Portal:Mali

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The Mali Portal

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Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over 1,240,192 square kilometres (478,841 sq mi). The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east by Niger, to the northwest by Mauritania, to the south by Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast, and to the west by Guinea and Senegal. The population of Mali is 24,478,595,0 47.19% of which are estimated to be under the age of 15 in 2024. Its capital and largest city is Bamako. The country has 13 official languages, of which Bambara is the most commonly spoken.

The sovereign state's northern borders reach deep into the middle of the Sahara Desert. The country's southern part, where the majority of inhabitants live, is in the Sudanian savanna and has the Niger and Senegal rivers running through it. The country's economy centres on agriculture and mining with its most prominent natural resources including gold (of which it is the third largest producer in Africa) and salt.

Mali was part of three successive 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 with its 14th-century emperor Mansa Musa believed to be one of the wealthiest individuals in history. Besides being a hub of trade and mining, 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 and still active. The expanding Songhai Empire absorbed the empire in 1468, followed by a Saadian army which defeated the Songhai in 1591. In the late 19th century, during the Scramble for Africa, France seized control of Mali, making it a part of French Sudan; as the Sudanese Republic, a brief federation with Senegal was formed, achieving independence in 1960. After Senegal's withdrawal, the Republic of Mali was established. After a long period of one-party rule, a coup in 1991 led to 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 in March 2012 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 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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Sahelian Jews historically known as Jews of the Bilad al-Sudan (Judeo-Arabic: אַהַל יַהוּדּ בִּלַדּ אַל סוּדָּן, romanized: ʾahal yahūd bilad al-sūdān) describes West African Jewish communities connected to known Jewish communities who migrated to West Africa as merchants for trading opportunities. Various historical records state that at one time, they were present in the Ghana Empire, the Mali Empire, the Mossi Kingdoms and the Songhai Empire, which was then called the Bilad al-Sudan "Land of the Blacks".

In later years, Jews who were expelled from Spain and from Portugal, as well as Moroccan Jews, migrated to communities off the coast of Senegal and on the islands of Cape Verde. These Jewish communities continued to exist for hundreds of years but eventually disappeared as a result of changing social conditions, persecution, migration, and assimilation. Today only a few thousand retained the identity. (Full article...)

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

Image 1The Tuareg are nomadic inhabitants of northern Mali. (from Mali)
Image 2Bògòlanfini fabric. (from Culture of Mali)
Image 3Members of the National Committee for the Salvation of the People, September 2020 (from Mali)
Image 4The 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 5Flag of Mali (from Malian cuisine)
Image 6Griots of Sambala, king of Médina (Fula people, Mali), 1890. Photo by Joannès Barbier. (from Mali)
Image 7A Dogon hunter with an old flintlock rifle still in use. (from Culture of Mali)
Image 8Cotton 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 9Cotton processing at CMDT (from Mali)
Image 10A proportional representation of Mali exports, 2019 (from Mali)
Image 11WWI Commemorative Monument to the "Armée Noire" (from Mali)
Image 12GDP per capita development of Mali (from Mali)
Image 13Location of Mali (from Malian cuisine)
Image 14A market scene in Djenné (from Mali)
Image 15Malian tea (from Mali)
Image 16Malian children playing football (from Culture of Mali)
Image 17Mango packaging (from Malian cuisine)
Image 18An entrance to the Djinguereber mosque (from Mali)
Image 19Coat of arms of Mali (from Malian cuisine)
Image 20Kalabougou potters (from Mali)
Image 21Map of the Pashalik of Timbuktu (yellow-striped) as part of the Saadi dynasty of Morocco (outlined black) within the Songhai Empire (outlined red), c. 1591 (from Mali)
Image 22Grondnut Stew (from Malian cuisine)
Image 23Tuareg separatist rebels in Mali, January 2012 (from Mali)
Image 24Konoguel Mosque tower (from Mali)
Image 25Map showing the fullest extent of rebel-held territory in January 2013 (from Mali)
Image 26Military situation in Mali. For a detailed map, see here. (from Mali)
Image 27High school students in Kati (from Mali)
Image 28Regions of Mali since 2023 (from Mali)
Image 29Modibo Sidibe voting in Bamako, 2018 Malian presidential election (from Mali)
Image 30A textile artisan at work in Djenne, Mali. (from Culture of Mali)
Image 31Malian children playing football in a Dogon village (from Mali)
Image 32A farmer with potatoes (from Malian cuisine)
Image 33Jollof rice with vegetables and a boiled egg (from Malian cuisine)
Image 34A Bozo girl in Bamako (from Mali)
Image 35Village in the Sahel region (from Mali)
Image 36Another image depicting Groundnut Stew (from Malian cuisine)
Image 37Malian musical duo Amadou et Mariam are known internationally for their music, combining Malian and international influences. (from Culture of Mali)
Image 38Former President of Mali Amadou Toumani Touré and Minister-president of the Netherlands Mark Rutte (from Mali)
Image 39Satellite image of Mali (from Mali)
Image 40Mali Dogon Dance (from Mali)
Image 41Mali map of Köppen climate classification (from Mali)
Image 42A crowd of women in Mali. (from Culture of Mali)
Image 43The extent of the Mali Empire's peak (from Mali)
Image 44Representatives of Mali and Russia at the 2nd International Parliamentary Conference “Russia-Africa” in Moscow, 19 March 2023 (from Mali)
Image 45Pashalik of Timbuktu (yellow-striped) as part of the Saadi dynasty of Morocco, c. 1591 (from History of Mali)
Image 46Landscape in Hombori (from Mali)
Image 47Malian tea (from Malian cuisine)
Image 48Assimi Goita, interim president of Mali since 2021 Malian coup d'état (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