Mali–Senegal border
Almost all river: the Falémé, a tributary of the Senegal, for about 200 miles. Midway the line leaves the river to take in a small piece of Bambouk on the east bank for Senegal, a choice made by a colonial commission at Kayes in 1895.
Written from cited sourcesLast checked 29 September 2026Suggest a correction
See it on the globe:Mali →Senegal →
Senegal and its hinterland
Until 1880 the land east of the Falémé was run as part of Senegal. A decree of 6 September 1880 created Upper Senegal there under a military officer; it was renamed French Sudan in 1890 and got its own civilian governor in 1893. When French West Africa was formed on 16 June 1895, French Sudan gave the district of Bakel and part of Bambouk, just east of the Falémé, to Senegal.[1]
A commission met at Kayes in November 1895 to study the boundary, and its recommendations became the arrêté of 24 December 1895, still the basis of today’s line. The Sudan went through several names, including Upper Senegal and Niger from 1904, before taking back the name French Sudan in 1920.[1]
The Falémé
From the Mauritanian tripoint the border follows the Falémé upstream for about 35 miles. It then leaves the river for about 50 miles, along the Sanon Kolé, straight lines and small divides and the Goumbamba, so that a slice of Bambouk stays in Senegal. It rejoins the Falémé for 168 miles and follows its tributary the Balin Ko for the last 7 miles to Guinea.[1]
The two colonies joined as the Federation of Mali on 4 April 1959. Senegal left it and declared its own republic on 20 August 1960, and on 19 September the Sudanese Republic took the name Mali.[1]
Timeline
18806 September 1880
Upper Senegal
The land east of the Falémé becomes a separate territory.[1]
189524 December 1895
Kayes arrêté
The boundary is fixed, with part of Bambouk in Senegal.[1]
19594 April 1959
Federation of Mali
Senegal and Sudan unite.[1]
196020 August 1960
Federation breaks up
Senegal secedes; Sudan becomes Mali a month later.[1]
More borders
Sources
- [1]International Boundary Study No. 151: Mali – Senegal Boundary · US Department of State, Office of the Geographer · 10 April 1975
Map geometry from Natural Earth via world-atlas. See credits.