Koulikoro Cercle is an administrative subdivision of the Koulikoro Region of Mali. Its seat is the town of Koulikoro, which is also the capital of the region. A major trade and industrial town on the Niger River, Koulikoro has been surpassed by Kati to the west as the largest town in the region. Also to the southwest, lying entirely within Kati Cercle but administratively separate, is the District of Bamako, which after independence was carved out of the middle of the region.