Portal:Mali

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The Mali Portal

Mali (/ˈmɑːli/ (listen); French pronunciation: [mali]), officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali is the eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over 1,240,000 square kilometres (480,000 sq mi). The population of Mali is 21.9 million.0 67% of its population was estimated to be under the age of 25 in 2017. Its capital and largest city is Bamako. The sovereign state of Mali consists of eight regions and its borders on the north reach deep into the middle of the Sahara Desert. The country's southern part is in the Sudanian savanna, where the majority of inhabitants live, and both the Niger and Senegal rivers pass through. The country's economy centres on agriculture and mining. One of Mali's most prominent natural resources is gold, and the country is the third largest producer of gold on the African continent. It also exports salt.

Present-day Mali was once part of three extremely powerful and wealthy West African empires that controlled trans-Saharan trade: the Ghana Empire (for which Ghana is named), the Mali Empire (for which Mali is named), and the Songhai Empire. At its peak in 1300, the Mali Empire was the wealthiest country in Africa, covering an area about twice the size of modern-day France and stretched to the west coast of the continent. Mali was also one of the wealthiest countries on earth, and its emperor at its zenith, Mansa Musa, is believed to be possibly the wealthiest individual in history. Besides being an economic powerhouse, medieval Mali was a centre of Islam, culture and knowledge, with Timbuktu becoming a renowned place of learning with its university, one of the oldest in the world still active. The expanding Songhai Empire absorbed the empire in 1468, followed by a Moroccan army which defeated the Songhai in 1591. The Moroccan colonists established a new ruling class, the Arma, who after 1631 became virtually independent of Morocco. In the late 19th century, during the Scramble for Africa, France seized control of Mali, making it a part of French Sudan. French Sudan (then known as the Sudanese Republic) joined with Senegal in 1959, achieving independence in 1960 as the Mali Federation. Shortly thereafter, following Senegal's withdrawal from the federation, the Sudanese Republic declared itself the independent Republic of Mali. After a long period of one-party rule, a coup in 1991 led to the writing of a new constitution and the establishment of Mali as a democratic, multi-party state.

In January 2012, an armed conflict broke out in northern Mali, in which Tuareg rebels took control of a territory in the north, and in April declared the secession of a new state, Azawad. The conflict was complicated by a military coup that took place in March and later fighting between Tuareg and other rebel factions. In response to territorial gains, the French military launched Operation Serval in January 2013. A month later, Malian and French forces recaptured most of the north, although the conflict still continued. Presidential elections were held on 28 July 2013, with a second-round run-off held on 11 August, and legislative elections were held on 24 November and 15 December 2013.

In the early 2020s Mali experienced two military takeovers by Assimi Goïta. (Full article...)

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Musa I (Arabic: منسا موسى, romanized: Mansā Mūsā, N'Ko: ߞߊ߲߬ߞߎ߬ ߡߎߛߊ߫; r. c. 1312 – c. 1337) was the ninth mansa of the Mali Empire, which reached its territorial peak during his reign. Musa is known for his wealth and generosity. He has been subject to popular claims that he is the wealthiest person in history, but his actual wealth is not known with any certainty. His riches came from the mining of significant gold and salt deposits in the Mali Empire, along with the slave and ivory trade.

At the time of Musa's ascension to the throne, Mali in large part consisted of the territory of the former Ghana Empire, which Mali had conquered. The Mali Empire consisted of land that is now part of Guinea, Senegal, Mauritania, The Gambia, and the modern state of Mali. (Full article...)

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The following are images from various Mali-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1A proportional representation of Mali exports, 2019 (from Mali)
Image 2Landscape in Hombori (from Mali)
Image 3Malian tea (from Mali)
Image 4Village in the Sahel region (from Mali)
Image 5Members of the National Committee for the Salvation of the People, directory of the ruling junta in Mali (from Mali)
Image 6High school students in Kati (from Mali)
Image 7Griots of Sambala, king of Médina (Fula people, Mali), 1890 (from Mali)
Image 8Malian tea (from Malian cuisine)
Image 9Former President of Mali Amadou Toumani Touré and Minister-president of the Netherlands Mark Rutte (from Mali)
Image 10Satellite image of Mali (from Mali)
Image 11The extent of the Mali Empire's peak (from Mali)
Image 12A textile artisan at work in Djenne, Mali. (from Culture of Mali)
Image 13Kalabougou potters (from Mali)
Image 14An entrance to the Djinguereber mosque (from Mali)
Image 15Tuareg separatist rebels in Mali, January 2012 (from Mali)
Image 16Location of Mali (from Malian cuisine)
Image 17Malian children playing football in a Dogon village (from Mali)
Image 18Jollof rice with vegetables and a boiled egg (from Malian cuisine)
Image 19Mango packaging (from Malian cuisine)
Image 20Konoguel Mosque tower (from Mali)
Image 21Bògòlanfini fabric. (from Culture of Mali)
Image 22Mali Dogon Dance (from Mali)
Image 23A farmer with potatoes (from Malian cuisine)
Image 24Cotton being processed in Niono into 180 kg (400 lb) bales for export to other parts of Africa and to France, c. 1950 (from Mali)
Image 25GDP per capita development of Mali (from Mali)
Image 26Cotton processing at CMDT (from Mali)
Image 27Pashalik of Timbuktu (yellow-striped) as part of the Saadi dynasty of Morocco, c. 1591 (from History of Mali)
Image 28Malian musical duo Amadou et Mariam are known internationally for their music, combining Malian and international influences. (from Culture of Mali)
Image 29Mali map of Köppen climate classification (from Mali)
Image 30WWI Commemorative Monument to the "Armée Noire" (from Mali)
Image 31A Dogon hunter with an old flintlock rifle still in use. (from Culture of Mali)
Image 32Malian children playing football (from Culture of Mali)
Image 33The pages above are from Timbuktu Manuscripts written in Sudani script (a form of Arabic) from the Mali Empire showing established knowledge of astronomy and mathematics. Today there are close to a million of these manuscripts found in Timbuktu alone. (from Mali)
Image 34A market scene in Djenné (from Mali)
Image 35A crowd of women in Mali. (from Culture of Mali)
Image 36The Tuareg are historic, nomadic inhabitants of northern Mali. (from Mali)
Image 37Ex-Malian Transition President Dioncounda Traoré (from Mali)
Image 38A Bozo girl in Bamako (from Mali)

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Cities and towns

v t e Largest cities or towns in Mali According to the 2009 Census^[1]
	Rank	Name	Region	Pop.
Bamako Sikasso	1	Bamako	Bamako	1,810,366
	2	Sikasso	Sikasso	226,618
	3	Koutiala	Sikasso	141,444
	4	Ségou	Ségou	133,501
	5	Kayes	Kayes	126,319
	6	Mopti	Mopti	120,786
	7	Kalabancoro	Koulikoro	96,173
	8	Gao	Gao	86,353
	9	Kati	Koulikoro	84,500
	10	San	Ségou	66,967