Mali

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Currency	CFA franc

Mali is a country in the west of Africa. It does not have any sea, but it is the seventh largest country in Africa by amount of land. It is between Algeria, Niger, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Senegal and Mauritania. The north of Mali is in the Sahara Desert. The Niger River and Sénégal River are in the south of Mali. Most people in Mali also live in the south. The old name for Mali was French Sudan. The name Mali is from the word for hippopotamus in the Bambara language. The capital of Mali is Bamako. This means "crocodile swamp" in the Bambara language.

History

The Mandé people went to Sahel. This was a big area and it includes Mali. They made kingdoms. These kingdoms included the Ghana Empire, the Mali Empire, and the Songhai Empire. Timbuktu was an important city in these empires because a lot of trade across the Sahara Desert went there. Timbuktu was also a good place for learning. The Songhai Empire became smaller after a Moroccan attack in 1591.

France invaded Mali in 1880. After that, France owned Mali. The colony's names were French Sudan and the Sudanese Republic. At some times it also included other nearby countries. In early 1959, Mali and Senegal united and they became the Mali Federation. This became independent from France on June 20, 1960. Senegal left the Mali Federation a few months later. The Republic of Mali, with Modibo Keïta as the first president, left the French Community on September 22, 1960.

There was a coup in Mali in 1968. Modibo Keïta lost his job and was put in prison. Mali was then ruled by Moussa Traoré until 1991. There was another coup in 1991 after protests against the government, and a new constitution was made. The leader of the country was then Amadou Toumani Touré. In 1992, Alpha Oumar Konaré won Mali's first democratic election. President Konaré won again in 1997 and he made big political and economic changes. In 2002, Amadou Toumani Touré won the election and he started his second term as head of state. He was a retired general and he had been the military leader of the 1991 coup. Today, Mali is one of the most politically and socially stable countries in Africa.

Regions and cercles

Mali is divided into 8 regions and 1 district, and these are divided into 49 cercles, containing 288 "arrondissements".

The regions and district are:

Geography

Mali has 1,240,000 km² (478,734 mi²) of land, so it is the world's 24th-largest country. It has a similar size to South Africa, and it is nearly double the size of Texas.

Mali does not have a sea coast. It has quite dry weather. It does not have many hills. There are flat areas in the north, which are covered by sand, and there is savanna around the Niger River in the south. There is a mountain in the northeast of Mali. Its name is Adrar des Ifoghas. Most of Mali is in the Sahara Desert, so there is a hot, dusty haze in dry seasons. This causes many droughts. There are many natural resources in Mali. Gold, uranium, phosphates, kaolinite, salt and limestone are dug up and sold most.

Economy

Mali is one of the poorest countries in the world. 65% of its land area is desert or something similar. There were several long droughts there over the last hundred years. Therefore, most economic activity is near the Niger River. About 10% of the people are nomads and 80% of workers have jobs in farming and fishing. Industry is mainly to process farm products. Women also do pottery and the pots are bought and taken to markets. Many foreign tourists like the traditional methods which the women use to make the pots. Mali's main export is cotton, so if the price of cotton changes, Mali's economy is affected a lot. Mali also receives a lot of financial help from other countries. In 1997, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recommended a programme for changing the economy and the government followed this. Several international companies started digging for larger amounts of gold in 1996-1998, and the government thinks that Mali will become an important gold exporter soon.

Demographics

Malinese people are from the racial groups below.

Mandé (Bambara, Malinke, Soninke): 50%
Peul (Fula/Fulani): 17%
Voltaic: 12%
Songhai: 6%
Tuareg and Moor: 10%
Others: 5%

The religions below are followed in Mali.

Islam: 90%
Traditional Mali Beliefs: 9%
Christianity: 1%

Culture

About 90% of people from Mali follow Sunni Islam, but they do not always forget their traditional religions. Muslims have their own schooling system. The number of Muslims from Mali who travel to Mecca is increasing and some study in Arab countries. About 1% of the people are Christians. When Mali was under French control, Christian missionaries were sent to Islamic areas.

The language of Mali under French rule was French, but now not many people outside towns can read or write this language. However, about 60% of the people use other languages well. Many people can read and write in Bamanakan (the most popular spoken language). This language has its own alphabet, called N'Ko. Other people can read and write in Arabic, after going to an Islamic school. One of the oldest universities in the world is Sankore University in Timbuktu. It began in the 1400s.

Famous musicians from Mali include kora player Toumani Diabaté, and the guitarist Ali Farka Touré (who has died).