World Facts Index
 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 of Mali
|
Location:
|
Western Africa, southwest
of Algeria |
|
Coordinates:
|
17 00 N, 4 00 W |
|
Area:
|
total: 1.24 million
sq km
water: 20,000 sq km
land: 1.22 million sq km |
|
Area comparative:
|
slightly less than twice
the size of Texas |
|
Land boundaries:
|
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:
|
0 km (landlocked) |
|
Climate:
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subtropical to arid; hot
and dry February to June; rainy, humid, and mild June to November; cool
and dry November to February |
|
Terrain:
|
mostly flat to rolling
northern plains covered by sand; savanna in south, rugged hills in
northeast |
|
Elevation extremes:
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lowest point:
Senegal River 23 m
highest point: Hombori Tondo 1,155 m |
|
Natural resources:
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gold, phosphates, kaolin,
salt, limestone, uranium, hydropower
note: bauxite, iron ore, manganese, tin, and copper deposits are
known but not exploited |
|
Natural hazards:
|
hot, dust-laden harmattan
haze common during dry seasons; recurring droughts; occasional Niger
River flooding |
|
Environment current issues:
|
deforestation; soil
erosion; desertification; inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching |
|
Geography - note:
|
landlocked; divided into
three natural zones: the southern, cultivated Sudanese; the central,
semiarid Sahelian; and the northern, arid Saharan
|
Population of Mali
|
Population:
|
12,324,029 (July 2008 est.) |
|
Age structure:
|
0-14 years: 48.2% (male 2,857,670/female 2,787,506)
15-64 years: 48.8% (male 2,804,344/female 2,910,097)
65 years and over: 3% (male 146,458/female 210,754) |
|
Median age:
|
15.8 years
|
|
Growth rate:
|
2.63% |
|
Infant mortality:
|
107.58 deaths/1,000 live births |
|
Life expectancy at birth:
|
total population: 49 years
male: 47.05 years
female: 51.01 years |
|
Fertility rate:
|
7.42 children born/woman |
|
Nationality:
|
noun: Malian(s)
adjective: Malian |
|
Ethnic groups:
|
Mande 50% (Bambara, Malinke, Soninke), Peul
17%, Voltaic 12%, Songhai 6%, Tuareg and Moor 10%, other 5% |
|
Religions:
|
Muslim 90%, indigenous beliefs 9%,
Christian 1% |
|
Languages:
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French (official), Bambara 80%, numerous
African languages |
|
Literacy:
|
definition: age 15 and over can read
and write
total population: 46.4%
male: 53.5%
female: 39.6%
|
Government
|
Country name:
|
conventional long form: Republic of
Mali
former: French Sudan and Sudanese Republic
local long form: Republique de Mali |
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Government type:
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republic |
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Capital:
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Bamako |
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Administrative divisions:
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8 regions (regions, singular - region);
Gao, Kayes, Kidal, Koulikoro, Mopti, Segou, Sikasso, Tombouctou |
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Independence:
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22 September 1960 (from France) |
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National holiday:
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Independence Day, 22 September (1960) |
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Constitution:
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adopted 12 January 1992 |
|
Legal system:
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based on French civil law system and
customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Court (which was
formally established on 9 March 1994); has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
|
Suffrage:
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18 years of age; universal |
|
Executive branch:
|
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); prime minister appointed by the president. |
|
Legislative branch:
|
unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (147
seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
|
|
Judicial branch:
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Supreme Court or Cour Supreme |
|
Political pressure groups and leaders:
|
Patriotic Movement of the Ghanda Koye or MPGK; United
Movement and Fronts of Azawad or MFUA |
Economy
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:
|
$13.63 billion (2007 est.) |
|
GDP growth rate:
|
6% |
|
GDP per capita:
|
$1,200 |
|
GDP composition by sector:
|
agriculture: 45%
industry: 17%
services: 38% |
|
Inflation rate:
|
4.5% |
|
Labor force:
|
3.93 million ) |
|
Labor force - by occupation:
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agriculture and fishing 80% |
|
Unemployment:
|
14.6% urban areas; 5.3% rural areas |
|
Budget:
|
revenues: $764 million
expenditures: $828 million |
|
Electricity production by source:
|
fossil fuel: 41.7%
hydro: 58.3%
other: 0%
nuclear: 0% |
|
Industries:
|
food processing; construction; phosphate
and gold mining |
|
Agriculture:
|
cotton, millet, rice, corn, vegetables,
peanuts; cattle, sheep, goats |
|
Exports:
|
cotton, gold, livestock |
|
Export partners:
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China 24.3%, Pakistan 12.9%, Thailand 8.4%, India 6.2%,
Taiwan 5.2%, Italy 4.4% |
|
Imports:
|
petroleum, machinery and equipment,
construction materials, foodstuffs, textiles |
|
Import partners:
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France 13.1%, Senegal 10.7%, Cote d'Ivoire 8.5% |
|
Currency:
|
Communaute Financiere Africaine franc
(XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States |
SOURCES: The CIA World Factbook, U.S. Department of State, Area Handbook of the US Library of Congress
Copyright 2004 - 2008 worldfacts.us |