'Mali', officially the 'Republic of Mali' (
French: ''République du Mali'',
Amazigh:

Mali_tifinagh.png
), is a
landlocked nation in
Western Africa. It is the seventh largest country in
Africa. It borders
Algeria on the north,
Niger on the east,
Burkina Faso and the
Côte d'Ivoire on the south,
Guinea on the south-west, and
Senegal and
Mauritania on the west. Its straight borders on the north stretch into the centre of the
Sahara, while the country's south, where the majority of inhabitants live, features the
Niger and
Senegal rivers. Formerly
French Sudan, the country is named after the
Mali Empire. The name of the country comes from the
Bambara word for
hippopotamus (with the animal appearing on the 5 franc coin), the name of its capital city, ''Bamako'' comes from the Bambara word meaning "place of
crocodiles".
History
Main articles: History of Mali
The
Mandé peoples settled the
Sahel (including present-day Mali), and formed a succession of
Sahelian kingdoms, including the
Ghana Empire, the
Mali Empire, and the
Songhai Empire.
Timbuktu was a key city in these empires as an outpost for
trans-Saharan trade and a center for scholarship. The Songhai Empire declined under a
Moroccan invasion in
1591.
Mali was invaded by
France starting in 1880, which organised it as an overseas territory. The colony, which at times also included neighbouring countries, was known as
French Sudan or the Sudanese Republic. In early 1959, the union of Mali and
Senegal became the
Mali Federation, which gained independence from France on
June 20,
1960. Senegal withdrew from the Mali Federation after a few months. The 'Republic of Mali', under
Modibo Keïta, withdrew from the
French Community on
September 22,
1960.
Modibo Keita was deposed and imprisoned in a coup in 1968. Mali was then ruled by
Moussa Traoré until
1991. Anti-government protests in
1991 led to a coup, a transitional government, and a
new constitution. In
1992,
Alpha Oumar Konaré won Mali's first democratic, multi-party presidential election. Upon his reelection in
1997, President Konaré pushed through political and economic reforms and fought corruption. In
2002 he was succeeded in democratic elections by
Amadou Toumani Touré, a retired General, who had been the leader of the military aspect of
1991 democratic uprising. Today, Mali is one of the most politically and socially stable countries in Africa.
Regions and cercles
Main articles: Regions of Mali,
Cercles of Mali
Mali is divided into 8
regions (''régions'') and 1
district, and subdivided into 49
cercles, totalling 288
arrondissements.
The
regions and district are:
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Gao
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Kayes
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Kidal
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Koulikoro
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Mopti
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Ségou
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Sikasso
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Tombouctou (Timbuktu)
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Bamako (capital district)
See also:
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Regions of Mali
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Cercles of Mali
Geography
Main articles: Geography of Mali
At 478,734
mi² (1,240,000
km²), Mali is the world's 24th-largest country. It is comparable in size to
South Africa, and is nearly twice the size of the US state of
Texas.
Mali is
landlocked and has a
subtropical to
arid climate. It is mostly flat, rising to rolling northern plains covered by
sand, with
savanna around the
Niger River in the south. The
Adrar des Ifoghas lies in the northeast. Most of the country lies in the
Sahara, which produces a hot, dust-laden
harmattan haze common during dry seasons and leads to recurring
droughts. The nation has considerable natural resources, with
gold,
uranium,
phosphates,
kaolinite,
salt and
limestone being most widely exploited.
''See''
List of cities in Mali
Economy
Main articles: Economy of Mali
Mali is one of the poorest countries in the world, with 65% of its land area desert or semidesert, and several prolonged periods of
drought occurring there over the last century. Economic activity is largely confined to the riverine area irrigated by the
Niger River. 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. Pottery is also practised by women whose wares are bought by dealers and are transported to markets where they are sold by traders. The traditional methods used by the potters are an attraction to foreign tourists. Mali is heavily dependent on foreign aid and vulnerable to fluctuations in world prices for cotton, its main export. In
1997, the government continued its implementation of an
IMF-recommended
structural adjustment program. Several multinational corporations increased gold mining operations in
1996-
1998, and the government anticipates that Mali will become a major Sub-Saharan gold exporter in the next few years.
Demographics
Main articles: Demographics of Mali
'Ethnic groups'
Mande 50% (Bambara, Malinke, Soninke), Peul (Fula/Fulani) 17%, Voltaic 12%, Songhai 6%, Tuareg and Moor 10%, other 5%
'Religions'
Muslim 90%, indigenous beliefs 9%, Christian 1%
Culture

Mosque under construction in Bamako
Main articles: Culture of Mali
Approximately 90% of Malians follow
Sunni Islam, but not always to the exclusion of traditional religious beliefs and practices. Muslims have their own educational systems, leading in some cases to the equivalent of baccalaureate and doctoral studies. An increasingly large number of Muslims make the pilgrimage to
Makkah and study in Arab countries. Christians comprise about 1% of the population, although under French colonial rule the introduction of missionaries into predominantly Islamic areas was encouraged.
Literacy in French, the colonial language, is low and is concentrated in the urban areas. About 60% of the population is literate however, but not necessarily in French. Many are literate in Bamanakan (the largest spoken language), which has its own alphabet known as
N'Ko. Others are also literate in Arabic, having attended Koranic school. In fact, one of the oldest universities in the world, that of Sankore Univ in Timbuktu is in Mali and dates to the 1300s.
Miscellaneous topics
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Communications in Mali
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Foreign relations of Mali
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List of Mali-related topics
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Military of Mali
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Politics of Mali
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Reporters Without Borders Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2006: Rank 35 out of 168 countries (4 way tie with Australia, Bulgaria, and France)
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Scouting in Mali
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Transportation in Mali
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Media of Mali
Also see
Mali Empire
External links
Government
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The Embassy of Mali in Washington DC government information and links
News
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afribone
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allAfrica.com - ''Mali'' news headlines
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africatime - ''Mali''
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maliweb
Overviews
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BBC News Country Profile - ''Mali''
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CIA World Factbook - ''Mali''
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United Nations Human Rights - ''Mali'' dating from 1997
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Mali Folkecenter - ''Mali'' from an organisation aiming to promote the sustainable management of natural resources
Directories
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Open Directory Project - ''Mali'' directory category
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Stanford University - Africa South of the Sahara: ''Mali'' directory category
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The Index on Africa - ''Mali'' directory category
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University of Pennsylvania - African Studies Center: ''Mali'' directory category
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Yahoo! - ''Mali'' directory category
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Companies directory - ''Mali'' directory category
Literature
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Malian literature at a glance
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UNDP Human Development Report 2006 Mali Country Fact Sheet
Tourism
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official tourism site
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Mali travel guide
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Local Mali Guide Services
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Budapest-Bamako, Great African Run
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Niger Currents: Exploring life and technology along the Niger River
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Mali's photo gallery
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Faces of Mali photo gallery