West Africa

Mali

Mali is a western African country of roughly 25.4M people, covering 1,240,192 km² with its capital at Bamako. Its economy is worth about $20B in nominal terms, anchored by gold, cotton, livestock.

Population: 25.4M; Projected population, 2026
Source: UN World Population Prospects
Capital: Bamako
GDP: $20B
Area: 1,240,192 km²
Currency: West African CFA franc

Map

Interactive map of Mali — West Africa

Overview

Mali is a western African country of roughly 25.4M people, covering 1,240,192 km² with its capital at Bamako. Its economy is worth about $20B in nominal terms, anchored by gold, cotton, livestock.

Government

Mali operates as a transitional government. Independence: 1960. Executive, legislative and judicial functions are exercised from Bamako.

Economy

Nominal GDP is approximately $20B, or around $787 per capita. The currency in circulation is the West African CFA franc. Leading sectors are gold, cotton, livestock.

Population

Mali has a projected population, 2026 of 25,403,187 people (United Nations Population Division, World Population Prospects 2024 Revision, Online Edition — medium variant), a density of roughly 20 people per km². Values from 2024 onwards are medium-variant projections rather than live counts.

Cities

The largest urban centres are Bamako, Sikasso, Mopti. Bamako serves as the seat of government.

History

Modern Mali took shape through pre-colonial states, the colonial partition of the late nineteenth century, and independence in 1960. Our History section covers each period in depth.

Languages

Widely used languages include French, Bambara. Official-language policy shapes schooling, courts and broadcasting.

Culture

Music, cuisine, film, textiles and sport in Mali form part of a fast-growing creative economy with an expanding export footprint.

Education

Primary enrolment is near-universal in most of the region; the constraints sit at secondary completion, technical training and higher-education funding.

Healthcare

Health spending across Africa averages about 5.7% of GDP. Mali's system combines public facilities, private providers and donor-funded programmes.

Business

Company registration, tax administration and access to finance are the practical determinants of doing business in Mali. See our Business section for sector reporting.

Investment

Investors typically look at gold, infrastructure and consumer services. Regulatory clarity and FX access are the recurring diligence questions.

Tourism

Visitors come for landscape, heritage and city life. Entry requirements, seasonality and internal transport are covered in our Travel guides.

Transportation

Road remains dominant; rail, ports and aviation capacity vary sharply and are the focus of most current infrastructure investment.

Infrastructure

Electricity access, broadband coverage and logistics quality are the three infrastructure metrics most closely tied to Mali's growth outlook.

Statistics

Full time series for population, GDP, trade, inflation, internet usage, education, health, tourism, agriculture and climate are published in The360Africa Data Center.