Islamic countries

Islamic countries

REPUBLIC OF MALI
RÉPUBLIQUE DU MALI

General Information

Total Land Area:	1,220,190 km²
Land boundaries:	7,243 km
Coastline:	0 km (Landlocked)
Capital:	Bamako
Other Large Cities:	Segou, Mopti, Sikass
Official Language:	French
National Currency Unit:	Communauté Financierè Africaine Franc (XOF)
National Day:	September 22

Location and Geography

Mali is located in the interior of West Africa and the North of the Equator reaching to the Tropic of Cancer. It is landlocked, sharing borders with Mauritania, Senegal, Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Niger and Algeria. There are two large river systems: the Senegal and the Niger. The river Senegal crosses into Mali from Guinea in the South and follows a North-west course into Senegal. The other flows across the heart of Mali and serves as the most important waterway of transportation. The country has a small area of arable land, forests and woodlands. Mali stretches across three different climatic regions: the tropical Sudanese savanna in the South; the semi-arid steppe lands of Sahel in the middle and finally, dry, sandy plains dotted with sparse trees in the North.

Demography

Population:	12.00 million (2002)
Crude Birth Rate:	48 per thousand people (2002)
Crude Death Rate:	22 per thousand people (2002)
Infant Mortality Rate:	122 per thousand (2002)
Life Expectancy:	Male: 40 years, Female: 42 years (2002)
Urban Population:	32.0 percent (2002)
Adult Literacy:	26.40 percent (2001)

Economy

Mali is basically an agricultural economy with most of its labour force engaged in farming, husbandry or fishing. The most important food crops are millet, sorghum, rice, field corn, and peanuts. Sugar cane, tobacco and tea are grown for domestic demand. Mali is the second largest cotton producer in Africa. Livestock is raised for both domestic and export markets. Fish from the Niger, Bani and Senegal Rivers provide another source of income. The industrial sector is small and limited to food processing. Local enterprises vary from the large cotton ginning monopoly to sidewalk merchants. Main natural resources are gold, phosphates, kaolin, salt, limestone, uranium, bauxite, iron ore and manganese.

GDP at Current Market Prices:	3385 million US$ (2002)
Per Capita GDP:	282 US$ (2002)
Share of Sectors in GDP:	34.0% Agriculture, 30.0% Industry, 36.0% Services, (2002)
Total Exports:	166 million US$ (2002)
Total Imports:	1419 million US$ (2002)
Major Exports Items:	Cotton, groundnuts, cereals and livestock
Major Imports Items:	Machinery and equipment, construction materials, petroleum and textiles
Major Trading Partners:	South Africa, Côte d'Ivore, Thailand, France and Italy