Mali (2004) | Montserrat (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | 8 regions (regions, singular - region); Gao, Kayes, Kidal, Koulikoro, Mopti, Segou, Sikasso, Tombouctou | 3 parishes; Saint Anthony, Saint Georges, Saint Peter's |
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:
23.83% (male 907; female 898) 15-64 years: 64.66% (male 2,341; female 2,556) 65 years and over: 11.51% (male 464; female 408) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, millet, rice, corn, vegetables, peanuts; cattle, sheep, goats | cabbages, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, peppers; livestock products |
Airports | 27 (2003 est.) | 1 (2000 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:
1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 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:
100 sq km land: 100 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of Texas | about 0.6 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. | Much of this island has been devastated and two-thirds of the population has fled abroad due to the eruption of the Soufriere Hills volcano that began on 18 July 1995. |
Birth rate | 47.29 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 17.43 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $764 million
expenditures: $828 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2002 est.) |
revenues:
$31.4 million expenditures: $31.6 million, including capital expenditures of $8.4 million (1997 est.) |
Capital | Bamako | Plymouth (abandoned in 1997 due to volcanic activity; interim government buildings have been built at Brades, in the Carr's Bay/Little Bay vicinity at the northwest end of Montserrat) |
Climate | subtropical to arid; hot and dry February to June; rainy, humid, and mild June to November; cool and dry November to February | tropical; little daily or seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 40 km |
Constitution | adopted 12 January 1992 | present constitution came into force 19 December 1989 |
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: Montserrat |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) |
Death rate | 19.12 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 7.53 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $3.3 billion (2000) | $8.9 million (1997) |
Dependency status | - | overseas territory of the UK |
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 |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
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 |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $596.4 million (2001) | $9.8 million (1995); note - about $100 million (1996-98) in reconstruction aid from the UK; Country Policy Plan (1999) is a three-year program for spending $122.8 million in British budgetary assistance |
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. | Severe volcanic activity, which began in July 1995, has put a damper on this small, open economy. A catastrophic eruption in June 1997 closed the airports and seaports, causing further economic and social dislocation. Two-thirds of the 12,000 inhabitants fled the island. Some began to return in 1998, but lack of housing limited the number. The agriculture sector continued to be affected by the lack of suitable land for farming and the destruction of crops. Prospects for the economy depend largely on developments in relation to the volcano and on public sector construction activity. The UK committed to a three year $125 million aid program in 1999 to help reconstruct the economy. |
Electricity - consumption | 446.6 million kWh (2001) | 9.3 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh; note - recent hydropower developments may be providing electricity to Senegal and Mauritania (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 480.2 million kWh (2001) | 10 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Senegal River 23 m
highest point: Hombori Tondo 1,155 m |
lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Chances Peak (in the Soufriere Hills) 914 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching | land erosion occurs on slopes that have been cleared for cultivation |
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 |
- |
Ethnic groups | Mande 50% (Bambara, Malinke, Soninke), Peul 17%, Voltaic 12%, Songhai 6%, Tuareg and Moor 10%, other 5% | black, white |
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 - 2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976) |
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:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor Anthony John ABBOTT (since NA September 1997) head of government: Chief Minister David BRANDT (since 22 August 1997) cabinet: Executive Council consists of the governor, the chief minister, three other ministers, the attorney general, and the finance secretary elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party usually becomes chief minister; note - as a result of the last election, a coalition party was formed between NPP, NDP, and one of the independent candidates |
Exports | NA (2001) | $1.5 million (1998) |
Exports - commodities | cotton, gold, livestock | electronic components, plastic bags, apparel, hot peppers, live plants, cattle |
Exports - partners | Thailand 14%, China 12.1%, India 7.9%, Italy 7.5%, Bangladesh 6.1%, UK 6.1% (2003) | US, Antigua and Barbuda (1993) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), yellow, and red; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Montserratian coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms features a woman standing beside a yellow harp with her arm around a black cross |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $10.53 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $31 million (1999 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 45%
industry: 17% services: 38% (2001 est.) |
agriculture:
5.4% industry: 13.6% services: 81% (1996 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $900 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5,000 (1999 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 0.5% (2003 est.) | -1.5% (1999 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 17 00 N, 4 00 W | 16 45 N, 62 12 W |
Geography - note | landlocked; divided into three natural zones: the southern, cultivated Sudanese; the central, semiarid Sahelian; and the northern, arid Saharan | - |
Highways | total: 15,100 km
paved: 1,827 km unpaved: 13,273 km (1999 est.) |
total:
269 km paved: 203 km unpaved: 66 km (1995) |
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 South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe |
Imports | NA (2001) | $26 million (1998) |
Imports - commodities | petroleum, machinery and equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs, textiles | machinery and transportation equipment, foodstuffs, manufactured goods, fuels, lubricants, and related materials |
Imports - partners | France 15.4%, Senegal 7.7%, Cote d'Ivoire 7.1% (2003) | US, UK, Trinidad and Tobago, Japan, Canada (1993) |
Independence | 22 September 1960 (from France) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA (FY96/97) | NA% |
Industries | food processing; construction; phosphate and gold mining | tourism, rum, textiles, electronic appliances |
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.) |
8.19 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.5% (2002 est.) | 5% (1998) |
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 | Caricom, CDB, ECLAC (associate), ICFTU, Interpol (subbureau), OECS, WCL |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 17 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 1,380 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based in Saint Lucia, one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court) |
Labor force | 3.93 million (2001 est.) | 4,521 (1992); note - recently lowered by flight of people from volcanic activity |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture and fishing 80% (2001 est.) | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
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:
20% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 10% forests and woodland: 40% other: 30% (1993 est.) |
Languages | French (official), Bambara 80%, numerous African languages | 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 | English common law and statutory 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 Legislative Council (11 seats, 7 popularly elected; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 11 November 1996 (next to be held by NA November 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PPA 2, MNR 2, NPP 1, independent 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 45.28 years
male: 44.7 years female: 45.87 years (2004 est.) |
total population:
78.03 years male: 75.95 years female: 80.22 years (2001 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: 97% male: 97% female: 97% (1970 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, southwest of Algeria | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, southeast of Puerto Rico |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | exclusive fishing zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 3 NM |
Merchant marine | - | none (2000 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
Military branches | Army, Air Force, National Guard | Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $51.1 million (2003) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.3% (2003) | - |
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) | Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, second Saturday in June (1926) |
Nationality | noun: Malian(s)
adjective: Malian |
noun:
Montserratian(s) adjective: Montserratian |
Natural hazards | hot, dust-laden harmattan haze common during dry seasons; recurring droughts; occasional Niger River flooding | severe hurricanes (June to November); volcanic eruptions (full-scale eruptions of the Soufriere Hills volcano occurred during 1996-97) |
Natural resources | gold, phosphates, kaolin, salt, limestone, uranium, hydropower
note: bauxite, iron ore, manganese, tin, and copper deposits are known but not exploited |
NEGL |
Net migration rate | -0.33 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 123.98 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 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] | Movement for National Reconstruction or MNR [Percival Austin BRAMBLE]; National Development Party or NDP [leader NA]; National Progressive Party or NPP [Reuben T. MEADE]; People's Progressive Alliance or PPA [John A. OSBORNE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Patriotic Movement of the Ghanda Koye or MPGK; United Movement and Fronts of Azawad or MFUA | NA |
Population | 11,956,788 (July 2004 est.) | 7,574
note: an estimated 8,000 refugees left the island following the resumption of volcanic activity in July 1995; some have returned (July 2001 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.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.78% (2004 est.) | 13.39% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Koulikoro | Plymouth (abandoned), Little Bay (anchorages and ferry landing), Carr's Bay |
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 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 7,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 729 km
narrow gauge: 729 km 1.000-m gauge (2003) |
0 km |
Religions | Muslim 90%, indigenous beliefs 9%, Christian 1% | Anglican, Methodist, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, Seventh-Day Adventist, other Christian denominations |
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: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.14 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2001 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: NA international: NA |
Telephones - main lines in use | 56,600 (2002) | 4,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 250,000 (2003) | 70 (1994) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus repeaters) (2001) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly flat to rolling northern plains covered by sand; savanna in south, rugged hills in northeast | volcanic islands, mostly mountainous, with small coastal lowland |
Total fertility rate | 6.58 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 1.82 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 14.6% urban areas; 5.3% rural areas (2001 est.) | 20% (1996 est.) |
Waterways | 1,815 km (2004) | none |