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 coup that ushered in democratic government. 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.
Location
Western Africa, southwest of Algeria
Geographic coordinates
17 00 N, 4 00 W
Map references
Africa
Area
total
1.24 million sq km
land
1.22 million sq km
water
20,000 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
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
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 Ousmane Issoufi MAIGA (since 30 April 2004)
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
unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (147 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 14 and 28 July 2002 (next to be held in July 2007)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Hope 2002 coalition 66 (including RPM 42, CNID 10, MPR 3, and other 11), ADEMA 51, other 30
Judicial branch
Supreme Court or Cour Supreme
Political parties and leaders
Alliance for Democracy and Progress or ADP (a coalition of 14 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]; Hope 2002 (a coalition of CNID, MPR, RDT, and RPM); 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]
Political pressure groups and leaders
Alliance for Democratic Change or ACD; Patriotic Movement of the Ghanda Koye or MPGK; United Movement and Fronts of Azawad or MFUA
three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), yellow, and red; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia
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 sturdy 5% average in 1996-2006. 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)
$14.77 billion (2006 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate)
$5.847 billion (2006 est.)
GDP - real growth rate
5.1% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP)
$1,300 (2006 est.)
GDP - composition by sector
agriculture
45%
industry
17%
services
38% (2001 est.)
Labor force
3.93 million (2001 est.)
Labor force - by occupation
agriculture
80%
industry and services
20% (2001 est.)
Unemployment rate
14.6% (2001 est.)
Population below poverty line
64% (2001 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share
lowest 10%
1.8%
highest 10%
40.4% (1994)
Distribution of family income - Gini index
50.5 (1994)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
4.5% (2002 est.)
Budget
revenues
$764 million
expenditures
$828 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2002 est.)
Agriculture - products
Industries
food processing; construction; phosphate and gold mining
Industrial production growth rate
NA%
Electricity - production
410 million kWh (2004)
Electricity - production by source
fossil fuel
41.7%
hydro
58.3%
nuclear
0%
other
0% (2001)
Electricity - consumption
381.3 million kWh (2004)
Electricity - exports
0 kWh; note - recent hydropower developments may be providing electricity to Senegal and Mauritania (2004)
Electricity - imports
0 kWh (2004)
Oil - production
0 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil - consumption
4,300 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil - exports
NA bbl/day
Oil - imports
NA bbl/day
Natural gas - production
0 cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - consumption
0 cu m (2004 est.)
Exports
$323 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities
cotton, gold, livestock
Exports - partners
China 35.6%, Thailand 9.4%, Taiwan 8.1%, Bangladesh 5.3%, Australia 5% (2006)
Imports
$1.858 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities
petroleum, machinery and equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs, textiles
Imports - partners
Senegal 13.8%, France 12.6%, Cote d'Ivoire 10.2% (2006)
Debt - external
$2.8 billion (2002)
Economic aid - recipient
$472.1 million (2002)
Currency (code)
Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States
Currency code
XOF
Exchange rates
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002)
Fiscal year
calendar year
Telephones - main lines in use
75,000 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular
869,600 (2005)
Telephone system
general assessment
domestic system unreliable but improving; provides only minimal service
domestic
network consists of microwave radio relay, open-wire, and radiotelephone communications stations; expansion of microwave radio relay in progress
international
country code - 223; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean, 1 Indian Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations
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)
Radios
570,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations
1 (plus repeaters) (2001)
Televisions
45,000 (1997)
Internet country code
.ml
Internet hosts
278 (2006)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
13 (2001)
Internet users
60,000 (2005)
Airports
29 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways
total
9
2,438 to 3,047 m
4
1,524 to 2,437 m
4
914 to 1,523 m
1 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways
total
20
2,438 to 3,047 m
1
1,524 to 2,437 m
5
914 to 1,523 m
6
under 914 m
8 (2006)
Railways
total
729 km
narrow gauge
729 km 1.000-m gauge (2005)
Roadways
total
18,709 km
paved
3,368 km
unpaved
15,341 km (2004)
Waterways
1,800 km (2007)
Ports and terminals
Koulikoro
Military branches
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
18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; conscript service obligation - 2 years (2004)
Manpower available for military service
males age 18-49
2,094,432
females age 18-49
2,027,352 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service
males age 18-49
1,244,176
females age 18-49
1,226,226 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP
1.9% (2006)
Disputes - international
none
Refugees and internally displaced persons
refugees (country of origin): 6,165 (Mauritania) (2006)
