Mali
Mali
Mali is a landlocked nation in western-Africa, southwest of Algeria and six other countries also border it. Its north is dominated by the Sahara Desert and is mostly flat to rolling plains covered by sand.
There is savanna in south where Mali include part of the belt of land extending across Africa called the Sahel and which in this part of the continent include the Niger River. There are rugged hills in the northeast.
Mali's major environmental issues include:
Location od Mali. Source: Vardion/Wikipedia
- deforestation;
- soil erosion;
- desertification;
- inadequate supplies of potable water; and,
- poaching.
It is susceptible to a hot, dust-laden harmattan haze which is common during dry seasons; to recurring droughts; and, accasionally to Niger River flooding.
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.
Source: CIA World Factbook
Geography
Location: Western Africa, southwest of Algeria
Geographic Coordinates: 17 00 N, 4 00 W
Area: 1.24 million km2 (1.22 million km2 land and 20,000 km2 water)
arable land: 3.76%
permanent crops: 0.03%
other: 96.21% (2005)
Land Boundaries: 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)
Natural Hazards: hot, dust-laden harmattan haze common during dry seasons; recurring droughts; occasional Niger River flooding
Terrain: Mostly flat to rolling northern plains covered by sand; savanna in south, rugged hills in northeast. Its lowest point is the Senegal River (23 metres) and its highest point is Hombori Tondo (1,155 metres).
Climate: Subtropical to arid; hot and dry (February to June); rainy, humid, and mild (June to November); cool and dry (November to February)
Government
Government type: Republic
Capital: Bamako
Independence Date: 22 September 1960 (from France)
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
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
International Environmental Agreements
Mali is party to international agreements on: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands, and Whaling.
People and Society
Population: 12,324,029 (July 2008 est.)
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.)
Population Growth Rate: 2.725% (2008 est.)
Birth Rate: 49.38 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Death Rate: 16.16 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Net Migration Rate: -5.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Life Expectancy at Birth: 49.94 years (2008 est.)
Total Fertility Rate: 7.34 children born/woman (2008 est.)
Languages: French (official), Bambara 80%, numerous African languages
Literacy (2003 est.): 46.4% (male: 53.5% - female: 39.6%)
Water
Total Renewable Water Resources: 100 cu km (2001)
Freshwater Withdrawal: Total: 6.55 cu km/yr (9% domestic, 1% industrial, 90% agricultural). Per capita: 484 cu m/yr (2000)
Agriculture
Agricultural Products: cotton, millet, rice, corn, vegetables, peanuts; cattle, sheep, goats
Irrigated Land: 2,360 sq km (2003)
Resources
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.
Energy
| Energy in Mali | |||||
| Production | Consumption | Exports | Imports | Reserves | |
| Electricity | 804 million kWh (2006) | 804 million kWh (2006 est.) | 0 kWh (2007 est.) | 0 kWh (2007) | |
| Oil | 0 bbl/day (2006 est.) | 5,600 bbl/day (2006 est.) | 0 bbl/day (2006) | 0 bbl/day (2006 est.) | 0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.) |
| Natural Gas | 0 cu m (2005 est.) | 0 cu m (2005 est.) | 0 cu m (2005 est.) | 0 cu m (2005) | 0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.) |
| Source: CIA Factbook | |||||
Health
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)
Conflict
International Disputes: none
Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons: refugees (country of origin): 6,300 (Mauritania) (2007)
Economy
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 1996-2007. 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): $13.47 billion (2007 est.)
GDP (Official Exchange Rate): $6.745 billion (2007 est.)
GDP- real growth rate: 2.5% (2007 est.)
GDP- per capita (PPP): $1,000 (2007 est.)
GDP- composition by sector:
agriculture: 45%
industry: 17%
services: 38% (2001 est.)
Population Below Poverty Line: 36.1% (2005 est.)
Industries: food processing; construction; phosphate and gold mining
Exports: cotton, gold, livestock
Export Partners: {C}China 16.8%, {C}Thailand 9%, {C}Taiwan 8.9%, {C}Bangladesh 6.8%, {C}Vietnam 6.2% (2006)
Imports: petroleum, machinery and equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs, textiles
Import Partners: {C}France 12.9%, Senegal 12.7%, Cote d'Ivoire 10.9%, China 4.8% (2006)
Economic Aid Recipient: $691.5 million (2005)
Currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF)
Ports and Terminals: Koulikoro
Further Reading
Citation
Central Intelligence Agency (Lead Author);CIA World Factbook (Content Source);Lakhdar Boukerrou (Topic Editor) "Mali". In: Encyclopedia of Earth. Eds. Cutler J. Cleveland (Washington, D.C.: Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the Environment). [First published in the Encyclopedia of Earth May 31, 2009; Last revised Date December 31, 2011; Retrieved February 9, 2012 <http://www.eoearth.org/article/Mali>
The Author
The Central Intelligence Agency was created in 1947 with the signing of the National Security Act by President Harry S. Truman. The act also created a Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) to serve as head of the United States intelligence community; act as the principal adviser to the President for intelligence matters related to the national security; and serve as head of the Central Intelligence Agency. The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 amended the National Securit ... (Full Bio)
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