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.
total: 15.9 years male: 15.4 years female: 16.3 years (2007 est.)
Population growth rate:
2.681% (2007 est.)
Birth rate:
49.61 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Death rate:
16.51 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Net migration rate:
-6.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
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.)
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.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 49.51 years male: 47.6 years female: 51.46 years (2007 est.)
Total fertility rate:
7.38 children born/woman (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
1.9% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
140,000 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
12,000 (2003 est.)
Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: very high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne disease: malaria is a high risk in some locations water contact disease: schistosomiasis respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis (2007)
Nationality:
noun: Malian(s) adjective: Malian
Ethnic groups:
Mande 50% (Bambara, Malinke, Soninke), Peul 17%, Voltaic 12%, Songhai 6%, Tuareg and Moor 10%, other 5%
Religions:
Muslim 90%, Christian 1%, indigenous beliefs 9%
Languages:
French (official), Bambara 80%, numerous African languages
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 46.4% male: 53.5% female: 39.6% (2003 est.)
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
Government type:
republic
Capital:
name: Bamako geographic coordinates: 12 39 N, 8 00 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
based on French civil law system and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
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 (eligible for a second term); election last held 12 May 2002 (next to be held April in 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%
Legislative branch:
unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (147 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 14 and 28 July 2002 (next to be held in July 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Hope 2002 coalition 66 (including RPM 42, CNID 10, MPR 3, and other 11), ADEMA 51, other 30
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court or Cour Supreme
Political parties and leaders:
Alliance for Democracy and Progress or ADP (a coalition of 14 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]; Hope 2002 (a coalition of CNID, MPR, RDT, and RPM); 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:
Alliance for Democratic Change or ACD; Patriotic Movement of the Ghanda Koye or MPGK; United Movement and Fronts of Azawad or MFUA
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
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Terrence P. MCCULLEY embassy: Rue Rochester NY and Rue Mohamed V, Bamako mailing address: B. P. 34, Bamako telephone: [223] 222-5470 FAX: [223] 222-3712
Flag description:
three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), yellow, and red; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia
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)
Radio broadcast stations:
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)