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This page was last updated on 17 January, 2008


Map of Mali
Legend: DefinitionDefinition Field ListingField Listing Rank OrderRank Order
   Introduction    Mali Top of Page
Background:
Definition Field Listing
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 Top of Page
Location:
Definition Field Listing
Western Africa, southwest of Algeria
Geographic coordinates:
Definition Field Listing
17 00 N, 4 00 W
Map references:
Definition Field Listing
Africa
Area:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 1.24 million sq km
land: 1.22 million sq km
water: 20,000 sq km
Area - comparative:
Definition Field Listing
slightly less than twice the size of Texas
Land boundaries:
Definition Field Listing
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
Coastline:
Definition Field Listing
0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims:
Definition Field Listing
none (landlocked)
Climate:
Definition Field Listing
subtropical to arid; hot and dry (February to June); rainy, humid, and mild (June to November); cool and dry (November to February)
Terrain:
Definition Field Listing
mostly flat to rolling northern plains covered by sand; savanna in south, rugged hills in northeast
Elevation extremes:
Definition Field Listing
lowest point: Senegal River 23 m
highest point: Hombori Tondo 1,155 m
Natural resources:
Definition Field Listing
gold, phosphates, kaolin, salt, limestone, uranium, gypsum, granite, hydropower
note: bauxite, iron ore, manganese, tin, and copper deposits are known but not exploited
Land use:
Definition Field Listing
arable land: 3.76%
permanent crops: 0.03%
other: 96.21% (2005)
Irrigated land:
Definition Field Listing
2,360 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources:
Definition Field Listing
100 cu km (2001)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
Definition Field Listing
Total: 6.55 cu km/yr (9%/1%/90%)
Per capita: 484 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards:
Definition Field Listing
hot, dust-laden harmattan haze common during dry seasons; recurring droughts; occasional Niger River flooding
Environment - current issues:
Definition Field Listing
deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching
Environment - international agreements:
Definition Field Listing
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
Geography - note:
Definition Field Listing
landlocked; divided into three natural zones: the southern, cultivated Sudanese; the central, semiarid Sahelian; and the northern, arid Saharan
   People    Mali Top of Page
Population:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
11,995,402 (July 2007 est.)
Age structure:
Definition Field Listing
0-14 years: 48.2% (male 2,921,914/female 2,853,976)
15-64 years: 48.8% (male 2,891,494/female 2,959,142)
65 years and over: 3.1% (male 149,301/female 219,575) (2007 est.)
Median age:
Definition Field Listing
total: 15.9 years
male: 15.4 years
female: 16.3 years (2007 est.)
Population growth rate:
Definition Field Listing
2.681% (2007 est.)
Birth rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
49.61 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Death rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
16.51 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Net migration rate:
Definition Field Listing
-6.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Sex ratio:
Definition Field Listing
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.024 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.977 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female
total population: 0.988 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 105.65 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 115.29 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 95.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total population: 49.51 years
male: 47.6 years
female: 51.46 years (2007 est.)
Total fertility rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
7.38 children born/woman (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
1.9% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
140,000 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
12,000 (2003 est.)
Major infectious diseases:
Definition Field Listing
degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne disease: malaria is a high risk in some locations
water contact disease: schistosomiasis
respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis (2007)
Nationality:
Definition Field Listing
noun: Malian(s)
adjective: Malian
Ethnic groups:
Definition Field Listing
Mande 50% (Bambara, Malinke, Soninke), Peul 17%, Voltaic 12%, Songhai 6%, Tuareg and Moor 10%, other 5%
Religions:
Definition Field Listing
Muslim 90%, Christian 1%, indigenous beliefs 9%
Languages:
Definition Field Listing
French (official), Bambara 80%, numerous African languages
Literacy:
Definition Field Listing
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 46.4%
male: 53.5%
female: 39.6% (2003 est.)
   Government    Mali Top of Page
Country name:
Definition Field Listing
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
Government type:
Definition Field Listing
republic
Capital:
Definition Field Listing
name: Bamako
geographic coordinates: 12 39 N, 8 00 W
time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions:
Definition Field Listing
8 regions (regions, singular - region); Gao, Kayes, Kidal, Koulikoro, Mopti, Segou, Sikasso, Tombouctou
Independence:
Definition Field Listing
22 September 1960 (from France)
National holiday:
Definition Field Listing
Independence Day, 22 September (1960)
Constitution:
Definition Field Listing
adopted 12 January 1992
Legal system:
Definition Field Listing
based on French civil law system and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
Definition Field Listing
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
Definition Field Listing
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
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 29 April 2007 (next to be held April in 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%
Legislative branch:
Definition Field Listing
unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (147 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 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 (including ADEMA 51, URD 34, MPR 8, CNID 7, UDD 3, and other 10), FDR coalition 15 (including RPM 11, PARENA 4), SADI 4, independent 15
Judicial branch:
Definition Field Listing
Supreme Court or Cour Supreme
Political parties and leaders:
Definition Field Listing
Alliance for Democratic Change (political group comprised mainly of Tuareg from Mali's northern region); African Solidarity for Democracy and Independence or SADI [Oumar MARIKO, secretary general]; 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 Democracy or ADEMA [Diounconda TRAORE]; 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 [Me Idrissa TRAORE]; Party for National Renewal or PARENA [Tiebile DRAME]; Patriotic Movement for Renewal or MPR [Choguel MAIGA]; Rally for Democracy and Labor or RDT; Rally for Mali or RPM [Ibrahim Boubacar KEITA]; Sudanese Union/African Democratic Rally or US/RDA [Mamadou Bamou TOURE]; Union for Democracy and Development or UDD [Moussa Balla COULIBALY]; Union for Republic and Democracy or URD [Soumaila CISSE]
International organization participation:
Definition Field Listing
ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OIF, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
Definition Field Listing
chief of mission: Ambassador Abdoulaye DIOP
chancery: 2130 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 332-2249, 939-8950
FAX: [1] (202) 332-6603
Diplomatic representation from the US:
Definition Field Listing
chief of mission: Ambassador Terrence P. MCCULLEY
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
Flag description:
Definition Field Listing
three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), yellow, and red; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia
   Economy    Mali Top of Page
Economy - overview:
Definition Field Listing
Mali is among the 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 cotton, its main export, along with gold. 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'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 1996-2007. Worker remittances and external trade routes for the landlocked country have been jeopardized by continued unrest in neighboring Cote d'Ivoire.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$14.18 billion (2007 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate):
Definition Field Listing
$6.256 billion (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
4.3% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$1,200 (2007 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
Definition Field Listing
agriculture: 45%
industry: 17%
services: 38% (2001 est.)
Labor force:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
3.93 million (2001 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
Definition Field Listing
agriculture: 80%
industry and services: 20% (2001 est.)
Unemployment rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
14.6% (2001 est.)
Population below poverty line:
Definition Field Listing
64% (2001 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
Definition Field Listing
lowest 10%: 2.4%
highest 10%: 30.2% (2001)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
Definition Field Listing
40.1 (2001)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
4.5% (2002 est.)
Budget:
Definition Field Listing
revenues: $764 million
expenditures: $828 million (2002 est.)
Agriculture - products:
Definition Field Listing
cotton, millet, rice, corn, vegetables, peanuts; cattle, sheep, goats
Industries:
Definition Field Listing
food processing; construction; phosphate and gold mining
Industrial production growth rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
NA%
Electricity - production:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
444 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - consumption:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
412.9 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports:
Definition Field Listing
0 kWh; note - recent hydropower developments may be providing electricity to Senegal and Mauritania (2005)
Electricity - imports:
Definition Field Listing
0 kWh (2005)
Oil - production:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
0 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - consumption:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
4,500 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - exports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
0 bbl/day (2004)
Oil - imports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
4,369 bbl/day (2004)
Oil - proved reserves:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
Natural gas - production:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
0 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
0 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
0 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
0 cu m (2005)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
Exports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$294 million f.o.b. (2006)
Exports - commodities:
Definition Field Listing
cotton, gold, livestock
Exports - partners:
Definition Field Listing
China 35.2%, Thailand 9.3%, Taiwan 6.5%, Bangladesh 5.3%, Australia 5% (2006)
Imports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$2.358 billion f.o.b. (2006)
Imports - partners:
Definition Field Listing
France 12.8%, Senegal 12.1%, Cote d'Ivoire 10.4% (2006)
Economic aid - recipient:
Definition Field Listing
$691.5 million (2005)
Debt - external:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$2.8 billion (2002)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$NA
Currency (code):
Definition Field Listing
Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States
Exchange rates:
Definition Field Listing
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 493.51 (2007), 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003)
Fiscal year:
Definition Field Listing
calendar year
   Communications    Mali Top of Page
Telephones - main lines in use:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
82,500 (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
1.513 million (2006)
Telephone system:
Definition Field Listing
general assessment: domestic system unreliable but improving; provides only minimal service
domestic: fixed-line availability is gradually increasing, but subscribership remains less than 1 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular subscribership has increased sharply to 13 per 100 persons
international: country code - 223; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean, 1 Indian Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations:
Definition Field Listing
AM 1, FM 28, shortwave 1 (the shortwave station in Bamako has seven frequencies and five transmitters and relays broadcasts for China Radio International) (2001)
Television broadcast stations:
Definition Field Listing
1 (plus repeaters) (2001)
Internet country code:
Definition Field Listing
.ml
Internet hosts:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
28 (2007)
Internet users:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
70,000 (2006)
   Transportation    Mali Top of Page
Airports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
29 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways:
Definition Field Listing
total: 8
2,438 to 3,047 m: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
Definition Field Listing
total: 21
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 7
under 914 m: 8 (2007)
Railways:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 729 km
narrow gauge: 729 km 1.000-m gauge (2006)
Roadways:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 18,709 km
paved: 3,368 km
unpaved: 15,341 km (2004)
Waterways:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
1,800 km (2007)
Ports and terminals:
Definition Field Listing
Koulikoro
   Military    Mali Top of Page
Military branches:
Definition Field Listing
Malian Armed Forces: Army, Republic of Mali Air Force (Force Aerienne de la Republique du Mali, FARM), National Guard (2007)
Military service age and obligation:
Definition Field Listing
18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; conscript service obligation - 2 years (2004)
Manpower available for military service:
Definition Field Listing
males age 18-49: 2,094,432
females age 18-49: 2,027,352 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
Definition Field Listing
males age 18-49: 1,244,176
females age 18-49: 1,226,226 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
1.9% (2006)
   Transnational Issues    Mali Top of Page
Disputes - international:
Definition Field Listing
none
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
Definition Field Listing
refugees (country of origin): 6,165 (Mauritania) (2006)

This page was last updated on 17 January, 2008


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