The Gao Region is located in northeastern Mali. The capital city is Gao. The region is bordered to the north by Kidal Region, to the west by Tombouctou Region, and to the east and most of the south by Niger, with a very small portion of the southern border shared with Burkina Faso. Common ethnicities in the Gao Region include the Songhai, Bozo, Tuareg, Bambara, and Kounta.