The Mali Portal

Mali, officially theRepublic of Mali, is alandlocked country inWest Africa. It is theeighth-largest country in Africa andthe 23rd largest country in the world, with an area of over 1,240,192 square kilometres (478,841 sq mi). The country is bordered to the north byAlgeria, to the east byNiger, to the northwest byMauritania, to the south byBurkina Faso andIvory Coast, and to the west byGuinea andSenegal. The population of Mali is about 23.29 million,0 47.19% of which are estimated to be under the age of 15 in 2024. Itscapital and largest city isBamako. The country has 13 official languages, of whichBambara is the most commonly spoken.

Thesovereign state's northern borders reach deep into the middle of theSahara Desert. The country's southern part, where the majority of inhabitants live, is in theSudanian savanna and has theNiger andSenegal rivers running through it. The country's economy centres on agriculture and mining with its most prominent natural resources includinggold (of which it is the third largest producer in Africa) andsalt.

Mali was part of three successive powerful and wealthy WestAfrican empires that controlledtrans-Saharan trade: theGhana Empire (for whichGhana is named), theMali Empire (for which Mali is named), and theSonghai Empire. At its peak in 1300, the Mali Empire was the wealthiest country in Africa with its 14th-century emperorMansa Musa believed to be one of the wealthiest individuals in history. Besides being a hub of trade and mining, medieval Mali was a centre ofIslam, culture and knowledge, withTimbuktu becoming a renowned place of education with itsuniversity, one of the oldest in the world and still active. The expandingSonghai Empire absorbed the empire in 1468, followed by aSaadian armywhich defeated the Songhai in 1591.

In the late 19th century, during theScramble for Africa, France seized control of Mali, making it a part ofFrench Sudan; as the Sudanese Republic,a brief federation with Senegal was formed, achieving independence in 1960. After Senegal's withdrawal, the Republic of Mali was established. After a long period of one-party rule, a coup in 1991 led to a new constitution and the establishment of Mali as a democratic, multi-party state.

In January 2012, anarmed conflict broke out in northern Mali, in whichTuareg rebels took control of a territory in the north, and in April declared thesecession of a new state,Azawad. The conflict was complicated bya military coup in March 2012 and later fighting between Tuareg and other rebel factions. In response to territorial gains, the French military launchedOperation Serval in January 2013. A month later, Malian and French forces recaptured most of the north, although the conflict continued.Presidential elections were held on 28 July 2013, with a second-round run-off held on 11 August, andlegislative elections were held on 24 November and 15 December 2013. In 2020 and 2021, twocoups led by ColonelAssimi Goïta overthrew the Mali government. Amilitary junta led by Goïta has since ruled Mali. In May 2025, the junta dissolved all political parties. In July 2025, the transitional parliament granted Goïta a five-year presidential term, renewable without elections. In September 2025 the al-Qaeda affiliateJNIM imposed a blockade on fuel imports to major cities in the south, including the capital Bamako, causing economic disruption. (Full article...)

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TheManding Mountains are ahighland area inMali, stretching between its western border with Guinea to an area 50km west ofBamako, Mali's capital. They reach 457 metres (1,499 ft) above sea level.Kangaba, the spiritual home of theMandinka people, is located at the foot of the mountains.

The range is composed ofsandstone, sculpted into dramaticbuttes and cliffs by erosion. Some of these formations have been named by locals, such as the Butte of the Stubborn Woman, said to be a woman who refused to search any more for her lost husband and was punished by being turned to stone. (Full article...)

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