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| Country Guide > Africa > Mali |
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General Information
Area 1,240,192 sq km (478,841 sq miles). Population 12,623,000 (official estimate 2002). Population Density 10.2 per sq km. Capital Bamako. Population: 1,016,167 (1998). Geography Mali is a landlocked republic, sharing borders with Mauritania, Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Niger and Senegal. It is a vast land of flat plains fed by two major rivers, the Senegal on its western edge and the great River Niger. On its journey north the Niger converges with the River Bani, and forms a rich inland delta, the marshlands of the Macina, stretching for some 450km (280 miles) along the river’s length, in some places 200km (124 miles) wide. The central part of the country is arid grazing land, called the Sahel, which has suffered great drought. At Timbuktu, the Niger reaches the desert and here it turns first to the east, then to the southeast at Bourem, where it heads for the ocean. In the desert, near the Algerian and Niger borders in the northeast, the Adrar des Iforas massif rises 800m (2625ft). The north of the country is true desert except for the few oases along the ancient trans-Saharan camel routes. Tuaregs still live around these oases and camel routes. Further south live the Peulh cattle-raising nomads. The majority of the population lives in the savannah region in the south. The peoples of this region comprise Songhai, Malinke, Senoufou, Dogon and the Bambara (the largest ethnic group). Government Republic. Gained independence from France in 1960. Head of State: President Amadou Toumani Tour since 2002. Head of Government: Prime Minister Ousmane Issoufi Maga since 2004. Language The official language is French. There are a number of local languages. Religion Muslim (80 per cent), with Animist (18 per cent) and Christian (under 2 per cent) minorities. Time GMT. Electricity 220 volts AC, 50Hz in Bamako. Larger towns in Mali have their own locally-generated supply. Communications Telephone Limited IDD service. Country code: 223. Outgoing international calls must be made via the international operator. These are expensive and collect calls cannot be made from Mali. Mobile telephone GSM 900 network exists. Operators are Ikatel (website: www.ikatel.net) and Malitel-SA (website: www.malitel.com). Internet Main ISPs include private companies Cefib (website: www.cefib.com), Datatech (website: www.datatech.toolnet.org) and Spider (website: www.spider.toolnet.org). There is an Internet cafe in Bamako. Post International post is limited to main towns and the central post office. Airmail to Europe takes approximately two weeks. For further details, contact the Embassy. Press There are no English-language newspapers. The other dailies, including Les Echos, L’Essor (website: www.essor.gov.ml), Info Matin and Le Rpublicain, are published in French. Radio BBC World Service (website: www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice) and Voice of America (website: www.voa.gov) can be received. From time to time the frequencies change and the most up-to-date can be found online. |
