Mali (2003) | Bahamas, The (2007) | |
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Administrative divisions | 8 regions (regions, singular - region); Gao, Kayes, Kidal, Koulikoro, Mopti, Segou, Sikasso, Tombouctou | 21 districts; Acklins and Crooked Islands, Bimini, Cat Island, Exuma, Freeport, Fresh Creek, Governor's Harbour, Green Turtle Cay, Harbour Island, High Rock, Inagua, Kemps Bay, Long Island, Marsh Harbour, Mayaguana, New Providence, Nichollstown and Berry Islands, Ragged Island, Rock Sound, Sandy Point, San Salvador and Rum Cay |
Age structure | 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.) |
0-14 years: 27% (male 41,268/female 41,186)
15-64 years: 66.5% (male 99,961/female 103,230) 65 years and over: 6.5% (male 8,176/female 11,834) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, millet, rice, corn, vegetables, peanuts; cattle, sheep, goats | citrus, vegetables; poultry |
Airports | 26 (2002) | 62 (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 (2002) |
total: 24
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 914 to 1,523 m: 7 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 19
1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 8 (2002) |
total: 38
1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 22 (2007) |
Area | total: 1.24 million sq km
land: 1.22 million sq km water: 20,000 sq km |
total: 13,940 sq km
land: 10,070 sq km water: 3,870 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of Texas | slightly smaller than Connecticut |
Background | 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. | Lucayan Indians inhabited the islands when Christopher COLUMBUS first set foot in the New World on San Salvador in 1492. British settlement of the islands began in 1647; the islands became a colony in 1783. Since attaining independence from the UK in 1973, The Bahamas have prospered through tourism and international banking and investment management. Because of its geography, the country is a major transshipment point for illegal drugs, particularly shipments to the US and Europe, and its territory is used for smuggling illegal migrants into the US. |
Birth rate | 47.79 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 17.3 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $764 million
expenditures: $828 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2002 est.) |
revenues: $1.03 billion
expenditures: $1.03 billion (FY04/05) |
Capital | Bamako | name: Nassau
geographic coordinates: 25 05 N, 77 21 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins second Sunday in March; ends first Sunday in November |
Climate | subtropical to arid; hot and dry February to June; rainy, humid, and mild June to November; cool and dry November to February | tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 3,542 km |
Constitution | adopted 12 January 1992 | 10 July 1973 |
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: Commonwealth of The Bahamas
conventional short form: The Bahamas |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States | - |
Death rate | 19.21 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 9.13 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $3.3 billion (2000) | $342.6 million (2004 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Ned L. SIEGEL
embassy: 42 Queen Street, Nassau mailing address: local or express mail address: P. O. Box N-8197, Nassau; US Department of State, 3370 Nassau Place, Washington, DC 20521-3370 telephone: [1] (242) 322-1181, 356-3229 (after hours) FAX: [1] (242) 356-0222 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | 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 |
chief of mission: vacant
chancery: 2220 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 319-2660 FAX: [1] (202) 319-2668 consulate(s) general: Miami, New York |
Disputes - international | armed bandits based in Mali attack southern Algerian towns | disagrees with the US on the alignment of a potential maritime boundary; continues to monitor and interdict drug dealers and Haitian refugees in Bahamian waters |
Economic aid - recipient | $596.4 million (2001) | $4.78 million (2004) |
Economy - overview | 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. | The Bahamas is a stable, developing nation with an economy heavily dependent on tourism and offshore banking. Tourism together with tourism-driven construction and manufacturing accounts for approximately 60% of GDP and directly or indirectly employs half of the archipelago's labor force. Steady growth in tourism receipts and a boom in construction of new hotels, resorts, and residences had led to solid GDP growth in recent years, but the slowdown in the US economy and the attacks of 11 September 2001 held back growth in these sectors in 2001-03. The current government has presided over a period of economic recovery and an upturn in large-scale private sector investments in tourism. Financial services constitute the second-most important sector of the Bahamian economy, accounting for about 15% of GDP. However, since December 2000, when the government enacted new regulations on the financial sector, many international businesses have left The Bahamas. Manufacturing and agriculture together contribute approximately a tenth of GDP and show little growth, despite government incentives aimed at those sectors. Overall growth prospects in the short run rest heavily on the fortunes of the tourism sector, which depends on growth in the US, the source of more than 80% of the visitors. |
Electricity - consumption | 446.6 million kWh (2001) | 1.762 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh; note - recent hydropower developments may be providing electricity to Senegal and Mauritania (2001) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 480.2 million kWh (2001) | 1.894 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 41.7%
hydro: 58.3% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point: Senegal River 23 m
highest point: Hombori Tondo 1,155 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Alvernia, on Cat Island 63 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching | coral reef decay; solid waste disposal |
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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Mande 50% (Bambara, Malinke, Soninke), Peul 17%, Voltaic 12%, Songhai 6%, Tuareg and Moor 10%, other 5% | black 85%, white 12%, Asian and Hispanic 3% |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.7 (1999), 589.95 (1998) | Bahamian dollars per US dollar - 1 (2006), 1 (2005), 1 (2004), 1 (2003), 1 (2002) |
Executive branch | 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% |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Arthur D. HANNA (since 1 February 2006)
head of government: Prime Minister Hubert A. INGRAHAM (since 4 May 2007) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the prime minister's recommendation elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; the prime minister recommends the deputy prime minister |
Exports | NA (2001) | transshipments of 41,290 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | cotton, gold, livestock | mineral products and salt, animal products, rum, chemicals, fruit and vegetables |
Exports - partners | Thailand 13.9%, Italy 9.8%, India 7.7%, Brazil 5.5%, Germany 5%, Spain 4.9%, Portugal 4.3%, Taiwan 4.3% (2002) | Spain 23.8%, US 21.1%, Poland 14.4%, Germany 7.3%, UK 6.1%, Guatemala 5.2% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
Flag description | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), yellow, and red; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia | three equal horizontal bands of aquamarine (top), gold, and aquamarine, with a black equilateral triangle based on the hoist side |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $9.775 billion (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 45%
industry: 17% services: 38% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: 3%
industry: 7% services: 90% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $900 (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.5% (2002 est.) | 4% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 17 00 N, 4 00 W | 24 15 N, 76 00 W |
Geography - note | landlocked; divided into three natural zones: the southern, cultivated Sudanese; the central, semiarid Sahelian; and the northern, arid Saharan | strategic location adjacent to US and Cuba; extensive island chain of which 30 are inhabited |
Heliports | - | 1 (2007) |
Highways | total: 15,100 km
paved: 1,827 km unpaved: 13,273 km (1999 est.) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.8%
highest 10%: 40.4% (1994) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: 27% (2000) |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for US and Europe; offshore financial center |
Imports | NA (2001) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | petroleum, machinery and equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs, textiles | machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, mineral fuels; food and live animals |
Imports - partners | Cote d'Ivoire 17.1%, France 13.5%, Senegal 6.5%, Germany 4% (2002) | US 24.5%, Brazil 15.6%, Japan 13%, South Korea 7.8%, Spain 7.1% (2006) |
Independence | 22 September 1960 (from France) | 10 July 1973 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | food processing; construction; phosphate and gold mining | tourism, banking, cement, oil transshipment, salt, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral-welded steel pipe |
Infant mortality rate | 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.) |
total: 24.17 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 29.58 deaths/1,000 live births female: 18.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.5% (2002 est.) | 1.2% (2004) |
International organization participation | 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 | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 13 (2001) | - |
Irrigated land | 1,380 sq km (1998 est.) | 10 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme | Privy Council (London); Courts of Appeal; Supreme (lower) Court; magistrates courts |
Labor force | 3.93 million (2001 est.) | 176,300 (2004) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture and fishing 80% (2001 est.) | agriculture 5%, industry 5%, tourism 50%, other services 40% (2005 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: 3.77%
permanent crops: 0.04% other: 96.19% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 0.58%
permanent crops: 0.29% other: 99.13% (2005) |
Languages | French (official), Bambara 80%, numerous African languages | English (official), Creole (among Haitian immigrants) |
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 | based on English common law |
Legislative branch | 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 |
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (16 seats; members appointed by the governor general upon the advice of the prime minister and the opposition leader to serve five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (41 seats; members elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms); the government may dissolve the Parliament and call elections at any time
elections: last held 2 May 2007 (next to be called by May 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - FNM 49.86%, PLP 47.02%; seats by party - FNM 23, PLP 18 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 45.43 years
male: 44.7 years female: 46.19 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 65.66 years
male: 62.37 years female: 69.02 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 46.4% male: 53.5% female: 39.6% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 95.6% male: 94.7% female: 96.5% (2003 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, southwest of Algeria | Caribbean, chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida, northeast of Cuba |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | total: 1,213 ships (1000 GRT or over) 40,403,455 GRT/54,276,183 DWT
by type: barge carrier 1, bulk carrier 225, cargo 240, chemical tanker 84, combination ore/oil 13, container 72, liquefied gas 49, livestock carrier 2, passenger 117, passenger/cargo 34, petroleum tanker 196, refrigerated cargo 118, roll on/roll off 18, specialized tanker 4, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 39 foreign-owned: 1,134 (Angola 6, Australia 3, Belgium 15, Bermuda 12, Brazil 1, Canada 13, China 9, Croatia 1, Cuba 1, Cyprus 20, Denmark 66, Finland 8, France 43, Germany 40, Greece 214, Hong Kong 3, Iceland 1, Indonesia 3, Ireland 2, Italy 1, Japan 62, Jordan 2, Kenya 1, Malaysia 11, Monaco 11, Montenegro 2, Netherlands 24, Nigeria 2, Norway 232, Philippines 1, Poland 15, Russia 5, Saudi Arabia 15, Singapore 9, Slovenia 1, South Africa 1, Spain 11, Sweden 5, Switzerland 2, Taiwan 1, Thailand 1, Trinidad and Tobago 1, Turkey 5, UAE 20, UK 68, US 162, Uruguay 1, Venezuela 1) registered in other countries: 3 (Barbados 1, Panama 2) (2007) |
Military branches | Army, Air Force, Gendarmerie, Republican Guard, National Guard, National Police (Surete Nationale) | Royal Bahamian Defense Force: Land Force, Navy, Air Wing (2007) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $419.7 million (FY02) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 15% (FY02) | 0.5% (2006) |
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 | Independence Day, 22 September (1960) | Independence Day, 10 July (1973) |
Nationality | noun: Malian(s)
adjective: Malian |
noun: Bahamian(s)
adjective: Bahamian |
Natural hazards | hot, dust-laden harmattan haze common during dry seasons; recurring droughts; occasional Niger River flooding | hurricanes and other tropical storms cause extensive flood and wind damage |
Natural resources | gold, phosphates, kaolin, salt, limestone, uranium, hydropower
note: bauxite, iron ore, manganese, tin, and copper deposits are known but not exploited |
salt, aragonite, timber, arable land |
Net migration rate | -0.34 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | -2.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | 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] | Free National Movement or FNM [Hubert INGRAHAM]; Progressive Liberal Party or PLP [Perry CHRISTIE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Patriotic Movement of the Ghanda Koye or MPGK; United Movement and Fronts of Azawad or MFUA | NA |
Population | 11,626,219 (July 2003 est.) | 305,655
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 64% average; 30% of the total population living in urban areas; 70% of the total population living in rural areas) (2001 est.) | 9.3% (2004) |
Population growth rate | 2.82% (2003 est.) | 0.602% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Koulikoro | - |
Radio broadcast stations | 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) |
AM 3, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2006) |
Railways | total: 729 km
narrow gauge: 729 km 1.000-m gauge (2002) |
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Religions | Muslim 90%, indigenous beliefs 9%, Christian 1% | Baptist 35.4%, Anglican 15.1%, Roman Catholic 13.5%, Pentecostal 8.1%, Church of God 4.8%, Methodist 4.2%, other Christian 15.2%, none or unspecified 2.9%, other 0.8% (2000 census) |
Sex ratio | 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.) |
at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.002 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.968 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.691 male(s)/female total population: 0.956 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | 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) |
general assessment: modern facilities
domestic: totally automatic system; highly developed; the Bahamas Domestic Submarine Network links 14 of the islands and is designed to satisfy increasing demand for voice and broadband internet services international: country code - 1-242; landing point for the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) fiber-optic submarine cable that provides links to South and Central America, parts of the Caribbean, and the US; satellite earth station - 2 (2007) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 45,000 (2000) | 133,100 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 40,000 (2001) | 227,800 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus repeaters) (2001) | 2 (2006) |
Terrain | mostly flat to rolling northern plains covered by sand; savanna in south, rugged hills in northeast | long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills |
Total fertility rate | 6.66 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 2.15 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 14.6% urban areas; 5.3% rural areas (2001 est.) | 10.2% (2005 est.) |
Waterways | 1,815 km | - |