Kouoro is a small town and rural commune in the Cercle of Sikasso in the Sikasso Region of southern Mali. The commune covers an area of 472 square kilometers and includes the town and five villages. In the 2009 census it had a population of 11,315. The town of Kouoro, the chef-lieu of the commune, is 75 km north of Sikasso, on the RN11, the main road linking Sikasso and Koutiala.The French explorer René Caillié stopped at Kouoro in February 1828 on his journey to Timbuktu.