Mali (2008) | British Virgin Islands (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | 8 regions (regions, singular - region); Gao, Kayes, Kidal, Koulikoro, Mopti, Segou, Sikasso, Tombouctou | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 48.2% (male 2,921,914/female 2,853,976)
15-64 years: 48.8% (male 2,891,494/female 2,959,142) 65 years and over: 3.1% (male 149,301/female 219,575) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 22.4% (male 2,401; female 2,351)
15-64 years: 72.7% (male 7,962; female 7,509) 65 years and over: 4.9% (male 565; female 484) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, millet, rice, corn, vegetables, peanuts; cattle, sheep, goats | fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish |
Airports | 29 (2007) | 3 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 8
2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2007) |
total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 21
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 8 (2007) |
total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
Area | total: 1.24 million sq km
land: 1.22 million sq km water: 20,000 sq km |
total: 153 sq km
land: 153 sq km water: 0 sq km note: comprised of 16 inhabited and more than 20 uninhabited islands; includes the island of Anegada |
Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of Texas | about 0.9 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 by a military coup - led by the current president Amadou TOURE - enabling Mali's emergence as one of the strongest democracies on the continent. President Alpha KONARE won Mali's first democratic presidential election in 1992 and was reelected in 1997. In keeping with Mali's two-term constitutional limit, KONARE stepped down in 2002 and was succeeded by Amadou TOURE, who was subsequently elected to a second term in 2007. The elections were widely judged to be free and fair. | First settled by the Dutch in 1648, the islands were annexed in 1672 by the English. The economy is closely tied to the larger and more populous US Virgin Islands to the west; the US dollar is the legal currency. |
Birth rate | 49.61 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 15.09 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $764 million
expenditures: $828 million (2002 est.) |
revenues: $121.5 million
expenditures: $115.5 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997) |
Capital | name: Bamako
geographic coordinates: 12 39 N, 8 00 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Road Town |
Climate | subtropical to arid; hot and dry (February to June); rainy, humid, and mild (June to November); cool and dry (November to February) | subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 80 km |
Constitution | adopted 12 January 1992 | 1 June 1977 |
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: British Virgin Islands abbreviation: BVI |
Currency | - | US dollar (USD) |
Death rate | 16.51 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $2.8 billion (2002) | $36.1 million (1997) |
Dependency status | - | overseas territory of the UK; internal self-governing |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Terrence P. MCCULLEY
embassy: located just off the Roi Bin Fahad Aziz Bridge just west of the Bamako central district mailing address: ACI 2000, Rue 243, Porte 297, Bamako telephone: [223] 270-2300 FAX: [223] 270-2479 |
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 | $691.5 million (2005) | NA |
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 CFA franc in January 1994 have pushed up economic growth to a 5% average in 1996-2007. Worker remittances and external trade routes for the landlocked country have been jeopardized by continued unrest in neighboring Cote d'Ivoire. | The economy, one of the most stable and prosperous in the Caribbean, is highly dependent on tourism, generating an estimated 45% of the national income. An estimated 350,000 tourists, mainly from the US, visited the islands in 1998. In the mid-1980s, the government began offering offshore registration to companies wishing to incorporate in the islands, and incorporation fees now generate substantial revenues. Roughly 400,000 companies were on the offshore registry by yearend 2000. The adoption of a comprehensive insurance law in late 1994, which provides a blanket of confidentiality with regulated statutory gateways for investigation of criminal offenses, is expected to make the British Virgin Islands even more attractive to international business. Livestock raising is the most important agricultural activity; poor soils limit the islands' ability to meet domestic food requirements. Because of traditionally close links with the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands has used the dollar as its currency since 1959. |
Electricity - consumption | 412.9 million kWh (2005) | 39.1 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh; note - recent hydropower developments may be providing electricity to Senegal and Mauritania (2005) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 444 million kWh (2005) | 42 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: Mount Sage 521 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching | limited natural fresh water resources (except for a few seasonal streams and springs on Tortola, most of the islands' water supply comes from wells and rainwater catchments) |
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, 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 83%, white, Indian, Asian and mixed |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 493.51 (2007), 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003) | the US dollar is used |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Amadou Toumani TOURE (since 8 June 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Modibo SIDIBE (since 28 September 2007) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 29 April 2007 (next to be held April in 2012); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Amadou Toumani TOURE reelected president; percent of vote - Amadou Toumani TOURE 71.2%, Ibrahim Boubacar KEITA 19.2%, other 9.6% |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor Tom MACAN (since 14 October 2002)
head of government: Chief Minister Ralph T. O'NEAL (since 15 May 1995) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from members of the Legislative Council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed chief minister by the governor |
Exports | 0 bbl/day (2004) | $6.2 million |
Exports - commodities | cotton, gold, livestock | rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand |
Exports - partners | China 26.8%, Germany 24.9%, Thailand 7.1%, Taiwan 4.9%, Bangladesh 4% (2006) | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US |
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 Virgin Islander coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms depicts a woman flanked on either side by a vertical column of six oil lamps above a scroll bearing the Latin word VIGILATE (Be Watchful) |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $311 million (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 45%
industry: 17% services: 38% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: 2%
industry: 6% services: 92% (1996 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $16,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.3% (2007 est.) | 4.4% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 17 00 N, 4 00 W | 18 30 N, 64 30 W |
Geography - note | landlocked; divided into three natural zones: the southern, cultivated Sudanese; the central, semiarid Sahelian; and the northern, arid Saharan | strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico |
Highways | - | total: 177 km
paved: 177 km unpaved: 0 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.4%
highest 10%: 30.2% (2001) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe; large offshore financial center |
Imports | 4,369 bbl/day (2004) | $230 million (2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | petroleum, machinery and equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs, textiles | building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery |
Imports - partners | France 12.8%, Senegal 12.2%, Cote d'Ivoire 10.5% (2006) | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US |
Independence | 22 September 1960 (from France) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 4% (1985) |
Industries | food processing; construction; phosphate and gold mining | tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore financial center |
Infant mortality rate | total: 105.65 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 115.29 deaths/1,000 live births female: 95.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
19.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.5% (2002 est.) | 3.3% (2000) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | Caricom (associate), CDB, ECLAC (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS (associate), UNESCO (associate) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 16 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 2,360 sq km (2003) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal (one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court); Magistrate's Court; Juvenile Court; Court of Summary Jurisdiction |
Labor force | 3.93 million (2001 est.) | 4,911 (1980) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 80%
industry and services: 20% (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: 3.76%
permanent crops: 0.03% other: 96.21% (2005) |
arable land: 20%
permanent crops: 6.67% other: 73.33% (1998 est.) |
Languages | French (official), Bambara 80%, numerous African languages | English (official) |
Legal system | based on French civil law system and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | English law |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (147 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 1 and 22 July 2007 (next to be held in July 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - ADP coalition 113 (including ADEMA 51, URD 34, MPR 8, CNID 7, UDD 3, and other 10), FDR coalition 15 (including RPM 11, PARENA 4), SADI 4, independent 15 |
unicameral Legislative Council (13 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote, one member from each of 9 electoral districts, four at-large members; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 17 May 1999 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - VIP 7, CCM 1, NDP 5 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 49.51 years
male: 47.6 years female: 51.46 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 75.85 years
male: 74.9 years female: 76.84 years (2002 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: 97.8% (1991 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Western Africa, southwest of Algeria | Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east 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 | - | total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 70,285 GRT/6,946 DWT
ships by type: passenger 1 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
Military branches | Malian Armed Forces: Army, Republic of Mali Air Force (Force Aerienne de la Republique du Mali, FARM), National Guard (2007) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.9% (2006) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 22 September (1960) | Territory Day, 1 July |
Nationality | noun: Malian(s)
adjective: Malian |
noun: British Virgin Islander(s)
adjective: British Virgin Islander |
Natural hazards | hot, dust-laden harmattan haze common during dry seasons; recurring droughts; occasional Niger River flooding | hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October) |
Natural resources | gold, phosphates, kaolin, salt, limestone, uranium, gypsum, granite, hydropower
note: bauxite, iron ore, manganese, tin, and copper deposits are known but not exploited |
NEGL |
Net migration rate | -6.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 10.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Alliance for Democratic Change (political group comprised mainly of Tuareg from Mali's northern region); African Solidarity for Democracy and Independence or SADI [Oumar MARIKO, secretary general]; Alliance for Democracy and Progress or ADP (a coalition of political parties including ADEMA and URD formed in December 2006 to support the presidential candidacy of Amadou TOURE); Alliance for Democracy or ADEMA [Diounconda TRAORE]; Convergence 2007 [Soumeylou Boubeye MAIGA]; Front for Democracy and the Republic or FDR (a coalition of political parties including RPM and PARENA formed to oppose the presidential candidacy of Amadou TOURE); National Congress for Democratic Initiative or CNID [Mountaga TALL]; Party for Democracy and Progress or PDP [Me Idrissa TRAORE]; Party for National Renewal or PARENA [Tiebile DRAME]; Patriotic Movement for Renewal or MPR [Choguel MAIGA]; Rally for Democracy and Labor or RDT; Rally for Mali or RPM [Ibrahim Boubacar KEITA]; Sudanese Union/African Democratic Rally or US/RDA [Mamadou Bamou TOURE]; Union for Democracy and Development or UDD [Moussa Balla COULIBALY]; Union for Republic and Democracy or URD [Soumaila CISSE] | Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Ethlyn SMITH]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Orlando SMITH]; United Party or UP [Gregory MADURO]; Virgin Islands Party or VIP [Ralph T. O'NEAL] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | NA |
Population | 11,995,402 (July 2007 est.) | 21,272 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 64% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.681% (2007 est.) | 2.16% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Road Town |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 230 (27 regional and government stations, and 203 private stations), shortwave 1 (2001) | AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 9,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 729 km
narrow gauge: 729 km 1.000-m gauge (2006) |
0 km |
Religions | Muslim 90%, Christian 1%, indigenous beliefs 9% | Protestant 86% (Methodist 33%, Anglican 17%, Church of God 9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6%, Baptist 4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2%, other 2%), Roman Catholic 10%, none 2%, other 2% (1991) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.024 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.977 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.988 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.17 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2002 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: fixed-line availability is gradually increasing, but subscribership remains less than 1 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular subscribership has increased sharply to 13 per 100 persons international: country code - 223; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean, 1 Indian Ocean) |
general assessment: worldwide telephone service
domestic: NA international: submarine cable to Bermuda |
Telephones - main lines in use | 82,500 (2006) | 10,000 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.513 million (2006) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (plus repeaters) (2007) | 1 (plus one cable company) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly flat to rolling northern plains covered by sand; savanna in south, rugged hills in northeast | coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly |
Total fertility rate | 7.38 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.72 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 14.6% (2001 est.) | 3% (1995) |
Waterways | 1,800 km (2007) | none |