British Virgin Islands (2002) | Mali (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 8 regions (regions, singular - region); Gao, Kayes, Kidal, Koulikoro, Mopti, Segou, Sikasso, Tombouctou |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 22.4% (male 2,401; female 2,351)
15-64 years: 72.7% (male 7,962; female 7,509) 65 years and over: 4.9% (male 565; female 484) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 47.2% (male 2,759,802; female 2,727,226)
15-64 years: 49.8% (male 2,771,532; female 3,017,348) 65 years and over: 3% (male 161,983; female 188,328) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish | cotton, millet, rice, corn, vegetables, peanuts; cattle, sheep, goats |
Airports | 3 (2001) | 26 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 7
2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 19
1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 8 (2002) |
Area | total: 153 sq km
land: 153 sq km water: 0 sq km note: comprised of 16 inhabited and more than 20 uninhabited islands; includes the island of Anegada |
total: 1.24 million sq km
land: 1.22 million sq km water: 20,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly less than twice the size of Texas |
Background | First settled by the Dutch in 1648, the islands were annexed in 1672 by the English. The economy is closely tied to the larger and more populous US Virgin Islands to the west; the US dollar is the legal currency. | 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 with a transitional government and in 1992 when Mali's first democratic presidential election was held. After his reelection in 1997, President Alpha KONARE continued to push through political and economic reforms and to fight corruption. In keeping with Mali's two-term constitutional limit, he stepped down in 2002 and was succeeded by Amadou TOURE. |
Birth rate | 15.09 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 47.79 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $121.5 million
expenditures: $115.5 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997) |
revenues: $764 million
expenditures: $828 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2002 est.) |
Capital | Road Town | Bamako |
Climate | subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds | subtropical to arid; hot and dry February to June; rainy, humid, and mild June to November; cool and dry November to February |
Coastline | 80 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 1 June 1977 | adopted 12 January 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: British Virgin Islands abbreviation: BVI |
conventional long form: Republic of Mali
conventional short form: Mali local long form: Republique de Mali local short form: Mali former: French Sudan and Sudanese Republic |
Currency | US dollar (USD) | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States |
Death rate | 4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 19.21 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $36.1 million (1997) | $3.3 billion (2000) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK; internal self-governing | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador Vicki HUDDLESTONE
embassy: Rue Rochester NY and Rue Mohamed V, Bamako mailing address: B. P. 34, Bamako telephone: [223] (2) 223-833 FAX: [223] (2) 223-712 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador Abdoulaye DIOP
chancery: 2130 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-2249, 939-8950 FAX: [1] (202) 332-6603 |
Disputes - international | none | armed bandits based in Mali attack southern Algerian towns |
Economic aid - recipient | NA | $596.4 million (2001) |
Economy - overview | The economy, one of the most stable and prosperous in the Caribbean, is highly dependent on tourism, generating an estimated 45% of the national income. An estimated 350,000 tourists, mainly from the US, visited the islands in 1998. In the mid-1980s, the government began offering offshore registration to companies wishing to incorporate in the islands, and incorporation fees now generate substantial revenues. Roughly 400,000 companies were on the offshore registry by yearend 2000. The adoption of a comprehensive insurance law in late 1994, which provides a blanket of confidentiality with regulated statutory gateways for investigation of criminal offenses, is expected to make the British Virgin Islands even more attractive to international business. Livestock raising is the most important agricultural activity; poor soils limit the islands' ability to meet domestic food requirements. Because of traditionally close links with the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands has used the dollar as its currency since 1959. | 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 African franc in January 1994 have pushed up economic growth to a sturdy 5% average in 1996-2002. Worker remittances and external trade routes have been jeopardized by continued unrest in neighboring Cote d'Ivoire. |
Electricity - consumption | 39.1 million kWh (1999) | 446.6 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh; note - recent hydropower developments may be providing electricity to Senegal and Mauritania (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 42 million kWh (1999) | 480.2 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 41.7%
hydro: 58.3% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Sage 521 m |
lowest point: Senegal River 23 m
highest point: Hombori Tondo 1,155 m |
Environment - current issues | limited natural fresh water resources (except for a few seasonal streams and springs on Tortola, most of the islands' water supply comes from wells and rainwater catchments) | deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban |
Ethnic groups | black 83%, white, Indian, Asian and mixed | Mande 50% (Bambara, Malinke, Soninke), Peul 17%, Voltaic 12%, Songhai 6%, Tuareg and Moor 10%, other 5% |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.7 (1999), 589.95 (1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor Tom MACAN (since 14 October 2002)
head of government: Chief Minister Ralph T. O'NEAL (since 15 May 1995) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from members of the Legislative Council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed chief minister by the governor |
chief of state: President Amadou Toumani TOURE (since 8 June 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Ahmed Mohamed Ag HAMANI (since 9 June 2002) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (two-term limit); election last held 12 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2007); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Amadou Toumani TOURE elected president; percent of vote - Amadou Toumani TOURE 64.4%, Soumaila CISSE 35.6% |
Exports | $6.2 million | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand | cotton, gold, livestock |
Exports - partners | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US | Thailand 13.9%, Italy 9.8%, India 7.7%, Brazil 5.5%, Germany 5%, Spain 4.9%, Portugal 4.3%, Taiwan 4.3% (2002) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Virgin Islander coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms depicts a woman flanked on either side by a vertical column of six oil lamps above a scroll bearing the Latin word VIGILATE (Be Watchful) | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), yellow, and red; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $311 million (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $9.775 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 2%
industry: 6% services: 92% (1996 est.) |
agriculture: 45%
industry: 17% services: 38% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $16,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $900 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.4% (2000 est.) | 4.5% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 18 30 N, 64 30 W | 17 00 N, 4 00 W |
Geography - note | strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico | landlocked; divided into three natural zones: the southern, cultivated Sudanese; the central, semiarid Sahelian; and the northern, arid Saharan |
Highways | total: 177 km
paved: 177 km unpaved: 0 km (2000) |
total: 15,100 km
paved: 1,827 km unpaved: 13,273 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 1.8%
highest 10%: 40.4% (1994) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe; large offshore financial center | - |
Imports | $230 million (2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery | petroleum, machinery and equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs, textiles |
Imports - partners | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US | Cote d'Ivoire 17.1%, France 13.5%, Senegal 6.5%, Germany 4% (2002) |
Independence | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 22 September 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4% (1985) | NA% |
Industries | tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore financial center | food processing; construction; phosphate and gold mining |
Infant mortality rate | 19.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 119.2 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 125.72 deaths/1,000 live births female: 112.49 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.3% (2000) | 4.5% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | Caricom (associate), CDB, ECLAC (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS (associate), UNESCO (associate) | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIPONUH, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 16 (2000) | 13 (2001) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 1,380 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal (one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court); Magistrate's Court; Juvenile Court; Court of Summary Jurisdiction | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme |
Labor force | 4,911 (1980) | 3.93 million (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | agriculture and fishing 80% (2001 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 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 |
Land use | arable land: 20%
permanent crops: 6.67% other: 73.33% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 3.77%
permanent crops: 0.04% other: 96.19% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English (official) | French (official), Bambara 80%, numerous African languages |
Legal system | English law | based on French civil law system and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Court (which was formally established on 9 March 1994); has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Council (13 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote, one member from each of 9 electoral districts, four at-large members; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 17 May 1999 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - VIP 7, CCM 1, NDP 5 |
unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (147 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 14 July and 28 July 2002 (next to be held NA July 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Hope 2002 coalition 66, ADEMA 51, other 30 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 75.85 years
male: 74.9 years female: 76.84 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 45.43 years
male: 44.7 years female: 46.19 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.8% (1991 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 46.4% male: 53.5% female: 39.6% (2003 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico | Western Africa, southwest of Algeria |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 3 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 70,285 GRT/6,946 DWT
ships by type: passenger 1 (2002 est.) |
- |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
Military branches | - | Army, Air Force, Gendarmerie, Republican Guard, National Guard, National Police (Surete Nationale) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $419.7 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 15% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 2,441,769 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 1,400,711 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Territory Day, 1 July | Independence Day, 22 September (1960) |
Nationality | noun: British Virgin Islander(s)
adjective: British Virgin Islander |
noun: Malian(s)
adjective: Malian |
Natural hazards | hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October) | hot, dust-laden harmattan haze common during dry seasons; recurring droughts; occasional Niger River flooding |
Natural resources | NEGL | gold, phosphates, kaolin, salt, limestone, uranium, hydropower
note: bauxite, iron ore, manganese, tin, and copper deposits are known but not exploited |
Net migration rate | 10.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -0.34 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Ethlyn SMITH]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Orlando SMITH]; United Party or UP [Gregory MADURO]; Virgin Islands Party or VIP [Ralph T. O'NEAL] | Alliance for Democracy or ADEMA [Diounconda Traore KEITA, party chairman]; Block of Alternative for the Renewal of Africa or BARA [Yoro DIAKITE]; Democratic and Social Convention or CDS [Mamadou Bakary SANGARE, chairman]; Hope 2002 [leader NA]; Movement for the Independence, Renaissance and Integration of Africa or MIRIA [Mohamed Lamine TRAORE, Mouhamedou DICKO]; National Congress for Democratic Initiative or CNID [Mountaga TALL, chairman]; Party for Democracy and Progress or PDP [Me Idrissa TRAORE]; Party for National Renewal or PARENA [Yoro DIAKITE, chairman; Tiebile DRAME, secretary general]; Rally for Democracy and Labor or RDT [Ali GNANGADO]; Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP [Almamy SYLLA, chairman]; Rally for Mali or RPM [Ibrahim Bonbasor KEITA, chairman]; Sudanese Union/African Democratic Rally or US/RDA [Mamadou Bamou TOURE, secretary general]; Union of Democratic Forces for Progress or UFDP [Youssouf TOURE, secretary general]; Union for Democracy and Development or UDD [Moussa Balla COULIBALY] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Patriotic Movement of the Ghanda Koye or MPGK; United Movement and Fronts of Azawad or MFUA |
Population | 21,272 (July 2002 est.) | 11,626,219 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 64% average; 30% of the total population living in urban areas; 70% of the total population living in rural areas) (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.16% (2002 est.) | 2.82% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Road Town | Koulikoro |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 28, shortwave 1
note: the shortwave station in Bamako has seven frequencies and five transmitters and relays broadcasts for China Radio International (2001) |
Radios | 9,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 729 km
narrow gauge: 729 km 1.000-m gauge (2002) |
Religions | Protestant 86% (Methodist 33%, Anglican 17%, Church of God 9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6%, Baptist 4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2%, other 2%), Roman Catholic 10%, none 2%, other 2% (1991) | Muslim 90%, indigenous beliefs 9%, Christian 1% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.17 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: worldwide telephone service
domestic: NA international: submarine cable to Bermuda |
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: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 10,000 (1996) | 45,000 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 40,000 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus one cable company) (1997) | 1 (plus repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly | mostly flat to rolling northern plains covered by sand; savanna in south, rugged hills in northeast |
Total fertility rate | 1.72 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 6.66 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 3% (1995) | 14.6% urban areas; 5.3% rural areas (2001 est.) |
Waterways | none | 1,815 km |