Mali

See also the Empire of Mali and the town of Mali, Guinea.

The Republic of Mali (République du Mali) is a landlocked nation in West Africa. It is the second largest country among West African nations. It borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its straight borders on the north stretch into the centre of the Sahara desert, while the country's south, where the majority of inhabitants live, features the Niger and Senegal rivers. Formerly French Sudan, the country is named after the Empire of Mali.

History

Main article: History of Mali

The Mandé peoples settled the Sahel (including present-day Mali), and formed a succession of Sahelian kingdoms, including the Ghana Empire, the Mali Empire, and the Songhai Empire. Timbuktu was a key city in these empires as an outpost for trans-Saharan trade and a center for scholarship. The Songhai Empire declined under a Moroccan invasion in 1591.

Mali was invaded by France starting in 1880, which annexed it as an overseas department of France. The colony, which at times also included neighbouring countries, was known as French Sudan or the Sudanese Republic. In early 1959, the union of Mali and Senegal became the Mali Federation, which gained independence from France on June 20, 1960. Senegal withdrew from the Mali Federation after a few months. The Republic of Mali, under Modibo Keïta, withdrew from the French Community on September 22, 1960.

Mali was ruled by a series of dictators from independence until 1991. Anti-government protests in 1991 led to a coup, a transitional government, and a new constitution. In 1992, Alpha Oumar Konaré won Mali's first democratic, multi-party presidential election. Upon his reelection in 1997, President Konaré pushed through political and economic reforms and fought corruption. In 2002 he was succeeded in democratic elections by Amadou Toumani Touré, a retired General, who had been the leader of the military aspect of 1991 democratic uprising.

Politics

Main Article: Politics of Mali

Under Mali's 1992 constitution, a president is elected for a five year term as chief of state and commander in chief of the armed forces. This president appoints the prime minister and chairs the Council of Ministers, which adopts proposals for laws submitted to the National Assembly for approval. The constitution further defines Mali as being a multi-party democracy, and prohibits parties based on ethnic, religious, regional, or gender lines.

The National Assembly is the sole legislative arm of the government, and currently consists of 147 members. The term of office for members is five years. Eight political parties are currently represented in the Assembly, and are aggregated into four parliamentary groups. ADEMA currently holds the majority among these groups.

Mali is divided into eight administrative regions, which are themselves further divided into districts. These districts are composed of communes, which contain villages. Since decentralization plans began, a total of 702 local municipal councils have been formed. These are headed by elected mayors.

The Malian legal system is largely defined by the country's former colonial status under France. Moves have been made to change this system to closer conform to the actual culture of the country, but many laws of the French era remain in effect. The judiciary is defined by the constitution as being an independent body. Currently, judges are appointed by the Ministry of Justice. Mali has both a constitutional court, and a high court of justice. The latter is empowered to try government officials in cases of treason.

Administrative Divisions

Main Articles: Regions of Mali, Cercles of Mali

Mali is divided into 8 regions (régions) and 1 district. It is subdivided into 49 cercles and further subdivided into 288 arrondissements.

The regions include:

• Bamako (district)
• Gao
• Kayes
• Kidal
• Koulikoro
• Mopti
• Ségou
• Sikasso
• Tombouctou (Timbuktu)

Cercles: see Cercles of Mali

Geography

Main article: Geography of Mali

Mali is landlocked and has a subtropical to arid climate. It is mostly flat, rising to rolling northern plains covered by sand, with savanna around the Niger River in the south. The hills of the Air Massif and Djado Plateau lie in the northeast. Most of the country lies in the Sahara Desert, which produces a hot, dust-laden harmattan haze common during dry seasons and leads to recurring droughts. The nation has considerable natural resources, with gold, uranium, phosphates, kaolin, salt and limestone being most widely exploited.

See List of cities in Mali

Economy

Main article: Economy of Mali

Mali is among the poorest countries in the world, with 65% of its land area desert or semidesert. Economic activity is largely confined to the riverine area irrigated by the Niger River. About 10% of the population is nomadic and some 80% of the labor force is engaged in farming and fishing. Industrial activity is concentrated on processing farm commodities. Mali is heavily dependent on foreign aid and vulnerable to fluctuations in world prices for cotton, its main export. In 1997, the government continued its successful implementation of an IMF-recommended structural adjustment program that is helping the economy grow, diversify, and attract foreign investment. Mali's adherence to economic reform, and the 50% devaluation of the African franc in January 1994, has pushed up economic growth. Several multinational corporations increased gold mining operations in 1996-1998, and the government anticipates that Mali will become a major Sub-Saharan gold exporter in the next few years.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Mali

Mali's population consists of diverse Sub-Saharan ethnic groups, sharing similar historic, cultural, and religious traditions. Exceptions are the Tuaregs and Maurs, desert nomads, related to the North African Berbers. The Tuaregs traditionally have opposed the central government. Starting in June 1990,in the North by Tuaregs seeking greater autonomy led to clashes with the military. In April 1992, the government and most opposing factions signed a pact to end the fighting and restore stability in the north. Its major aims are to allow greater autonomy to the north and increase government resource allocation to what has been a traditionally impoverished region. The peace agreement was celebrated in 1996 in Timbuktu during an official and highly publicized ceremony called "Flamme de la Paix"--(peace flame).

Culture

Main article: Culture of Mali

Approximately 90% of the Malians follow Sunni Islam, but not always to the exclusion of traditional religious beliefs and practices. The Muslims have their own educational systems, leading in some cases to the equivalent of baccalaureate and doctoral studies. An increasingly large number of Muslims make the pilgrimage to Mecca and study in Arab countries. Christians comprise about 5% of the population. Under French colonial rule the introduction of missionaries into predominantly Islamic areas was discouraged.

Literacy in French, the official language, is low and is concentrated in the urban areas. The government has expanded literacy considerably since 1960 by stressing education at the primary and lower secondary levels. A national university was established in Bamako in the 1990s.

• Architecture of Mali- Great Mosque of Djenné
• list of Architects from Mali
• List of writers from Mali
• Languages of Mali
• Music of Mali

Miscellaneous topics

• Communications in Mali
• Foreign relations of Mali
• Military of Mali
• Reporters Without Borders Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2002: Rank 43 out of 139 countries (2 way tie)
• Transportation in Mali

External links

Dictionary definitions from Wiktionary

Textbooks from Wikibooks

 Quotations from Wikiquote

 Source texts from Wikisource

 Images and media from Commons

 News stories from Wikinews

Government

• The Embassy of Mali in Washington DC government information and links

News

• allAfrica.com - Mali news headline links

Overviews

• BBC News Country Profile - Mali
• CIA World Factbook - Mali
• United Nations Human Rights - Mali dating from 1997
• Mali Folkecenter - Mali from an organisation aiming to promote the sustainable management of natural resources

Directories

• Open Directory Project - Mali directory category
• Stanford University - Africa South of the Sahara: Mali directory category
• The Index on Africa - Mali directory category
• University of Pennsylvania - African Studies Center: Mali directory category
• Yahoo! - Mali directory category

Music

• Cora Connection West African music

Tourism

• Travel guide to Mali from Wikitravel
• official tourism site

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