General information: The Sudanese Republic and Senegal achieved independence in 1960 (until 1958 – French colonies), forming the Federation of Mali. Just a few months later Senegal withdrew from the federation and the Republic of Sudan was renamed Mali. The era of dictatorship ended in 1991 with the establishment of an interim government, and in 1992 Mali held its first democratic presidential elections. The President of CONARE, re-elected for a second term in 1997, continues to pursue political and economic reforms and fight corruption. In 1999, the President announced that he would not stand as a candidate in the next elections.
Geography
Location: West Africa, southwest of Algiers. See franciscogardening.com to know more about Mali Geography.
Geographic coordinates: 17° 00′ N. latitude, 4° 00′ W
Reference map: Africa.
Area: total: 1.24 million square kilometers; land surface area: 1.22 million square kilometers; water surface area: 20,000 km2
Comparative area: slightly less than twice the area of the state of Texas.
Land borders: total length: 7,243 km; with neighboring states: with Algeria 1,376 km, with Burkina Faso 1,000 km, with Guinea 858 km, with Côte d’Ivoire 532 km, with Mauritania 2,237 km, with Niger 821 km, with Senegal 419 km.
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked).
Maritime claims: none (landlocked).
Climate: subtropical to arid; hot and dry from February to June; rainy, wet and mild from June to November; cool and dry from November to February.
Terrain: mostly sandy plains in north (low to hilly); savannah in the south, high hills in the northeast.
Maximum and minimum heights: lowest point: Senegal River 23 m; highest point: Mount Hombori-Tondo 1,155 m
Natural resources: gold, phosphates, kaolin, salt, limestone, uranium, hydropower; note: there are undeveloped deposits of bauxite, iron ore, manganese, tin and copper.
Land use: arable land: 2%; cultivated land: 0%; pastures: 25%; forests and plantations: 6%; others: 67% (1993 est.).
Irrigated lands: 780 km sq. (1993 est.).
Natural hazards: hot, dusty harmattan wind during dry seasons; periodic droughts.
Current environmental issues: deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; insufficient supplies of drinking water; poaching.
International environmental agreements: member: Biodiversity, Climate change, Desertification, Endangered species, Law of the sea, Ozone layer protection, Wetlands; signed but not ratified: Kyoto Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban.
Note to the section “Geography”: has no access to the sea.
Population
Population: 11,008,518 (July 2001 est.).
Age structure: under 14: 47.2% (men 2,612,215; women 2,583,370); 15 to 64 years old: 49.73% (male 2,610,142; female 2,864,127); over 65: 3.07% (male 158,486; female 180,178) (2001 est.).
Population growth: 2.97% (2001 est.).
Birth rate: 48.79 newborns / 1000 people. (2001 est.).
Mortality: 18.71 deaths / 1000 people. (2001 est.).
Migration: -0.36 people /1000 people (2001 est.).
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male/female; under 15: 1.01 male/female; from 15 to 64 years old: 0.91 male/female; over 65: 0.88 male/female; for the general population: 0.96 male/female (2001 est.);
Child mortality: 121.44 deaths/1000 births (2001 est.).
Life expectancy: for the general population: 47.02 years; men: 45.84 years; women: 48.24 years (2001 est.).
General birth rate: 6.81 children/wives. (2001 est.).
Proportion of the adult population infected with HIV: 2.03% (1999 est.).
Number of people infected with HIV: 100,000 (1999 est.).
AIDS deaths: 9,900 (1999 est.).
Nationality: noun: resident of Mali; adjective: Malian.
Ethnic groups: Mande 50% (Bambara, Malinke, Soninke), Fulbe 17%, Volta 12%, Son-Gai 6%, Tuareg and Moors 10%, other 5%.
Believers: Muslim 90%, adherents of local beliefs 9%, Christians 1%.
Language(s): French (official), Bambara 80%, numerous African languages.
Literacy: definition: persons aged 15 and over who can read and write; for the general population: 31%; men: 39.4%; women: 23.1% (1995 est.).
Politics
conventional long form: Republic of Mali;
conventional short form: Mali; local long form: Republique de Mali; local short form: Mali former: French Sudan and Republic of the Sudan.
State structure: republic.
Capital: Bamako.
Administrative division: 8 regions: Gao, Kaes, Kidal, Koulikoro, Mopti, Segou, Sikasso, Tombuktu.
Independence: 22 September 1960 (from France).
National holiday: Independence Day, 22 September (since 1960).
Constitution: adopted January 12, 1992
Legal system: based on the French civil law system and customary law; ‘. judicial review of legislative acts is possible in the Constitutional Court (officially established on March 9, 1994); does not accept the compulsory jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice.
Suffrage: from 21 years old; universal.
chief of state: President Alpha Oumar KONARE (since 8 June 1992);
head of government: Prime Minister Mande SIDIBE (since September 2000);
Government: a council of ministers appointed by the prime minister; elections: the president is elected by popular vote for a five-year term; elections last held 11 May 1997 (next to be held in 2002); the prime minister is appointed by the president; election results: Alpha Oumar KONARE re-elected president; percentage of votes – Alpha Oumar KONARE 95.9%, Mamadou DIABY (Mamadou DIABY) 4.1%.
Legislature: unicameral National Assembly (147 members elected by popular vote for a five-year term); elections: last held on 20 July and 3 August 1997 (next to be held in 2002); note – most opposition parties boycotted the elections; election results: distribution of votes by parties – no data; distribution of seats by parties – ADEMA 130, PARENA 8, CDS 4, UDD 3, PDP2.
Judiciary: Supreme Court.
Political parties and leaders: Democracy Alliance (ADEMA) (Ibrahim Boubacar KEITA, Chairman); Alternative Bloc for African Renaissance (BARA) (Yoro DIAKITE); Democratic and Social Convention (CDS) (Mamadou Bakary SANGARE, Chairman); Movement for African Independence, Revival and Integration (MIRIA) (Mohamed Lamine TRAORE, Mouhamedou DICKO); National Congress for Democratic Initiative (CNID) (Muntaga TAL, Chairman); Party for Democracy and Progress (PDP) (Me IdrissaTRAORE [Me Idrissa TRAORE]); National Revival Party (PARENA) (Yoro DYAKITE, Chairman; Tiebile DRAME, General Secretary); Rally for Democracy and Labor (RDT) (Ali GNANGADO); Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP) (Almamy SYLLA, Chairman); Sudanese Union/African Democratic Rally (US/RDA) (Mamadou Bamou TOU-RE, General Secretary); Union of Democratic Forces for Progress (UFDP) (Youssouf TOURE, General Secretary); Union for Democracy and Development (UDD) (Moussa Balla COULIBALY).
Political pressure groups and their leaders: Ganda-Koye Patriot Movement (MPGK); United Movement and Fronts of Azawad (MFUA).
Participation in international organizations: ACCT, ACP, AGOV, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIPONUH, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB, WAEMU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO.
US Diplomatic Mission: Head of Mission: Ambassador Cheick Oumar DIARRAH; office: 2130 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008; phone: [1] (202) 332-2249, 939-8950; fax: []] (202) 332-6603.
US Diplomatic Mission: Chief of Mission: Ambassador Michael RANNEBERGER; embassy: Rue Rochester NY and Rue Mohamed V, Bamako; mailing address: W. R. 34, Bamako; phone: [223] 22 54 70; fax: [223] 22 37 12.
Description of the flag: three equal vertical stripes of green (hoist side), yellow and red; The colors of the Ethiopian flag, which are popular throughout Africa, are used.
