Mali (2001) | Greenland (2008) | |
Administrative divisions | 8 regions (regions, singular - region); Gao, Kayes, Kidal, Koulikoro, Mopti, Segou, Sikasso, Tombouctou | 3 districts (landsdele); Avannaa (Nordgronland), Tunu (Ostgronland), Kitaa (Vestgronland)
note: there are 18 municipalities in Greenland |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
47.2% (male 2,612,215; female 2,583,370) 15-64 years: 49.73% (male 2,610,142; female 2,864,127) 65 years and over: 3.07% (male 158,486; female 180,178) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 24% (male 6,926/female 6,597)
15-64 years: 69.1% (male 20,901/female 18,012) 65 years and over: 6.9% (male 1,873/female 2,035) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, millet, rice, corn, vegetables, peanuts; cattle, sheep, goats | forage crops, garden and greenhouse vegetables; sheep, reindeer; fish |
Airports | 27 (2000 est.) | 14 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 9
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 5 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
20 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 9 (2000 est.) |
total: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
Area | total:
1.24 million sq km land: 1.22 million sq km water: 20,000 sq km |
total: 2,166,086 sq km
land: 2,166,086 sq km (410,449 sq km ice-free, 1,755,637 sq km ice-covered) (2000 est.) |
Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of Texas | slightly more than three times the size of Texas |
Background | The Sudanese Republic and Senegal became independent of France in 1960 as the Mali Federation. When Senegal withdrew after only a few months, 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. Since his reelection in 1997, President KONARE has continued to push through political and economic reforms and to fight corruption. In 1999 he indicated he would not run for a third term. | Greenland, the world's largest island, is about 81% ice-capped. Vikings reached the island in the 10th century from Iceland; Danish colonization began in the 18th century, and Greenland was made an integral part of Denmark in 1953. It joined the European Community (now the EU) with Denmark in 1973, but withdrew in 1985 over a dispute centered on stringent fishing quotas. Greenland was granted self-government in 1979 by the Danish parliament; the law went into effect the following year. Denmark continues to exercise control of Greenland's foreign affairs in consultation with Greenland's Home Rule Government. |
Birth rate | 48.79 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 16.01 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$730 million expenditures: $770 million, including capital expenditures of $320 million (1997 est.) |
revenues: $1.36 billion
expenditures: $1.27 billion (2005) |
Capital | Bamako | name: Nuuk (Godthab)
geographic coordinates: 64 11 N, 51 45 W time difference: UTC-3 (2 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October note: Greenland is divided into four time zones |
Climate | subtropical to arid; hot and dry February to June; rainy, humid, and mild June to November; cool and dry November to February | arctic to subarctic; cool summers, cold winters |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 44,087 km |
Constitution | adopted 12 January 1992 | 5 June 1953 (Danish constitution) |
Country name | 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 |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Greenland local long form: none local short form: Kalaallit Nunaat |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States | - |
Death rate | 18.71 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 7.93 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $3 billion (1999) | $25 million (1999) |
Dependency status | - | part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark since 1979 |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Michael RANNEBERGER embassy: Rue Rochester NY and Rue Mohamed V, Bamako mailing address: B. P. 34, Bamako telephone: [223] 22 54 70 FAX: [223] 22 37 12 |
none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Cheick Oumar DIARRAH chancery: 2130 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-2249, 939-8950 FAX: [1] (202) 332-6603 |
none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark) |
Disputes - international | none | managed dispute between Canada and Denmark over Hans Island in the Kennedy Channel between Canada's Ellesmere Island and Greenland |
Economic aid - recipient | $596.4 million (1995) | $512 million; note - subsidy from Denmark (2005) |
Economy - overview | Mali is among the poorest countries in the world, with 65% of its land area desert or semidesert. 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. In 1997, the government 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 1996-2000. Growth should remain around 5% in 2001-02, and inflation should stay less than 2%. | The economy remains critically dependent on exports of fish and a substantial subsidy from the Danish Government, which supplies about half of government revenues. The public sector, including publicly-owned enterprises and the municipalities, plays the dominant role in the economy. Several interesting hydrocarbon and mineral exploration activities are ongoing. Press reports in early 2007 indicated that two international aluminum companies were considering building smelters in Greenland to take advantage of local hydropower potential. Tourism is the only sector offering any near-term potential, and even this is limited due to a short season and high costs. Air Greenland began summer-season direct flights to the U.S. east coast in May 2007, potentially opening a major new tourism market. |
Electricity - consumption | 413.9 million kWh (1999) | 279 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 445 million kWh (1999) | 300 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
44.94% hydro: 55.06% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Senegal River 23 m highest point: Hombori Tondo 1,155 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Gunnbjorn 3,700 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching | protection of the arctic environment; preservation of the Inuit traditional way of life, including whaling and seal hunting |
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 | Mande 50% (Bambara, Malinke, Soninke), Peul 17%, Voltaic 12%, Songhai 6%, Tuareg and Moor 10%, other 5% | Greenlander 88% (Inuit and Greenland-born whites), Danish and others 12% (2000) |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 699.21 (January 2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996); note - from 1 January 1999, the XOF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF per euro | Danish kroner per US dollar - 5.4797 (2007), 5.9468 (2006), 5.9969 (2005), 5.9911 (2004), 6.5877 (2003) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Alpha Oumar KONARE (since 8 June 1992) head of government: Prime Minister Mande SIDIBE (since September 2000) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 11 May 1997 (next to be held NA May 2002); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Alpha Oumar KONARE reelected president; percent of vote - Alpha Oumar KONARE 95.9%, Mamadou DIABY 4.1% |
chief of state: Queen MARGRETHE II of Denmark (since 14 January 1972), represented by High Commissioner Soren MOLLER (since April 2005)
head of government: Prime Minister Hans ENOKSEN (since 14 December 2002) cabinet: Home Rule Government is elected by the parliament (Landstinget) on the basis of the strength of parties elections: the monarchy is hereditary; high commissioner appointed by the monarch; prime minister is elected by parliament (usually the leader of the majority party); election results: Hans ENOKSEN reelected prime minister note: government coalition - Siumut and Inuit Ataqatigiit |
Exports | $480 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 149.1 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | cotton 50%, gold, livestock (1999 est.) | fish and fish products 94% (prawns 63%) |
Exports - partners | Italy 18%, Thailand 15%, Germany 7%, Portugal 4% (1999) | Denmark 67.1%, Japan 12.1%, China 5.6% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), yellow, and red; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia | two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red with a large disk slightly to the hoist side of center - the top half of the disk is red, the bottom half is white |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $9.1 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
46% industry: 21% services: 33% (1998) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $850 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.8% (2000 est.) | 2% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 17 00 N, 4 00 W | 72 00 N, 40 00 W |
Geography - note | landlocked | dominates North Atlantic Ocean between North America and Europe; sparse population confined to small settlements along coast, but close to one-quarter of the population lives in the capital, Nuuk; world's second largest ice cap |
Highways | total:
15,100 km paved: 1,827 km unpaved: 13,273 km (1996) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
1.8% highest 10%: 40.4% (1994) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $575 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 4,013 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, construction materials, petroleum, foodstuffs, textiles | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | Cote d'Ivoire 19%, France 19%, Senegal 4%, Benelux 3% (1999) | Denmark 69.9%, Sweden 16.3%, Norway 3.7% (2006) |
Independence | 22 September 1960 (from France) | none (extensive self-rule as part of the Kingdom of Denmark; foreign affairs is the responsibility of Denmark, but Greenland actively participates in international agreements relating to Greenland) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | NA% |
Industries | minor local consumer goods production and food processing; construction; phosphate and gold mining | fish processing (mainly shrimp and Greenland halibut); gold, niobium, tantalite, uranium, iron and diamond mining; handicrafts, hides and skins, small shipyards |
Infant mortality rate | 121.44 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 14.98 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 16.32 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 0.8% (2000 est.) | 1% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, 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 | Arctic Council, NC, NIB, UPU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 780 sq km (1993 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme | High Court or Landsret (appeals can be made to the Ostre Landsret or Eastern Division of the High Court or Supreme Court in Copenhagen) |
Labor force | NA | 32,120 (2004) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture and fishing 80% (1998 est.) | - |
Land boundaries | 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 |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
2% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 25% forests and woodland: 6% other: 67% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
Languages | French (official), Bambara 80%, numerous African languages | Greenlandic (East Inuit), Danish, English |
Legal system | 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 | the laws of Denmark, where applicable, apply |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (147 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 20 July and 3 August 1997 (next to be held in two rounds in 2002); note - much of the opposition boycotted the election election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - ADEMA 130, PARENA 8, CDS 4, UDD 3, PDP 2 |
unicameral Parliament or Landstinget (31 seats; members are elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held on 15 November 2005 (next to be held by December 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - Siumut 30.7%, Demokratiit 22.8%, IA 22.6%, Atassut Party 19.1%; Katusseqatigiit 4.1%, other 0.7%; seats by party - Siumut 10, Demokratiit 7, IA 7, Atassut 6, Katusseqatigiit 1 note: two representatives were elected to the Danish Parliament or Folketing on 13 November 2007 (next to be held in November 2011); percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Siumut 1, Inuit Ataqatigiit 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
47.02 years male: 45.84 years female: 48.24 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 70.23 years
male: 66.65 years female: 73.9 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 31% male: 39.4% female: 23.1% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100% (2001 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, southwest of Algeria | Northern North America, island between the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Canada |
Map references | Africa | Arctic Region |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm or agreed boundaries or median line continental shelf: 200 nm or agreed boundaries or median line |
Merchant marine | - | total: 2 ships (1000 GRT or over) 3,422 GRT/2,340 DWT
by type: cargo 1, passenger 1 registered in other countries: 1 (Denmark 1) (2007) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of Denmark |
Military branches | Army, Air Force, Gendarmerie, Republican Guard, National Guard, National Police (Surete Nationale) | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $49 million (FY96) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2% (FY96) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
2,284,632 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
1,309,612 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 22 September (1960) | June 21 (longest day) |
Nationality | noun:
Malian(s) adjective: Malian |
noun: Greenlander(s)
adjective: Greenlandic |
Natural hazards | hot, dust-laden harmattan haze common during dry seasons; recurring droughts | continuous permafrost over northern two-thirds of the island |
Natural resources | gold, phosphates, kaolin, salt, limestone, uranium, hydropower
note: bauxite, iron ore, manganese, tin, and copper deposits are known but not exploited |
coal, iron ore, lead, zinc, molybdenum, diamonds, gold, platinum, niobium, tantalite, uranium, fish, seals, whales, hydropower, possible oil and gas |
Net migration rate | -0.36 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -8.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Alliance for Democracy or ADEMA [Ibrahim Boubacar 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]; 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]; 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] | Atassut Party (Solidarity) [Finn KARLSEN] (a conservative party favoring continuing close relations with Denmark); Demokratiit [Per BERTHELSEN]; Inuit Ataqatigiit or IA (Eskimo Brotherhood) [Josef MOTZFELDT] (a leftist party favoring complete independence from Denmark rather than home rule); Kattusseqatigiit (Candidate List) (an independent right-of-center party with no official platform); Siumut (Forward Party) [Hans ENOKSEN] (a social democratic party advocating more distinct Greenlandic identity and greater autonomy from Denmark) |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Patriotic Movement of the Ghanda Koye or MPGK; United Movement and Fronts of Azawad or MFUA | NA |
Population | 11,008,518 (July 2001 est.) | 56,344 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.97% (2001 est.) | -0.03% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Koulikoro | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 14, shortwave 7 (1998) | AM 5, FM 12, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 570,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
729 km (linked to Senegal's rail system through Kayes) narrow gauge: 729 km 1.000-m gauge |
- |
Religions | Muslim 90%, indigenous beliefs 9%, Christian 1% | Evangelical Lutheran |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.16 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.92 male(s)/female total population: 1.115 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 21 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
domestic system poor 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) |
general assessment: adequate domestic and international service provided by satellite, cables and microwave radio relay; totally digitalized in 1995
domestic: microwave radio relay and satellite international: country code - 299; satellite earth stations - 12 Intelsat, 1 Eutelsat, 2 Americom GE-2 (all Atlantic Ocean) (2000) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 23,000 (1997) | 25,300 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,842 (1997) | 32,200 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus two repeaters) (1997) | 1 (plus some local low-power stations, and 3 Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS) stations (1997) |
Terrain | mostly flat to rolling northern plains covered by sand; savanna in south, rugged hills in northeast | flat to gradually sloping icecap covers all but a narrow, mountainous, barren, rocky coast |
Total fertility rate | 6.81 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.4 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 9.3% (2005 est.) |
Waterways | 1,815 km | - |