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 that ushered in a period of democratic rule. President Alpha KONARE won Mali's first two democratic presidential elections in 1992 and 1997. In keeping with Mali's two-term constitutional limit, he stepped down in 2002 and was succeeded by Amadou TOURE, who was elected to a second term in 2007 elections that were widely judged to be free and fair.

Malian returnees from Libya in 2011 exacerbated tensions in northern Mali and Tuareg ethnic militias started a rebellion in January 2012. Low-mid level soldiers, frustrated with the poor handling of the rebellion overthrew TOURE on 22 March. Coup leader Capt. Amadou Haya SANOGO and his junta under the mediation of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) returned power to a civilian administration in April with the appointment of interim President Dioncounda TRAORE. Interim Prime Minister Chieck Modibo DIARRA immediately appointed a unity cabinet. The post-coup chaos led to rebels expelling the Malian military from the three northern regions of the country, which remain under the control of a Tuareg militia, Ansar al-Din, and its terrorist group allies. Hundreds of thousands of northern Malians fled the violence to southern Mali and neighboring countries, exacerbating regional food insecurity in host communities. TRAORE was attacked by an angry mob in May and spent two months recovering in Paris, he returned in July. TRAORE and DIARRA announced a second unity government in August and in September called upon the international community to assist them in reclaiming land lost to rebels. SANOGO forced DIARRA to resign in December 2012; Django CISSOKO immediately replaced him and announced a third unity cabinet. The interim government is working with ECOWAS to organize negotiations with Tuareg rebels and the international community to plan a military intervention to retake the three northern regions.

interior Western Africa, southwest of Algeria, north of Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire, and Burkina Faso, west of Niger

slightly less than twice the size of Texas

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

gold, phosphates, kaolin, salt, limestone, uranium, gypsum, granite, hydropower

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

landlocked; divided into three natural zones: the southern, cultivated Sudanese; the central, semiarid Sahelian; and the northern, arid Saharan

Mande 50% (Bambara, Malinke, Soninke), Peul 17%, Voltaic 12%, Songhai 6%, Tuareg and Moor 10%, other 5%

French (official), Bambara 80%, numerous African languages

Muslim 90%, Christian 1%, indigenous beliefs 9%

15,494,466 (July 2012 est.)

46.6 births/1,000 population (2012 est.)

13.9 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.)

-5.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.)

BAMAKO (capital) 1.628 million (2009)

540 deaths/100,000 live births (2010)

6.35 children born/woman (2012 est.)

0.049 physicians/1,000 population (2008)

0.57 beds/1,000 population (2008)

urban: 54% of population

rural: 32% of population

total: 36% of population

urban: 46% of population

rural: 68% of population

total: 54% of population

8 regions (regions, singular - region), 1 district*; District de Bamako*, Gao, Kayes, Kidal, Koulikoro, Mopti, Segou, Sikasso, Tombouctou (Timbuktu)

22 September 1960 (from France)

Independence Day, 22 September (1960)

adopted 12 January 1992

civil law system based on the French civil law model and influenced by customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Court

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (147 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)

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]; Convergence for the development of Mali or CODEM [Housseyni GUINDO]; 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]

ACP, AfDB, AU, CD, ECOWAS, EITI (compliant country), FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MONUSCO, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), yellow, and red

Among the 25 poorest countries in the world, Mali is a landlocked country highly dependent on gold mining and agricultural exports for revenue. The country's fiscal status fluctuates with gold and agricultural commodity prices and the harvest. Mali remains dependent on foreign aid. Economic activity is largely confined to the riverine area irrigated by the Niger River and about 65% of its land area is desert or semidesert. About 10% of the population is nomadic and about 80% of the labor force is engaged in farming and fishing. Industrial activity is concentrated on processing farm commodities. The government in 2011 completed an IMF extended credit facility program that has helped the economy grow, diversify, and attract foreign investment. Mali is developing its cotton and iron ore extraction industries to diversify foreign exchange revenue away from gold. Mali has invested in tourism but security issues are hurting the industry. Mali experienced economic growth of about 5% per year between 1996-2010, but the global recession and a military coup caused a decline in output in 2012. The interim government slashed public spending in the context of a declining state of security and declining international aid.

$17.35 billion (2012 est.)

$18.17 billion (2011 est.)

$17.69 billion (2010 est.)

$9.603 billion (2012 est.)

3.241 million (2007 est.)

14.5% of GDP (2012 est.)

-7.5% of GDP (2012 est.)

23.2% of GDP (2012 est.)

23.3% of GDP (2011 est.)

16% (31 December 2010 est.)

4.25% (31 December 2009 est.)

9.3% (31 December 2012 est.)

9% (31 December 2011 est.)

$2.382 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$2.156 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$3.401 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$2.929 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$1.938 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$1.669 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

cotton, millet, rice, corn, vegetables, peanuts; cattle, sheep, goats

-$1.421 billion (2012 est.)

-$1.301 billion (2011 est.)

$2.557 billion (2012 est.)

$2.453 billion (2011 est.)

cotton, gold, livestock

China 31%, South Korea 14.5%, Indonesia 12.2%, Thailand 6.3%, Malaysia 5.4%, Bangladesh 5% (2011)

$3.209 billion (2012 est.)

$3.026 billion (2011 est.)

petroleum, machinery and equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs, textiles

Senegal 14.9%, France 11.6%, China 8.2%, Cote dIvoire 6.3% (2011)

$2.725 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$2.652 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$2.556 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$2.351 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$77.44 million (31 December 2012 est.)

$48 million (31 December 2011 est.)

Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar -

520 million kWh (2009 est.)

483.6 million kWh (2009 est.)

304,000 kW (2009 est.)

48.4% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

51.6% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0 bbl/day (2011 est.)

0 bbl/day (2009 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2012 est.)

0 bbl/day (2008 est.)

4,994 bbl/day (2011 est.)

0 bbl/day (2008 est.)

4,568 bbl/day (2008 est.)

0 cu m (1 January 2012 est.)

893,700 Mt (2010 est.)

10.822 million (2011)

national public TV broadcaster; 2 privately-owned companies provide subscription services to foreign multi-channel TV packages; national public radio broadcaster supplemented by a large number of privately-owned and community broadcast stations; transmissions of multiple international broadcasters are available (2007)

1,800 km (downstream of Koulikoro; low water levels on the River Niger cause problems in dry years; in the months before the rainy season the river is not navigable by commercial vessels) (2011)

Malian Armed Forces: Army (Armee de Terre), Republic of Mali Air Force (Force Aerienne de la Republique du Mali, FARM), National Guard (Garde National du Mali) (2008)

18 years of age for selective compulsory and voluntary military service; conscript service obligation - 2 years (2010)

demarcation is underway with Burkina Faso