Taraf de Haidouks: From Romania's rich Gypsy tradition
Winning the best newcomer award is the UK's Susheela Raman, while the innovation prize goes to France's Manu Chao.
Other winners included the Cuban Orlando "Cachaito" Lopez for the Americas region and the Romanian group Taraf de Haidouks in the Europe/Middle East category.
The composer and musician Nitin Sawhney won an award for "boundary crossing", for the artist who most successfully fused different music and cultures.
The winners, who were chosen by a panel of delegates to Womex (the Worldwide Music Expo) will - apart from Manu Chao - play at an awards ceremony at the Ocean music venue in Hackney, London on 28 January.
The event will also see two further winners announced - the awards for the Radio 3 Listeners Award and the Critics Award for Album of the Year.
The nominations for the Listeners Award are the Afro Celt Sound System, La Bottine Souriante, Manu Chao and Orchestra Baobab.
And the nominations for the Critics Award for Album of the Year are Manu Chao for Proxima Estacion - Esperanza, Orlando "Cachaito" Lopez for Cachaito, Baaba Maal for Missing You and Susheela Raman for Salt Rain.
In recent years world music has played an increasingly important role in the Radio 3 music schedule, with regular shows presented by Lucy Duran and Andy Kershaw and the music also being represented in the network's cult show Late Junction.
BBC Radio 3 world music awards: Winners
Susheela Raman (UK): Newcomer
Manu Chao (France): Innovator
Nitin Sawhney (UK/Various): Boundary crossing
Djelimady Tounkara (Mali): Africa
Yat Kha (Tuva): Asia/Pacific
Orlando 'Cachaito' Lopez (Cuba): Americas (including the Caribbean)
Taraf de Haidouks (Romania): Europe/Middle East
World music awards poll winners concert, BBC Radio 3, 28 January 2130 GMT