Mali (2004) | Nauru (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | 8 regions (regions, singular - region); Gao, Kayes, Kidal, Koulikoro, Mopti, Segou, Sikasso, Tombouctou | 14 districts; Aiwo, Anabar, Anetan, Anibare, Baiti, Boe, Buada, Denigomodu, Ewa, Ijuw, Meneng, Nibok, Uaboe, Yaren |
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: 38.2% (male 2,516; female 2,372)
15-64 years: 60% (male 3,782; female 3,898) 65 years and over: 1.9% (male 128; female 113) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, millet, rice, corn, vegetables, peanuts; cattle, sheep, goats | coconuts |
Airports | 27 (2003 est.) | 1 (2003 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
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (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: 21 sq km
land: 21 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of Texas | about 0.1 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. | Nauru's phosphate deposits began to be mined early in the 20th century by a German-British consortium; the island was occupied by Australian forces in World War I. Nauru achieved independence in 1968 and joined the UN in 1999. Nauru is the world's smallest independent republic. |
Birth rate | 47.29 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 25.61 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $764 million
expenditures: $828 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2002 est.) |
revenues: $23.4 million
expenditures: $64.8 million, including capital expenditures of NA (FY95/96) |
Capital | Bamako | no official capital; government offices in Yaren District |
Climate | subtropical to arid; hot and dry February to June; rainy, humid, and mild June to November; cool and dry November to February | tropical with a monsoonal pattern; rainy season (November to February) |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 30 km |
Constitution | adopted 12 January 1992 | 29 January 1968 |
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: Republic of Nauru
conventional short form: Nauru former: Pleasant Island |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States | Australian dollar (AUD) |
Death rate | 19.12 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 6.95 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $3.3 billion (2000) | $33.3 million (2002) |
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 Nauru; the US Ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Nauru |
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 |
Nauru does not have an embassy in the US, but does have a UN office at 800 2nd Avenue, Suite 400 D, New York, New York 10017; telephone: (212) 937-0074
consulate(s): Hagatna (Guam) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $596.4 million (2001) | $2.25 million from Australia (FY96/97 est.) (2000 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. | Revenues of this tiny island have traditionally come from exports of phosphates, but reserves are now depleted. Few other resources exist with most necessities being imported, mainly from Australia, its former occupier and later major source of support. The rehabilitation of mined land and the replacement of income from phosphates are serious long-term problems. In anticipation of the exhaustion of Nauru's phosphate deposits, substantial amounts of phosphate income have been invested in trust funds to help cushion the transition and provide for Nauru's economic future. As a result of heavy spending from the trust funds, the government faces virtual bankruptcy. To cut costs the government has called for a freeze on wages, a reduction of over-staffed public service departments, privatization of numerous government agencies, and closure of some overseas consulates. In recent years Nauru has encouraged the registration of offshore banks and corporations. In 2004 the deterioration in housing, hospitals, and other capital plant continued, and the cost to Australia of keeping the government and economy afloat has substantially mounted. Few comprehensive statistics on the Nauru economy exist, with estimates of Nauru's GDP varying widely. |
Electricity - consumption | 446.6 million kWh (2001) | 27.9 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh; note - recent hydropower developments may be providing electricity to Senegal and Mauritania (2001) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 480.2 million kWh (2001) | 30 million kWh (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Senegal River 23 m
highest point: Hombori Tondo 1,155 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location along plateau rim 61 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching | limited natural fresh water resources, roof storage tanks collect rainwater, but mostly dependent on a single, aging desalination plant; intensive phosphate mining during the past 90 years - mainly by a UK, Australia, and NZ consortium - has left the central 90% of Nauru a wasteland and threatens limited remaining land resources |
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, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection
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% | Nauruan 58%, other Pacific Islander 26%, Chinese 8%, European 8% |
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) | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.5419 (2003), 1.2641 (2002) 1.9320 (2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999) |
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 Ludwig SCOTTY (since 26 October 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Ludwig SCOTTY (since 26 October 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of Parliament elections: president elected by Parliament for a three-year term; election last held 23 October 2004 (next to be held NA 2007) election results: Ludwig SCOTTY was unopposed in the parliamentary elections for president |
Exports | NA (2001) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | cotton, gold, livestock | phosphates |
Exports - partners | Thailand 14%, China 12.1%, India 7.9%, Italy 7.5%, Bangladesh 6.1%, UK 6.1% (2003) | Japan 42.3%, India 38.5%, South Korea 7.7% (2003) |
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 | blue with a narrow, horizontal, yellow stripe across the center and a large white 12-pointed star below the stripe on the hoist side; the star indicates the country's location in relation to the Equator (the yellow stripe) and the 12 points symbolize the 12 original tribes of Nauru |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $10.53 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $60 million (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 45%
industry: 17% services: 38% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $900 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 0.5% (2003 est.) | NA |
Geographic coordinates | 17 00 N, 4 00 W | 0 32 S, 166 55 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; divided into three natural zones: the southern, cultivated Sudanese; the central, semiarid Sahelian; and the northern, arid Saharan | Nauru is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean - the others are Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati and Makatea in French Polynesia; only 53 km south of Equator |
Highways | total: 15,100 km
paved: 1,827 km unpaved: 13,273 km (1999 est.) |
total: 30 km
paved: 24 km unpaved: 6 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 | - | offshore banking recently stopped, remains on Financial Action Task Force Non-Cooperative Countries and Territories List for continued failure to address deficiencies in money-laundering control regime |
Imports | NA (2001) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | petroleum, machinery and equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs, textiles | food, fuel, manufactures, building materials, machinery |
Imports - partners | France 15.4%, Senegal 7.7%, Cote d'Ivoire 7.1% (2003) | Australia 67.9%, Indonesia 10.7%, US 7.1% (2003) |
Independence | 22 September 1960 (from France) | 31 January 1968 (from the Australia-, NZ-, and UK-administered UN trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA (FY96/97) | NA |
Industries | food processing; construction; phosphate and gold mining | phosphate mining, offshore banking, coconut products |
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: 10.14 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 12.76 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.5% (2002 est.) | -3.6% (1993) |
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 | ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, ICAO, ICCt, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO |
Irrigated land | 1,380 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 3.93 million (2001 est.) | - |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture and fishing 80% (2001 est.) | employed in mining phosphates, public administration, education, and transportation |
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: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
Languages | French (official), Bambara 80%, numerous African languages | Nauruan (official, a distinct Pacific Island language), English widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and commercial purposes |
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 | acts of the Nauru Parliament and British 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 Parliament (18 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 3 May 2003 (next to be held not later than May 2006) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - Nauru First Party 3, independents 15 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 45.28 years
male: 44.7 years female: 45.87 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 62.33 years
male: 58.78 years female: 66.06 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 46.4% male: 53.5% female: 39.6% (2003 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
Location | Western Africa, southwest of Algeria | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, south of the Marshall Islands |
Map references | Africa | Oceania |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | none |
Military - note | - | Nauru maintains no defense forces; under an informal agreement, defense is the responsibility of Australia |
Military branches | Army, Air Force, National Guard | no regular military forces; Nauru Police Force |
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.) | males age 15-49: 3,275 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 1,450,795 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,810 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 22 September (1960) | Independence Day, 31 January (1968) |
Nationality | noun: Malian(s)
adjective: Malian |
noun: Nauruan(s)
adjective: Nauruan |
Natural hazards | hot, dust-laden harmattan haze common during dry seasons; recurring droughts; occasional Niger River flooding | periodic droughts |
Natural resources | gold, phosphates, kaolin, salt, limestone, uranium, hydropower
note: bauxite, iron ore, manganese, tin, and copper deposits are known but not exploited |
phosphates, fish |
Net migration rate | -0.33 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 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] | loose multiparty system; Democratic Party [Kennan ADEANG]; Nauru Party (informal) [leader NA]; Naoero Amo (Nauru First) Party [leader NA] |
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.) | 12,809 (July 2004 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.) | 1.87% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Koulikoro | Nauru |
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 0, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Railways | total: 729 km
narrow gauge: 729 km 1.000-m gauge (2003) |
- |
Religions | Muslim 90%, indigenous beliefs 9%, Christian 1% | Christian (two-thirds Protestant, one-third Roman Catholic) |
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: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.13 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 20 years of age; universal and compulsory |
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: adequate local and international radiotelephone communication provided via Australian facilities
domestic: NA international: country code - 674; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 56,600 (2002) | 1,900 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 250,000 (2003) | 1,500 (2002) |
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 | sandy beach rises to fertile ring around raised coral reefs with phosphate plateau in center |
Total fertility rate | 6.58 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 3.29 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 14.6% urban areas; 5.3% rural areas (2001 est.) | 0% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | 1,815 km (2004) | - |