Tambacounda is physically the largest of Senegal's 14 regions, but is sparsely populated and its economy lags behind the rest of the country.

Diakité significantly influenced the djembe's diaspora, first by touring worldwide with the National Ballet of Senegal for 18 years as their lead soloist, in addition to his later work in the 1990s running the Tambacounda West African Drum and Dance Camp in the Bay Area.

In 2019, Italian artist Giovanni Hänninen launched a project called People of Tamba, consisting of 200 portraits taken across the Tambacounda region in Senegal exhibited at Also Known as Africa (AKAA) art and design fair, 8-11 November 2019.

Inspired by German photographer August Sander’s seminal work, People of the 20th Century, People of Tamba was conceived as dignified portrait of the society of Tambacounda, the largest city in the most remote and rural region of Senegal, and the point of departure for the majority of Senegalese migration, with the aim to counter negative and number-based reporting about migration in western media by bringing individuals and their personal stories to the fore.

The region is also home to the Niokolo-Koba National Park, the largest reserve in western Africa, which supports another leg of Tambacounda's economy, tourism.