Mali
Geography - People - Economy - Government - Communications - Transportation - Military - Transnational IssuesCountry name - conventional long form : Republic of Mali
Country name - conventional short form : Mali
Country name - local long form : Republique de Mali
Country name - local short form : Mali
Country name - former : French Sudan and Sudanese Republic
Government type : republic
Capital - name : Bamako
Capital - time difference : UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
National holiday : Independence Day, 22 September (1960)
Population : 12,324,029 (July 2008 est.)
Nationality - noun : Malian(s)
Nationality - adjective : Malian
Languages : French (official), Bambara 80%, numerous African languages
Currency (code) : Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States
Currency code : XOF
Major infectious diseases - degree of risk : very high
Mali is located Western Africa, southwest of Algeria. The climate is subtropical to arid; hot and dry (February to June); rainy, humid, and mild (June to November); cool and dry (November to February). The terrain is mostly flat to rolling northern plains covered by sand; savanna in south, rugged hills in northeast.
Background
This entry usually highlights major historic events and current issues and may include a statement about one or two key future trends.Background : The Sudanese Republic and Senegal became independent of France in 1960 as the Mali Federation. When Senegal withdrew after only a few months, what formerly made up the Sudanese Republic was renamed Mali. Rule by dictatorship was brought to a close in 1991 by a military coup - led by the current president Amadou TOURE - enabling Mali's emergence as one of the strongest democracies on the continent. President Alpha KONARE won Mali's first democratic presidential election in 1992 and was reelected in 1997. In keeping with Mali's two-term constitutional limit, KONARE stepped down in 2002 and was succeeded by Amadou TOURE, who was subsequently elected to a second term in 2007. The elections were widely judged to be free and fair.
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