Africa :: Mali
page last updated on May 19, 2010
Flag of Mali
Location of Mali
 
Map of Mali
Introduction ::Mali
The Sudanese Republic and Senegal became independent of France in 1960 as the Mali Federation. When Senegal withdrew after only a few months, what formerly made up the Sudanese Republic was renamed Mali. Rule by dictatorship was brought to a close in 1991 by a military coup - led by the current president Amadou TOURE - enabling Mali's emergence as one of the strongest democracies on the continent. President Alpha KONARE won Mali's first democratic presidential election in 1992 and was reelected in 1997. In keeping with Mali's two-term constitutional limit, KONARE stepped down in 2002 and was succeeded by Amadou TOURE, who was subsequently elected to a second term in 2007. The elections were widely judged to be free and fair.
Geography ::Mali
Western Africa, southwest of Algeria
17 00 N, 4 00 W
total: 1,240,192 sq km
country comparison to the world: 24
land: 1,220,190 sq km
water: 20,002 sq km
slightly less than twice the size of Texas
total: 7,243 km
border countries: Algeria 1,376 km, Burkina Faso 1,000 km, Guinea 858 km, Cote d'Ivoire 532 km, Mauritania 2,237 km, Niger 821 km, Senegal 419 km
0 km (landlocked)
none (landlocked)
Current Weather
subtropical to arid; hot and dry (February to June); rainy, humid, and mild (June to November); cool and dry (November to February)
mostly flat to rolling northern plains covered by sand; savanna in south, rugged hills in northeast
lowest point: Senegal River 23 m
highest point: Hombori Tondo 1,155 m
gold, phosphates, kaolin, salt, limestone, uranium, gypsum, granite, hydropower
note: bauxite, iron ore, manganese, tin, and copper deposits are known but not exploited
arable land: 3.76%
permanent crops: 0.03%
other: 96.21% (2005)
2,360 sq km (2003)
100 cu km (2001)
total: 6.55 cu km/yr (9%/1%/90%)
per capita: 484 cu m/yr (2000)
hot, dust-laden harmattan haze common during dry seasons; recurring droughts; occasional Niger River flooding
deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
landlocked; divided into three natural zones: the southern, cultivated Sudanese; the central, semiarid Sahelian; and the northern, arid Saharan
People ::Mali
13,796,354 (July 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 68
0-14 years: 47.5% (male 3,296,354/female 3,251,277)
15-64 years: 49.6% (male 3,337,547/female 3,503,590)
65 years and over: 3% (male 194,945/female 212,641) (2010 est.)
total: 16.2 years
male: 15.8 years
female: 16.6 years (2010 est.)
2.607% (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 26
46.09 births/1,000 population (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 3
14.64 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 16
-5.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 163
urban population: 32% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: 4.8% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.92 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2010 est.)
total: 113.66 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 4
male: 120.5 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 106.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2010 est.)
total population: 52.17 years
country comparison to the world: 209
male: 50.59 years
female: 53.8 years (2010 est.)
6.54 children born/woman (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 3
1.5% (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 42
100,000 (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 46
5,800 (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 42
degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne disease: malaria
water contact disease: schistosomiasis
respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis (2009)
noun: Malian(s)
adjective: Malian
Mande 50% (Bambara, Malinke, Soninke), Peul 17%, Voltaic 12%, Songhai 6%, Tuareg and Moor 10%, other 5%
Muslim 90%, Christian 1%, indigenous beliefs 9%
French (official), Bambara 80%, numerous African languages
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 46.4%
male: 53.5%
female: 39.6% (2003 est.)
total: 7 years
male: 8 years
female: 5 years (2005)
4.5% of GDP (2006)
country comparison to the world: 86
Government ::Mali
conventional long form: Republic of Mali
conventional short form: Mali
local long form: Republique de Mali
local short form: Mali
former: French Sudan and Sudanese Republic
republic
name: Bamako
geographic coordinates: 12 39 N, 8 00 W
time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
8 regions (regions, singular - region); Gao, Kayes, Kidal, Koulikoro, Mopti, Segou, Sikasso, Tombouctou
22 September 1960 (from France)
Independence Day, 22 September (1960)
adopted 12 January 1992
based on French civil law system and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
18 years of age; universal
chief of state: President Amadou Toumani TOURE (since 8 June 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Modibo SIDIBE (since 28 September 2007)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister
(For more information visit the World Leaders website Opens in New Window)
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 29 April 2007 (next to be held in April 2012); prime minister appointed by the president
election results: Amadou Toumani TOURE reelected president; percent of vote - Amadou Toumani TOURE 71.2%, Ibrahim Boubacar KEITA 19.2%, other 9.6%
unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (147 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held on 1 and 22 July 2007 (next to be held in July 2012)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - ADP coalition 113 (ADEMA 51, URD 34, MPR 8, CNID 7, UDD 3, and other 10), FDR coalition 15 (RPM 11, PARENA 4), SADI 4, independent 15
Supreme Court or Cour Supreme
African Solidarity for Democracy and Independence or SADI [Oumar MARIKO, secretary general]; Alliance for Democracy or ADEMA [Diounconda TRAORE]; Alliance for Democracy and Progress or ADP (a coalition of political parties including ADEMA and URD formed in December 2006 to support the presidential candidacy of Amadou TOURE); Alliance for Democratic Change (political group comprised mainly of Tuareg from Mali's northern region); Convergence 2007 [Soumeylou Boubeye MAIGA]; Front for Democracy and the Republic or FDR (a coalition of political parties including RPM and PARENA formed to oppose the presidential candidacy of Amadou TOURE); National Congress for Democratic Initiative or CNID [Mountaga TALL]; Party for Democracy and Progress or PDP [Mady KONATE]; Party for National Renewal or PARENA [Tiebile DRAME]; Patriotic Movement for Renewal or MPR [Choguel MAIGA]; Rally for Democracy and Labor or RDT [Amadou Ali NIANGADOU]; Rally for Mali or RPM [Ibrahim Boubacar KEITA]; Sudanese Union/African Democratic Rally or US/RDA [Mamadou Basir GOLOGO]; Union for Democracy and Development or UDD [Moussa Balla COULIBALY]; Union for Republic and Democracy or URD [Soumaila CISSE]
other: the army; Islamic authorities; rebels in the northern region; state-run cotton company CMDT; tuaregs
ACP, AfDB, AU, CD, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Mohamed Ouzouna MAIGA
chancery: 2130 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 332-2249, 939-8950
FAX: [1] (202) 332-6603
chief of mission: Ambassador Gillian A. MILOVANOVIC
embassy: located just off the Roi Bin Fahad Aziz Bridge just west of the Bamako central district
mailing address: ACI 2000, Rue 243, Porte 297, Bamako
telephone: [223] 270-2300
FAX: [223] 270-2479
three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), yellow, and red
note: uses the popular Pan-African colors of Ethiopia
Economy ::Mali
Mali is among the 25 poorest countries in the world, with 65% of its land area desert or semidesert and with a highly unequal distribution of income. Economic activity is largely confined to the riverine area irrigated by the Niger. About 10% of the population is nomadic and some 80% of the labor force is engaged in farming and fishing. Industrial activity is concentrated on processing farm commodities. Mali is heavily dependent on foreign aid and vulnerable to fluctuations in world prices for gold and cotton, its main exports. The government has continued its successful implementation of an IMF-recommended structural adjustment program that is helping the economy grow, diversify, and attract foreign investment. Mali has invested in tourism and a tractor assembly factory. Mali's adherence to economic reform and the 50% devaluation of the CFA franc in January 1994 have pushed up economic growth to a 5% average in 1996-2008. Worker remittances and external trade routes for the landlocked country have been jeopardized by continued unrest in neighboring Cote d'Ivoire, however, Mali is building a road network that will connect it to all adjacent countries and it has a railway line to Senegal.
$15.52 billion (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 134
$14.93 billion (2008 est.)
$14.2 billion (2007 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars
$8.86 billion (2009 est.)
4% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 39
5.1% (2008 est.)
2.8% (2007 est.)
$1,200 (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 205
$1,100 (2008 est.)
$1,100 (2007 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars
agriculture: 45%
industry: 17%
services: 38% (2001 est.)
3.241 million (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 97
agriculture: 80%
industry and services: 20% (2005 est.)
30% (2004 est.)
country comparison to the world: 180
36.1% (2005 est.)
lowest 10%: 2.7%
highest 10%: 30.5% (2006)
40.1 (2001)
country comparison to the world: 61
50.5 (1994)
revenues: $1.5 billion
expenditures: $1.8 billion (2006 est.)
2.5% (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 84
4.75% (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 119
4.25% (31 December 2007)
NA%
$NA (31 December 2008)
$1.58 billion (31 December 2007)
$NA (31 December 2008)
$697.1 million (31 December 2007)
$NA (31 December 2008)
$1.099 billion (31 December 2007)
$NA
cotton, millet, rice, corn, vegetables, peanuts; cattle, sheep, goats
food processing; construction; phosphate and gold mining
NA%
515 million kWh (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 158
479 million kWh (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 163
0 kWh; note - recent hydropower developments may be providing electricity to Senegal and Mauritania (2008 est.)
0 kWh (2008 est.)
0 bbl/day (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 164
5,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 169
0 bbl/day (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 186
4,402 bbl/day (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 163
0 bbl (1 January 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 108
0 cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 158
0 cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 159
0 cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 153
0 cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 93
0 cu m (1 January 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 109
-$446 million (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 108
$294 million (2006)
country comparison to the world: 175
cotton, gold, livestock
China 26.4%, Thailand 10.6%, Denmark 6.4%, Pakistan 5.1%, Morocco 4.9% (2008)
$2.358 billion (2006)
country comparison to the world: 146
petroleum, machinery and equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs, textiles
Senegal 13.1%, Cote dIvoire 11.9%, France 11.3%, China 5.9% (2008)
$2.8 billion (2002)
country comparison to the world: 124
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 481.35 (2009), 447.81 (2008), 493.51 (2007), 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005)
note: since 1 January 1999, the West African CFA franc (XOF) has been pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 CFA francs per euro; West African CFA franc (XOF) coins and banknotes are not accepted in countries using Central African CFA francs (XAF), and vice versa, even though the two currencies trade at par
Communications ::Mali
81,100 (2008)
country comparison to the world: 149
3.439 million (2008)
country comparison to the world: 102
general assessment: domestic system unreliable but improving; increasing use of local radio loops to extend network coverage to remote areas
domestic: fixed-line subscribership remains less than 1 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular subscribership has increased sharply to nearly 30 per 100 persons
international: country code - 223; satellite communications center and fiber-optic links to neighboring countries; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean, 1 Indian Ocean) (2008)
AM 1, FM 230 (27 regional and government stations, and 203 private stations), shortwave 1 (2001)
2 (plus repeaters) (2007)
.ml
519 (2009)
country comparison to the world: 171
200,000 (2008)
country comparison to the world: 136
Transportation ::Mali
22 (2009)
country comparison to the world: 134
total: 8
2,438 to 3,047 m: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2009)
total: 14
1,524 to 2,437 m: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 6
under 914 m: 3 (2009)
total: 593 km
country comparison to the world: 112
narrow gauge: 593 km 1.000-m gauge (2008)
total: 18,709 km
country comparison to the world: 113
paved: 3,368 km
unpaved: 15,341 km (2004)
1,800 km (2008)
country comparison to the world: 46
Koulikoro
Military ::Mali
Malian Armed Forces: Army, Republic of Mali Air Force (Force Aerienne de la Republique du Mali, FARM), National Guard (2008)
18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; conscript service obligation - 2 years (2008)
males age 16-49: 2,759,648
females age 16-49: 2,894,776 (2010 est.)
males age 16-49: 1,760,901
females age 16-49: 1,900,025 (2010 est.)
male: 153,198
female: 154,762 (2010 est.)
1.9% of GDP (2006)
country comparison to the world: 79
Transnational Issues ::Mali
none
refugees (country of origin): 6,300 (Mauritania) (2007)