating substantial human activity across its territory.
Modibo Keita International Airport (BKO) serves as the primary air gateway to the city. The rapid annual growth rate suggests ongoing urbanization pressures, with infrastructure and services responding to an expanding population base.
This summary is AI-generated from the figures on this page. The figures themselves come from the sources cited beside each value.
Metro population
2,926,000
0.035% of world population
Archive estimateAnnual growth
+4.95%
Archive estimateDensity
11,943/km²
245 km² metro area
Key Facts
Country
Region
Bamako
Coordinates
12.609, -7.975
Record updated
18 February 2025
Entry edited, not measured
City population, GeoNames. GeoNames publishes no year for its population figures, so “record updated” is when the entry was last edited — not the date the population was measured. Elevation is modelled from a digital elevation model rather than surveyed, so it is approximate.
Nearby Cities
All 60 in MaliClosest listed cities by great-circle distance from the city centre.
Compared with the World's Largest Cities
City-proper population against the fifteen largest cities in the dataset.
| Name | City population |
|---|---|
| Shanghai | 24.9M |
| Beijing | 19M |
| Shenzhen | 17.5M |
| Guangzhou | 16.1M |
| Kinshasa | 16M |
| Istanbul | 15.7M |
| Lagos | 15.4M |
| Ho Chi Minh City | 14M |
| Chengdu | 13.6M |
| Lahore | 13M |
| Mumbai | 12.7M |
| São Paulo | 12.4M |
| Mexico City | 12.3M |
| Karachi | 11.6M |
| Tianjin | 11.1M |
| Bamako | 4.23M |
Airports
Scheduled-service airports within 100 km, nearest first.
- Modibo Keita International AirportBKO
9 km from the city centre
Source: OurAirports, matched by distance.
Population Trend in Mali
No free source publishes city population back to 1950, so the parent country's series is shown instead.
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1950 | 4,696,911 |
| 1960 | 5,402,550 |
| 1970 | 6,276,472 |
| 1980 | 7,530,515 |
| 1990 | 9,178,830 |
| 2000 | 11,559,290 |
| 2010 | 15,945,198 |
| 2020 | 21,713,836 |
| 2030 | 29,002,865 |
| 2040 | 37,413,643 |
| 2050 | 46,154,079 |
| 2060 | 54,787,469 |
| 2070 | 62,919,460 |
| 2080 | 69,994,175 |
| 2090 | 75,539,858 |
| 2100 | 79,354,048 |
Bamako Population FAQ
Where is Bamako?
Bamako is in Bamako, Mali. Its coordinates are 12.609, -7.975.
How big is Bamako compared with other cities in Mali?
It is the 1st largest of the 60 cities listed in Mali, holding 16.8% of the national population.