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Mali
Africa
A landlocked West African country, Mali is home to the historic city of Timbuktu. It faces challenges with desertification and political instability.
23,000,000
Population
1,240,192
Area (km²)
Bamako
Capital
13
Historical Events
Historical Timeline
Cities
13 Events
September 15, 2025 - JNIM overruns the Farabougou army base after a five-year siege, killing dozens of soldiers and underscoring the expanding jihadist threat in central Mali.
September 04, 2025 - Mali files a case against Algeria at the International Court of Justice over the destruction of a Malian military reconnaissance drone, seeking reparations and highlighting Sahel airspace disputes.
June 13, 2025 - An IMF staff team completes its 2025 Article IV consultation in Bamako, praising fiscal reforms but urging diversification amid 4.2% projected GDP growth and persistent security-driven inflation.
April 06, 2025 - Mali withdraws its ambassadors from Algeria in retaliation for the alleged shootdown of a Malian drone near the border, escalating bilateral tensions.
July 27, 2024 - In the Battle of Tinzaouaten, Tuareg separatist CSP-DPA forces rout a convoy of Malian troops and Wagner Group mercenaries, killing dozens and seizing equipment, marking a significant rebel victory.
July 12, 2024 - The justice minister announces a nationwide ban on homosexuality, criminalizing same-sex relations with up to five years in prison, drawing international condemnation.
June 11, 2024 - Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) launches a major attack on a military base in Mansila, killing over 100 soldiers in one of the deadliest incidents of the year.
April 06, 2024 - Masked gunmen abduct journalist Aliou Touré in Bamako after a press conference; he is later released, highlighting risks to media freedom under junta rule.
February 04, 2024 - The junta indefinitely postpones presidential and legislative elections, originally set for February, amid ongoing instability and failure to meet transition timelines.
January 18, 2024 - Mali announces its withdrawal from ECOWAS alongside Burkina Faso and Niger, protesting the bloc's "imperialist" policies and sanctions post-2021 coup.
December 01, 2023 - The military junta postpones planned February 2024 elections, citing security concerns, further delaying the transition to civilian rule originally targeted for March 2024.
September 16, 2023 - Mali, alongside Burkina Faso and Niger, signs the Liptako-Gourma Charter, formally establishing the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) as a mutual defense pact against external interference.
June 29, 2023 - The UN Security Council extends the MINUSMA peacekeeping mandate until June 30, 2023, amid deteriorating security and calls for an accelerated drawdown.
Frequently Asked Questions About Mali
100 Questions
Mali is in West Africa, bordered by Algeria, Niger, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Senegal, and Mauritania.
The capital is Bamako, located on the Niger River.
Around 24 million people as of 2025 estimates.
French is the official language; Bambara is the most widely spoken, along with Songhai, Tuareg, and Fula.
Arid desert in the north, semi-arid Sahel in the center, and savannah in the south.
The West African CFA franc (XOF).
Green, yellow, and red vertical stripes.
Bamako, Sikasso, Mopti, Timbuktu, and Gao.
On September 22, 1960, from France.
Modibo Keïta.
Colonel Assimi Goïta (as of 2025), heading a transitional government.
Currently a transitional military-led state.
Bambara, Fula, Songhai, Tuareg, Dogon, and others.
Islam (over 90%), with Christianity and traditional beliefs.
Around $22 billion in 2025 estimates.
About $900.
Around 40%.
About 60 years.
Around 5.5 children per woman.
Around 67%.
Gold, cotton, and livestock.
Machinery, food, petroleum, and manufactured goods.
Gold, uranium, phosphate, salt, and limestone.
It was home to powerful empires, including the Ghana, Mali, and Songhai empires.
A powerful medieval empire (13th–16th century) known for wealth, trade, and learning.
Ruler of the Mali Empire, often considered the richest person in history.
An ancient center of trade and Islamic learning, with historic mosques and manuscripts.
A historic city, once the capital of the Songhai Empire.
A river port called the “Venice of Mali.”
Home to the Great Mosque of Djenné, the world’s largest mud-brick building.
Millet, sorghum, rice, maize, and meat stews.
A thick porridge made from millet or sorghum, eaten with sauce.
A peanut stew popular in Mali and West Africa.
Green tea (attaya), millet beer, and fruit juices.
Football, basketball, and wrestling.
The Eagles.
Yes, several times, finishing runner-up in 1972.
Not yet.
Frédéric Kanouté, Seydou Keita, and Mahamadou Diarra.
Yes, in athletics, basketball, and boxing.
Griot music, desert blues, kora, and international fusion.
Ali Farka Touré, Salif Keita, Amadou & Mariam, and Oumou Sangaré.
Kora, balafon, ngoni, and drums.
Oral historians and musicians who preserve history through song.
Mask dances, drumming dances, and Dogon ritual dances.
Boubous, indigo-dyed cloth, and bogolanfini (mud cloth).
Traditional Malian mud-dyed cloth with symbolic patterns.
Central in farming and trade, but face social inequality.
Around 32%.
Around 50%.
High, especially among youth.
Around 70%.
Millet, sorghum, cotton, maize, and rice.
Cattle, goats, camels, and sheep.
Weak, with limited access in rural areas.
Malaria, TB, HIV/AIDS, and waterborne diseases.
One of the highest in the world, though improving.
Very high, due to limited healthcare.
“Le Mali.”
“One People, One Goal, One Faith.”
The lion.
The vulture (symbolic).
The baobab flower.
Elephants, lions, hippos, crocodiles, and antelope.
Boucle du Baoulé National Park and Bafing Biosphere Reserve.
A large park with savannah and forest wildlife.
A reserve home to West Africa’s only remaining chimpanzees.
Around 55%, higher than adults.
Around $900 annually.
Still high, though slowly declining.
Around 45%, with most in Bamako.
Dependent on farming, herding, and small markets.
Biomass, imported fuel, and hydropower.
High in solar and hydro.
Dependence on gold and cotton, poverty, and instability.
Coup-related instability and insurgencies in the north.
Tuareg rebels and Islamist groups seized the north before French intervention.
A French military operation in 2013 to retake northern Mali.
A broader French-led anti-terror operation in the Sahel.
Groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIS.
Pressures Mali toward elections and sanctions military rule.
Supports stability and mediation.
Deploys MINUSMA, one of the world’s largest peacekeeping missions.
Historically key, but reduced presence after tensions.
The Wagner Group provides security support to Mali’s military.
Supports counterterrorism and humanitarian aid.
Moderate, tied to the CFA franc zone.
Low, except in the south and along the Niger River.
It is Mali’s lifeline for farming, fishing, and trade.
Mud cloth, wood carving, jewelry, and leatherwork.
Festival in the Desert (music), Independence Day, and Islamic holidays.
A Tuareg music and culture festival held in northern Mali.
Around 18% difference.
Around 4 years.
Lower than in rural areas.
Reducing maternal mortality and combating malaria.
Low enrollment, especially for girls.
Very rapid, with one of the world’s youngest populations.
Uncertain, tied to peace, stability, and economic diversification.
It is home to legendary empires, rich culture, and strategic importance in the Sahel.