Mali: Quick Facts

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Last updated

Nov. 8, 2026

News •

Burkina Faso and Mali citizens arrest: Why Guinea arrest and repatriate thousands of foreign gold miners • Nov. 6, 2026, 8:54 AM ET (BBC)

Meteorite Found in Sahara is Piece of Mars at Least 4.1 Billion Years Old • Oct. 30, 2026, 3:00 AM ET (Sci.News)

NASA-funded Study Details One of Oldest Mars Meteorites Ever Found • Oct. 29, 2026, 2:42 PM ET (NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) (.gov))

Ukraine's alleged support for Mali rebels: A risky strategy to weaken Russia in Africa? • Oct. 26, 2026, 1:16 PM ET (Deutsche Welle)

Texas dad deported by ICE to Ghana was then forced to go to Mali, a country that's unsafe for him, he says • Oct. 25, 2026, 7:00 PM ET (CBS)

Facts

Also Known As	Republic of Mali • République du Mali
Head Of State And Government	President: Col. Assimi Goïta, assisted by Prime Minister: Maj. Gen. Abdoulaye Maïga¹
Capital	Bamako
Population	(2026 est.) 25,290,000
Form Of Government	transitional government with one legislative body (transitional council [147)^1,²
Official Language	See footnote 3.
Official Religion	none
Official Name	République du Mali (Republic of Mali)
Total Area (Sq Km)	1,241,238
Total Area (Sq Mi)	479,245
Monetary Unit	CFA franc (CFAF)
Population Rank	(2026) 57
Population Projection 2030	28,020,000
Density: Persons Per Sq Mi	(2026) 52.8
Density: Persons Per Sq Km	(2026) 20.4
Urban-Rural Population	Urban: (2020) 42.7% • Rural: (2020) 57.3%
Life Expectancy At Birth	Male: (2021) 61.1 years • Female: (2021) 62.3 years
Gni (U.S.$ ’000,000)	(2024) 25,178
Gni Per Capita (U.S.$)	(2024) 1,030
¹In August 2020 a military junta assumed control of the government. In September a transitional charter was created that provided for a transitional government to rule for no more than 18 months. In May 2021 the interim president was deposed by the military and was later succeeded by the leader of the original military junta, Col. Assimi Goïta. The transitional government has remained in place beyond the original term of 18 months and, in September 2023, elections to prepare for a return to civilian rule were postponed indefinitely. In July 2025 the transitional government granted Goïta a five-year term as president.²The 2023 constitution provides for a bicameral legislature, comprising the National Assembly and the Senate; in May 2026, the legislature had not yet been created.³Under Mali’s 2023 constitution, the country’s 13 national languages (Bambara, Bobo, Bozo, Dogon, Fula, Hasanya, Kassonke, Malinke, Mamara, Senufo, Songhai, Soninke, and Tamasheq) were deemed official languages. The status of the country’s previous official language, French, was changed to that of a working language.