Montserrat (2005) | Mali (2007) | |
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Administrative divisions | 3 parishes; Saint Anthony, Saint Georges, Saint Peter | 8 regions (regions, singular - region); Gao, Kayes, Kidal, Koulikoro, Mopti, Segou, Sikasso, Tombouctou |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 23.3% (male 1,109/female 1,072)
15-64 years: 65.6% (male 2,923/female 3,201) 65 years and over: 11.1% (male 536/female 500) (2005 est.) |
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.) |
Agriculture - products | cabbages, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, peppers, livestock products | cotton, millet, rice, corn, vegetables, peanuts; cattle, sheep, goats |
Airports | 1 (2004 est.) | 29 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 8
2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2007) |
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) |
Area | total: 102 sq km
land: 102 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 1.24 million sq km
land: 1.22 million sq km water: 20,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.6 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly less than twice the size of Texas |
Background | Much of this island was devastated and two-thirds of the population fled abroad because of the eruption of the Soufriere Hills Volcano that began on 18 July 1995. Montserrat has endured volcanic activity since, with the last eruption occurring in July 2003. | 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 coup that ushered in democratic government. 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. |
Birth rate | 17.56 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 49.61 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $31.4 million
expenditures: $31.6 million, including capital expenditures of $8.4 million (1997 est.) |
revenues: $764 million
expenditures: $828 million (2002 est.) |
Capital | Plymouth (abandoned in 1997 due to volcanic activity; interim government buildings have been built at Brades Estate, in the Carr's Bay/Little Bay vicinity at the northwest end of Montserrat) | name: Bamako
geographic coordinates: 12 39 N, 8 00 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical; little daily or seasonal temperature variation | subtropical to arid; hot and dry (February to June); rainy, humid, and mild (June to November); cool and dry (November to February) |
Coastline | 40 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | effective 19 December 1989 | adopted 12 January 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Montserrat |
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 |
Death rate | 7.17 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 16.51 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $8.9 million (1997) | $2.8 billion (2002) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 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 |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | Country Policy Plan (2001) is a three-year program for spending $122.8 million in British budgetary assistance (2002 est.) | $691.5 million (2005) |
Economy - overview | 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 has launched a three-year $122.8 million aid program to help reconstruct the economy. Half of the island is expected to remain uninhabitable for another decade. | 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 sturdy 5% average in 1996-2006. Worker remittances and external trade routes for the landlocked country have been jeopardized by continued unrest in neighboring Cote d'Ivoire. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.674 million kWh (2002) | 412.9 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh; note - recent hydropower developments may be providing electricity to Senegal and Mauritania (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 1.8 million kWh (2002) | 444 million kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Chances Peak (in the Soufriere Hills volcanic complex) 914 m |
lowest point: Senegal River 23 m
highest point: Hombori Tondo 1,155 m |
Environment - current issues | land erosion occurs on slopes that have been cleared for cultivation | deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching |
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 | black, white | Mande 50% (Bambara, Malinke, Soninke), Peul 17%, Voltaic 12%, Songhai 6%, Tuareg and Moor 10%, other 5% |
Exchange rates | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001), 2.7 (2000)
note: fixed rate since 1976 |
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor Deborah BARNES-JONES (since 10 May 2004)
head of government: Chief Minister John OSBORNE (since 5 April 2001) 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 |
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% |
Exports | NA | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | electronic components, plastic bags, apparel, hot peppers, live plants, cattle | cotton, gold, livestock |
Exports - partners | US, Antigua and Barbuda | China 35.2%, Thailand 9.3%, Taiwan 6.5%, Bangladesh 5.3%, Australia 5% (2006) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | 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 | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), yellow, and red; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 5.4%
industry: 13.6% services: 81% (1996 est.) |
agriculture: 45%
industry: 17% services: 38% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,400 (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | -1% (2002 est.) | 5.1% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 16 45 N, 62 12 W | 17 00 N, 4 00 W |
Geography - note | the island is entirely volcanic in origin and contains seven active volcanoes | landlocked; divided into three natural zones: the southern, cultivated Sudanese; the central, semiarid Sahelian; and the northern, arid Saharan |
Highways | total: 227 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km note: volcanic eruptions beginning in 1995 destroyed most of the road system (2003) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: 2.4%
highest 10%: 30.2% (2001) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe | - |
Imports | NA | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transportation equipment, foodstuffs, manufactured goods, fuels, lubricants, and related materials | petroleum, machinery and equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs, textiles |
Imports - partners | US, UK, Trinidad and Tobago, Japan, Canada | France 12.8%, Senegal 12.1%, Cote d'Ivoire 10.4% (2006) |
Independence | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 22 September 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | tourism, rum, textiles, electronic appliances | food processing; construction; phosphate and gold mining |
Infant mortality rate | total: 7.35 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.55 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
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.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.6% (2002 est.) | 4.5% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | Caricom, CDB, ICFTU, Interpol (subbureau), OECS, UPU | 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, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OIF, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 2,360 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | 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) | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme |
Labor force | 4,521 (lowered by flight of people from volcanic activity) (2000 est.) | 3.93 million (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | agriculture: 80%
industry and services: 20% (2001 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 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 |
Land use | arable land: 20%
permanent crops: 0% other: 80% (2001) |
arable land: 3.76%
permanent crops: 0.03% other: 96.21% (2005) |
Languages | English | French (official), Bambara 80%, numerous African languages |
Legal system | English common law and statutory law | based on French civil law system and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Council (11 seats, 9 popularly elected; members serve five-year terms)
note: expanded in 2001 from 7 to 9 elected members with attorney general and financial secretary sitting as ex-officio members elections: last held April 2001 (next to be held by November 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NPLM 7, NPP 2 note: in 2001, the Elections Commission instituted a single constituency/voter-at-large system whereby all eligible voters cast ballots for all nine seats of the Legislative Council |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 78.71 years
male: 76.54 years female: 80.98 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 49.51 years
male: 47.6 years female: 51.46 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 97% male: 97% female: 97% (1970 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 46.4% male: 53.5% female: 39.6% (2003 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, southeast of Puerto Rico | Western Africa, southwest of Algeria |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
none (landlocked) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
Military branches | no regular military forces; Royal Montserrat Police Force (2005) | 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 | Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, second Saturday in June (1926) | Independence Day, 22 September (1960) |
Nationality | noun: Montserratian(s)
adjective: Montserratian |
noun: Malian(s)
adjective: Malian |
Natural hazards | severe hurricanes (June to November); volcanic eruptions (Soufriere Hills volcano has erupted continuously since 1995) | hot, dust-laden harmattan haze common during dry seasons; recurring droughts; occasional Niger River flooding |
Natural resources | NEGL | gold, phosphates, kaolin, salt, limestone, uranium, gypsum, granite, hydropower
note: bauxite, iron ore, manganese, tin, and copper deposits are known but not exploited |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | -6.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | National Progressive Party or NPP [Reuben T. MEADE]; New People's Liberation Movement or NPLM [John A. OSBORNE] | 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] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Alliance for Democratic Change or ACD; Patriotic Movement of the Ghanda Koye or MPGK; United Movement and Fronts of Azawad or MFUA |
Population | 9,341
note: an estimated 8,000 refugees left the island following the resumption of volcanic activity in July 1995; some have returned (July 2005 est.) |
11,995,402 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | 64% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.04% (2005 est.) | 2.681% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Plymouth | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 28, shortwave 1 (the shortwave station in Bamako has seven frequencies and five transmitters and relays broadcasts for China Radio International) (2001) |
Railways | - | total: 729 km
narrow gauge: 729 km 1.000-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | Anglican, Methodist, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, Seventh-Day Adventist, other Christian denominations | Muslim 90%, Christian 1%, indigenous beliefs 9% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.07 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
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.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: modern and fully digitalized
domestic: NA international: country code - 1-664 |
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, 1 Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | NA | 82,500 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 70 (1994) | 1.513 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 1 (plus repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | volcanic island, mostly mountainous, with small coastal lowland | mostly flat to rolling northern plains covered by sand; savanna in south, rugged hills in northeast |
Total fertility rate | 1.78 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 7.38 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6% (1998 est.) | 14.6% (2001 est.) |
Waterways | - | 1,800 km (2007) |