Mali (2004) | Dominica (2005) | |
Administrative divisions | 8 regions (regions, singular - region); Gao, Kayes, Kidal, Koulikoro, Mopti, Segou, Sikasso, Tombouctou | 10 parishes; Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Luke, Saint Mark, Saint Patrick, Saint Paul, Saint Peter |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 47.1% (male 2,835,378; female 2,801,578)
15-64 years: 49.9% (male 2,862,075; female 3,101,009) 65 years and over: 3% (male 163,927; female 192,821) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 26.7% (male 9,328/female 9,125)
15-64 years: 65.4% (male 23,225/female 21,900) 65 years and over: 7.9% (male 2,193/female 3,258) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, millet, rice, corn, vegetables, peanuts; cattle, sheep, goats | bananas, citrus, mangoes, root crops, coconuts, cocoa; forest and fishery potential not exploited |
Airports | 27 (2003 est.) | 2 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 9
2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 19
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 8 (2004 est.) |
- |
Area | total: 1.24 million sq km
land: 1.22 million sq km water: 20,000 sq km |
total: 754 sq km
land: 754 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of Texas | slightly more than four times the size of Washington, DC |
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. | Dominica was the last of the Caribbean islands to be colonized by Europeans, due chiefly to the fierce resistance of the native Caribs. France ceded possession to Great Britain in 1763, which made the island a colony in 1805. In 1980, two years after independence, Dominica's fortunes improved when a corrupt and tyrannical administration was replaced by that of Mary Eugenia CHARLES, the first female prime minister in the Caribbean, who remained in office for 15 years. Some 3,000 Carib Indians still living on Dominica are the only pre-Columbian population remaining in the eastern Caribbean. |
Birth rate | 47.29 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 15.73 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $764 million
expenditures: $828 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2002 est.) |
revenues: $73.9 million
expenditures: $84.4 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2001) |
Capital | Bamako | Roseau |
Climate | subtropical to arid; hot and dry February to June; rainy, humid, and mild June to November; cool and dry November to February | tropical; moderated by northeast trade winds; heavy rainfall |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 148 km |
Constitution | adopted 12 January 1992 | 3 November 1978 |
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 Dominica
conventional short form: Dominica |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States | - |
Death rate | 19.12 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 6.81 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $3.3 billion (2000) | $161.5 million (2001) |
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 |
the US does not have an embassy in Dominica; the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Dominica |
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: Ambassador Swinburne LESTRADE
chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 364-6781 FAX: [1] (202) 364-6791 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | none | joins other Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's claim that Aves Island sustains human habitation, a criterion under UNCLOS, which permits Venezuela to extend its EEZ/continental shelf over a large portion of the Caribbean Sea |
Economic aid - recipient | $596.4 million (2001) | $22.8 million (2003 est.) |
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 Dominican economy depends on agriculture, primarily bananas, and remains highly vulnerable to climatic conditions and international economic developments. Production of bananas dropped precipitously in 2003, a major reason for the 1% decline in GDP. Tourism increased in 2003 as the government sought to promote Dominica as an "ecotourism" destination. Development of the tourism industry remains difficult, however, because of the rugged coastline, lack of beaches, and the absence of an international airport. The government began a comprehensive restructuring of the economy in 2003 - including elimination of price controls, privatization of the state banana company, and tax increases - to address Dominica's economic crisis and to meet IMF targets. In order to diversify the island's production base the government is attempting to develop an offshore financial sector and is planning to construct an oil refinery on the eastern part of the island. |
Electricity - consumption | 446.6 million kWh (2001) | 63.62 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh; note - recent hydropower developments may be providing electricity to Senegal and Mauritania (2001) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 480.2 million kWh (2001) | 68.41 million kWh (2002) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Senegal River 23 m
highest point: Hombori Tondo 1,155 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Morne Diablatins 1,447 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching | NA |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
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, mixed black and European, European, Syrian, Carib Amerindian |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 581.2 (2003), 696.988 (2002), 733.039 (2001), 711.976 (2000), 615.699 (1999) | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001), 2.7 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Amadou Toumani TOURE (since 8 June 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Ousmane Issoufi MAIGA (since 30 April 2004) 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: President Nicholas J. O. LIVERPOOL (since October 2003)
head of government: Prime Minister Roosevelt SKERRIT (since 8 January 2004); note - assumed post after death of Prime Minister Pierre CHARLES cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister elections: president elected by the House of Assembly for a five-year term; election last held 1 October 2003 (next to be held October 2008); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Nicholas LIVERPOOL elected president; percent of legislative vote - NA% |
Exports | NA (2001) | NA |
Exports - commodities | cotton, gold, livestock | bananas, soap, bay oil, vegetables, grapefruit, oranges |
Exports - partners | Thailand 14%, China 12.1%, India 7.9%, Italy 7.5%, Bangladesh 6.1%, UK 6.1% (2003) | UK 21.6%, Jamaica 14.8%, Antigua and Barbuda 8.8%, Guyana 7.5%, Japan 5.4%, Trinidad and Tobago 4.8%, US 4.3%, Saint Lucia 4% (2004) |
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 | green, with a centered cross of three equal bands - the vertical part is yellow (hoist side), black, and white and the horizontal part is yellow (top), black, and white; superimposed in the center of the cross is a red disk bearing a sisserou parrot encircled by 10 green, five-pointed stars edged in yellow; the 10 stars represent the 10 administrative divisions (parishes) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $10.53 billion (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 45%
industry: 17% services: 38% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: 18%
industry: 24% services: 58% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $900 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5,500 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 0.5% (2003 est.) | -1% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 17 00 N, 4 00 W | 15 25 N, 61 20 W |
Geography - note | landlocked; divided into three natural zones: the southern, cultivated Sudanese; the central, semiarid Sahelian; and the northern, arid Saharan | known as "The Nature Island of the Caribbean" due to its spectacular, lush, and varied flora and fauna, which are protected by an extensive natural park system; the most mountainous of the Lesser Antilles, its volcanic peaks are cones of lava craters and include Boiling Lake, the second-largest, thermally active lake in the world |
Highways | total: 15,100 km
paved: 1,827 km unpaved: 13,273 km (1999 est.) |
total: 780 km
paved: 393 km unpaved: 387 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.8%
highest 10%: 40.4% (1994) |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for narcotics bound for the US and Europe; minor cannabis producer; anti-money-laundering enforcement is weak, making the country particularly vulnerable to money laundering |
Imports | NA (2001) | NA |
Imports - commodities | petroleum, machinery and equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs, textiles | manufactured goods, machinery and equipment, food, chemicals |
Imports - partners | France 15.4%, Senegal 7.7%, Cote d'Ivoire 7.1% (2003) | China 20.4%, US 16.8%, Trinidad and Tobago 12.3%, UK 6.9%, South Korea 4.6%, Japan 4.3% (2004) |
Independence | 22 September 1960 (from France) | 3 November 1978 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA (FY96/97) | -10% (1997 est.) |
Industries | food processing; construction; phosphate and gold mining | soap, coconut oil, tourism, copra, furniture, cement blocks, shoes |
Infant mortality rate | total: 117.99 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 124.51 deaths/1,000 live births female: 111.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
total: 14.15 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 18.68 deaths/1,000 live births female: 9.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.5% (2002 est.) | 1% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OIC, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | ACCT, ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIGA, NAM (observer), OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 1,380 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of the Court of Appeal and the High Court (located in Saint Lucia; one of the six judges must reside in Dominica and preside over the Court of Summary Jurisdiction) |
Labor force | 3.93 million (2001 est.) | 25,000 (1999 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture and fishing 80% (2001 est.) | agriculture 40%, industry and commerce 32%, services 28% |
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: 3.82%
permanent crops: 0.03% other: 96.15% (2001) |
arable land: 6.67%
permanent crops: 20% other: 73.33% (2001) |
Languages | French (official), Bambara 80%, numerous African languages | English (official), French patois |
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 |
unicameral House of Assembly (30 seats, 9 appointed senators, 21 elected by popular vote; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 5 May 2005 (next to be held by 5 August 2010); note - tradition dictates that the election will be held within five years of the last election, but technically it is five years from the first seating of parliament (12 May 2005) plus a 90-day grace period election results: percent of vote by party - DLP 52.08%, UWP 43.6%, DFP 3.15%; seats by party - DLP 12, UWP 8, independent 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 45.28 years
male: 44.7 years female: 45.87 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 74.65 years
male: 71.73 years female: 77.71 years (2005 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 has ever attended school
total population: 94% male: 94% female: 94% (2003 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, southwest of Algeria | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, about one-half of the way from Puerto Rico to Trinidad and Tobago |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | total: 32 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 13,771 GRT/19,736 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 19, chemical tanker 2, container 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 5, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: 21 (Estonia 6, Greece 3, Pakistan 1, Russia 2, Singapore 6, Syria 2, UAE 1) (2005) |
Military branches | Army, Air Force, National Guard | no regular military forces; Commonwealth of Dominica Police Force (includes Coast Guard) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $51.1 million (2003) | NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.3% (2003) | NA |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 2,529,147 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 1,450,795 (2004 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 22 September (1960) | Independence Day, 3 November (1978) |
Nationality | noun: Malian(s)
adjective: Malian |
noun: Dominican(s)
adjective: Dominican |
Natural hazards | hot, dust-laden harmattan haze common during dry seasons; recurring droughts; occasional Niger River flooding | flash floods are a constant threat; destructive hurricanes can be expected during the late summer months |
Natural resources | gold, phosphates, kaolin, salt, limestone, uranium, hydropower
note: bauxite, iron ore, manganese, tin, and copper deposits are known but not exploited |
timber, hydropower, arable land |
Net migration rate | -0.33 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | -11.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Alliance for Democracy or ADEMA [Diounconda TRAORE, 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] | Dominica Freedom Party or DFP [Charles SAVARIN]; Dominica Labor Party or DLP [Roosevelt SKERRIT]; United Workers Party or UWP [Edison JAMES] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Patriotic Movement of the Ghanda Koye or MPGK; United Movement and Fronts of Azawad or MFUA | Dominica Liberation Movement or DLM (a small leftist party) |
Population | 11,956,788 (July 2004 est.) | 69,029 (July 2005 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.) | 30% (2002 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.78% (2004 est.) | -0.27% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Koulikoro | Portsmouth, Roseau |
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 2, FM 4, shortwave 0 (2004) |
Railways | total: 729 km
narrow gauge: 729 km 1.000-m gauge (2003) |
- |
Religions | Muslim 90%, indigenous beliefs 9%, Christian 1% | Roman Catholic 77%, Protestant 15% (Methodist 5%, Pentecostal 3%, Seventh-Day Adventist 3%, Baptist 2%, other 2%), other 6%, none 2% |
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: 0.85 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2005 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: country code - 223; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) |
general assessment: NA
domestic: fully automatic network international: country code - 1-767; microwave radio relay and SHF radiotelephone links to Martinique and Guadeloupe; VHF and UHF radiotelephone links to Saint Lucia |
Telephones - main lines in use | 56,600 (2002) | 23,700 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 250,000 (2003) | 9,400 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus repeaters) (2001) | 1 (2004) |
Terrain | mostly flat to rolling northern plains covered by sand; savanna in south, rugged hills in northeast | rugged mountains of volcanic origin |
Total fertility rate | 6.58 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 1.96 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 14.6% urban areas; 5.3% rural areas (2001 est.) | 23% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | 1,815 km (2004) | - |