ExchangeRate.com Logo
Login | Register |  My Account |   |   |   |  Suggest XR to your friends Print this page
Exchange Rate Home >> Country Info >> Mali

   | Post | View
Select Country:
  Mali   
Introduction
Geography
People
Government
Economy
Communications
Transportation
Military
Transnational
Issues
  Introduction Back To Top

Background:
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 Back To Top

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 6.55 cu km/yr (9%/1%/90%)
per capita: 484 cu m/yr (2000)

Total renewable water resources:
100 cu km (2001)

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

Environment - international agreements:
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

Climate:
subtropical to arid; hot and dry (February to June); rainy, humid, and mild (June to November); cool and dry (November to February)

Map references:
Africa

Geographic coordinates:
17 00 N, 4 00 W

Natural resources:
gold, phosphates, kaolin, salt, limestone, uranium, gypsum, granite, hydropower
note: bauxite, iron ore, manganese, tin, and copper deposits are known but not exploited

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Senegal River 23 m
highest point: Hombori Tondo 1,155 m

Terrain:
mostly flat to rolling northern plains covered by sand; savanna in south, rugged hills in northeast

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

Area:
total: 1.24 million sq km
land: 1.22 million sq km
water: 20,000 sq km

Location:
Western Africa, southwest of Algeria

Coastline:
0 km (landlocked)

Area - comparative:
slightly less than twice the size of Texas

Irrigated land:
2,360 sq km (2003)

Environment - current issues:
deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching

Maritime claims:
none (landlocked)

Natural hazards:
hot, dust-laden harmattan haze common during dry seasons; recurring droughts; occasional Niger River flooding

Land use:
arable land: 3.76%
permanent crops: 0.03%
other: 96.21% (2005)

  People Back To Top

Total fertility rate:
7.34 children born/woman (2008 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.66 male(s)/female
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
1.9% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
140,000 (2003 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 49.94 years
male: 48 years
female: 51.94 years (2008 est.)

Major infectious diseases:
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 (2008)

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 46.4%
male: 53.5%
female: 39.6% (2003 est.)

Net migration rate:
-5.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)

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

Median age:
total: 15.8 years
male: 15.4 years
female: 16.2 years (2008 est.)

Population:
12,324,029 (July 2008 est.)

Education expenditures:
4.5% of GDP (2006)

Population growth rate:
2.725% (2008 est.)

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

Death rate:
16.16 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 103.83 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 113.41 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 93.97 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
12,000 (2003 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 7 years
male: 8 years
female: 5 years (2005)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 48.2% (male 3,004,003/female 2,937,138)
15-64 years: 48.7% (male 2,976,314/female 3,028,433)
65 years and over: 3.1% (male 150,597/female 227,544) (2008 est.)

Birth rate:
49.38 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

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

Nationality:
noun: Malian(s)
adjective: Malian

  Government Back To Top

Diplomatic representation from the US:
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

National holiday:
Independence Day, 22 September (1960)

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Government type:
republic

Political pressure groups and leaders:
other: the army; Islamic authorities; rebels in the northern region; state-run cotton company CMDT; tuaregs

Diplomatic representation in the US:
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

International organization participation:
ACP, AfDB, AU, 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, MINURCAT, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Legislative branch:
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 (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

Legal system:
based on French civil law system and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Flag description:
three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), yellow, and red; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia

Independence:
22 September 1960 (from France)

Country name (Goverment):
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

Political parties and leaders:
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]

Capital:
name: Bamako
geographic coordinates: 12 39 N, 8 00 W
time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Constitution:
adopted 12 January 1992

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); 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%

Administrative divisions:
8 regions (regions, singular - region); Gao, Kayes, Kidal, Koulikoro, Mopti, Segou, Sikasso, Tombouctou

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court or Cour Supreme

  Economy Back To Top

Exports - partners:
China 19.6%, Thailand 10.5%, Brazil 4.6%, France 4.5%, Indonesia 4.5% (2007)

Electricity - consumption:
469.7 million kWh (2006 est.)

Central bank discount rate:
4.25% (31 December 2007)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2007 est.)

Current account balance:
-$446 million (2007 est.)

Debt - external:
$2.8 billion (2002)

Unemployment rate:
30% (2004 est.)

Oil - exports:
0 bbl/day (2006)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$1,200 (2008 est.)

Stock of domestic credit:
$1.099 billion (31 December 2007)

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$14.98 billion (2008 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$8.776 billion (2008 est.)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
40.1 (2001)

Exchange rates:
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar 438.77 (2008 est.), 493.51 (2007), 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004)
note: since 1 January 1999, the XOF franc has been pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF francs per euro

GDP - real growth rate:
4% (2008 est.)

Stock of money:
$1.58 billion (31 December 2007)

Labor force:
5.4 million (2007 est.)

Imports - partners:
France 12.9%, Senegal 12.7%, Cote d'Ivoire 10.9%, China 4.9% (2007)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
2.5% (2007 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 45%
industry: 17%
services: 38% (2001 est.)

Oil - imports:
4,860 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Exports:
$294 million f.o.b. (2006)

Natural gas - consumption:
0 cu m (2007 est.)

Currency (code):
Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States

Economy - overview:
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 1996-2008. Worker remittances and external trade routes for the landlocked country have been jeopardized by continued unrest in neighboring Cote d'Ivoire.

Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2007 est.)

Imports - commodities:
petroleum, machinery and equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs, textiles

Industries:
food processing; construction; phosphate and gold mining

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh; note - recent hydropower developments may be providing electricity to Senegal and Mauritania (2007 est.)

Population below poverty line:
36.1% (2005 est.)

Commercial bank prime lending rate:
NA

Stock of quasi money:
$697.1 million (31 December 2007)

Electricity - production:
505 million kWh (2006 est.)

Imports:
$2.358 billion f.o.b. (2006)

Oil - proved reserves:
0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 80%
industry and services: 20% (2005 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:
0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

Oil - consumption:
4,640 bbl/day (2006 est.)

Market value of publicly traded shares:
$NA

Currency code:
XOF

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.4%
highest 10%: 30.2% (2001)

Exports - commodities:
cotton, gold, livestock

Economic aid - recipient:
$691.5 million (2005)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 41.7%
hydro: 58.3%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)

Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2007 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $1.5 billion
expenditures: $1.8 billion (2006 est.)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2007 est.)

  Communications Back To Top

Internet users:
100,000 (2007)

Telephones - main lines in use:
85,000 (2007)

Televisions:
45,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.ml

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 1, FM 230 (27 regional and government stations, and 203 private stations), shortwave 1 (2001)

Radios:
570,000 (1997)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
2.483 million (2007)

Television broadcast stations:
2 (plus repeaters) (2007)

Telephone system:
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; increasing use of local radio loops to extend network coverage to remote areas; mobile-cellular subscribership has increased sharply to 20 per 100 persons
international: country code - 223; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean, 1 Indian Ocean) (2007)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
13 (2001)

Internet hosts:
387 (2008)

  Transportation Back To Top

Waterways:
1,800 km (2008)

Railways:
total: 729 km
narrow gauge: 729 km 1.000-m gauge (2006)

Ports and terminals:
Koulikoro

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 8
2,438 to 3,047 m: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2007)

Roadways:
total: 18,709 km
paved: 3,368 km
unpaved: 15,341 km (2004)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
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)

Airports:
29 (2007)

  Military Back To Top

Military service age and obligation:
18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; conscript service obligation - 2 years (2008)

Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 2,603,700
females age 16-49: 2,441,776 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 1,594,184
females age 16-49: 1,529,871 (2008 est.)

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

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 144,293
female: 136,381 (2008 est.)

Military expenditures:
1.9% of GDP (2006)

  Transnational Issues Back To Top

Disputes - international:
none

Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 6,300 (Mauritania) (2007)

Got something to say on this page? Feel free to post your comments ! Please limit your comments to discussions about the subject matter of the content. To report bugs or problems with the ExchangeRate.com web site, please use our contact form here. Thank You!

Content, information, data, material, services, or products comprising this web-site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without written permission from ExchangeRate.com Inc.. The information supplied by this web-site is believed to be accurate, but ExchangeRate.com Inc. does not warrant or guarantee such accuracy. Users are always advised to verify information with their financial and accounting advisors or with the appropriate government agencies before relying on any such information. Information contained in this web-site is intended for your personal, non-commercial use. All other uses are expressly unauthorized and prohibited to the maximum extent allowed by law.
Copyright © ExchangeRate.com Inc. 1998 - 2020