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
Location:
Western Africa, southwest of Algeria
Geographic coordinates:
17 00 N, 4 00 W
Map references:
Africa
Area:
total: 1,240,192 sq km
4
land:
1,220,190 sq km
water:
20,002 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)
Maritime claims:
none (landlocked)
Climate:
Current Weather
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
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
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
Geography - note:
landlocked; divided into
three natural zones: the southern, cultivated Sudanese; the central,
semiarid Sahelian; and the northern, arid Saharan
based on French civil law
system and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in
Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
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); 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%
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 (ADEMA 51,
URD 34, MPR 8, CNID 7, UDD 3, and other 10), FDR coalition 15 (RPM 11,
PARENA 4), SADI 4, independent 15
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court or Cour Supreme
Political parties and leaders:
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]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
other: the army; Islamic authorities; rebels in the northern region; state-run cotton company CMDT; tuaregs
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
Flag description:
three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), yellow, and red
note:uses
the popular Pan-African colors of Ethiopia; the colors from left to
right are the same as those of neighboring Senegal (which has an
additional green central star) and the reverse of those on the flag of
neighboring Guinea
Economy ::Mali
Economy - overview:
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.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$15.52 billion (2009 est.)
34
$14.93 billion (2008 est.)
$14.2 billion (2007 est.)
note:data are in 2009 US dollars
GDP (official exchange rate):
$8.86 billion (2009 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
4% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 39
5.1% (2008 est.)
2.8% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$1,200 (2009 est.)
06
$1,100 (2008 est.)
$1,100 (2007 est.)
note:data are in 2009 US dollars
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 45%
industry:
17%
services:
38% (2001 est.)
Labor force:
3.241 million (2007 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 80%
industry and services:
20% (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate:
30% (2004 est.)
8
Population below poverty line:
36.1% (2005 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
petroleum, machinery and equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs, textiles
Imports - partners:
Senegal 13.1%, Cote dIvoire 11.9%, France 11.3%, China 5.9% (2008)
Debt - external:
$2.8 billion (2002)
25
Exchange rates:
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
Telephones - main lines in use:
81,100 (2008)
49
Telephones - mobile cellular:
3.439 million (2008)
02
Telephone system:
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)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 1, FM 230 (27 regional and government stations, and 203 private stations), shortwave 1 (2001)
Television broadcast stations:
2 (plus repeaters) (2007)
Internet country code:
.ml
Internet hosts:
519 (2009)
1
Internet users:
200,000 (2008)
36
Transportation ::Mali
Airports:
22 (2009)
34
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 8
2,438 to 3,047 m:
4
1,524 to 2,437 m:
3
914 to 1,523 m:
1 (2009)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 14
1,524 to 2,437 m:
5
914 to 1,523 m:
6
under 914 m:
3 (2009)
Railways:
total: 593 km
12
narrow gauge:
593 km 1.000-m gauge (2008)
Roadways:
total: 18,709 km
13
paved:
3,368 km
unpaved:
15,341 km (2004)
Waterways:
1,800 km (2008)
country comparison to the world: 46
Ports and terminals:
Koulikoro
Military ::Mali
Military branches:
Malian Armed Forces: Army, Republic of Mali Air Force (Force Aerienne de la Republique du Mali, FARM), National Guard (2008)
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: 2,759,648
females age 16-49:
2,894,776 (2010 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 1,760,901
females age 16-49:
1,900,025 (2010 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 153,198
female:
154,762 (2010 est.)
Military expenditures:
1.9% of GDP (2006)
Transnational Issues ::Mali
Disputes - international:
none
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 6,300 (Mauritania) (2007)
