Mali, officially Republic of Mali, Country, western Africa. Area: 479,242 sq mi (1,241,238 sq km). Population: (2024 est.) 23,948,000. Capital: Bamako. The Bambara constitute about one-third of the total population. Other ethnic groups include the Fulani and the Imazighen (Berbers). Languages: French (official), Dogon, Bambara, Songhai, Soninke, Senufo, Arabic. Religions: Islam; also traditional beliefs, Christianity. Currency: CFA franc. Mali’s terrain is largely flat, and in the north its plains stretch into the Sahara. The upper Niger River basin is in the south; about two-fifths of the total length of the Niger River flows through Mali. Only a tiny fraction of Mali’s total land area is considered arable. Mali’s most important exploited mineral is gold; other mineral reserves, which are largely unexploited, include iron ore, bauxite, and copper. Agriculture constitutes the major economic activity. Staple crops include millet, sorghum, corn, and rice; cash crops include cotton and peanuts. Mali is a multiparty republic with one legislative house; its head of state is the president, and the head of government is the prime minister. Inhabited since prehistoric times, the region was on a trans-Saharan caravan route. The Malinke empire of Mali was founded in the 13th century on the upper and middle Niger. In the 15th century the Songhai empire in the Timbuktu-Gao region gained control. Morocco invaded the area in 1591, and Timbuktu gradually declined in importance. In the mid- to late-19th century the French conquered the area, which became part of French West Africa. In 1946 the area, known as the French Sudan, became an overseas territory of the French Union. In 1958 it was proclaimed the Sudanese Republic, and it joined with Senegal (1959–60) to form the Mali Federation. Senegal seceded, and in 1960 the independent Republic of Mali was formed. The government was overthrown by military coups in 1968 and 1991. A civilian government was restored in 1992, and thereafter democratic multiparty elections were held every five years. Mali experienced continuing economic problems and had to deal with Tuareg insurgencies in the northern part of the country. Military dissatisfaction with the government’s response to the latter issue led to a coup in March 2012 and a brief period of military rule before a civilian government was restored the following month. During the period of military rule, however, Tuareg rebels gained control over the northern portion of the country and declared it to be the independent state of Azawad. Islamic militants, who had assisted the Tuareg rebels with the takeover, soon seized control over much of the northern territory and imposed a strict version of Sharīʿah law on the inhabitants. In 2013 the Islamic militants were routed from the country with international assistance, and a democratically elected president was installed later that year, although the issue of autonomy for the Tuaregs in the north was still unresolved.
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