ADVERTISING SPACE






Embassies

Embassy of the Republic of Mali in Beijing
Ambassador: H.E. Mr. N'Tji Laico Traore
Address: No. 8, Dong Si Street, San Li Tun, Chaoyang District, Beijing
Postal Code: 100600
Tel: (+86)10 6532 1704 or 6532 5530
Fax: (+86)10 6532 1618 or 6532 0875


Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Republic of Mali
Ambassador: Mr. Zhang Guoqing
Counselor: Mr. Huo Tianyun
Address: No. 2259 Route de Koulikoro, Quartier Hippodrome, Bamako, Mali
Post Box: B.P. 112, Bamako, Mali
Tel: +223-2213597
Fax: +223-2213443
Email: chinaemb_ml@mfa.gov.cn
Website: http://ml.china-embassy.org/fra/ (French Version)



Geography

Mali is a landlocked nation in West Africa, located southwest of Algeria. At 1,240,000 square kilometres (479,000 sq mi), Mali is the world's 24th-largest country and is comparable in size to South Africa or Peru. Most of the country lies in the southern Sahara, which produces a hot, dust-laden harmattan haze common during dry seasons.The country extends southwest through the subtropical Sahel to the Sudanian savanna zone.[10] Mali is mostly flat, rising to rolling northern plains covered by sand. The Adrar des Ifoghas lies in the northeast.
The country's climate ranges from subtropical in the south to arid in the north.Most of the country receives negligible rainfall; droughts are frequent. Late June to early December is the rainy season. During this time, flooding of the Niger River is common.] The nation has considerable natural resources, with gold, uranium, phosphates, kaolinite, salt and limestone being most widely exploited.




Government

Mali is a constitutional democracy governed by the constitution of January 12, 1992, which was amended in 1999.[The constitution provides for a separation of powers among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. The system of government can be described as "semi-presidential.
Executive power is vested in a president, who is elected to a five-year term by universal suffrage and is limited to two terms.The president serves as chief of state and commander in chief of the armed forces. A prime minister appointed by the president serves as head of government and in turn appoints the Council of Ministers. The unicameral National Assembly is Mali’s sole legislative body, consisting of deputies elected to five-year terms.
Following the 2007 elections, the Alliance for Democracy and Progress held 113 of 160 seats in the assembly.
The assembly holds two regular sessions each year, during which it debates and votes on legislation that has been submitted by a member or by the government.




Population

In July 2007, Mali's population was an estimated 12 million, with an annual growth rate of 2.7%. The population is predominantly rural (68% in 2002), and 5–10% of Malians are nomadic. More than 90% of the population lives in the southern part of the country, especially in Bamako, which has over 1 million residents.
In 2007, about 48% of Malians were less than fifteen years . The median age was 15.9 years. The birth rate in 2007 was 49.6 births per 1,000, and the total fertility rate was 7.4 children per woman.[ The death rate in 2007 was 16.5 deaths per 1,000. Life expectancy at birth was 49.5 years total (47.6 for males and 51.5 for females). Mali has one of the world's highest rates of infant mortality,[with 106 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2007.
Mali’s population encompasses a number of sub-Saharan ethnic groups, most of which have historical, cultural, linguistic, and religious commonalities.The Bambara are by far the largest single ethnic group, making up 36.5% of the population. Collectively, the Bambara, Soninké, Khassonké, and Malinké, all part of the broader Mandé group, constitute 50% of Mali's population. Other significant groups are the Peul (17%), Voltaic (12%), Songhai (6%), and Tuareg and Moor (10%).
Mali’s official language is French, but numerous (40 or more) African languages also are widely used by the various ethnic groups.About 80% of Mali’s population can communicate in Bambara, which is the country’s principal lingua franca and marketplace language.
An estimated 90% of Malians are Muslim (mostly Sunni), approximately 5% are Christian (about two-thirds Roman Catholic and one-third Protestant) and the remaining 5% adhere to indigenous or traditional animist beliefs.[ Atheism and agnosticism are believed to be rare among Malians, most of whom practice their religion on a daily basis.Islam as practiced in Mali is moderate, tolerant, and adapted to local conditions; relations between Muslims and practitioners of minority religious faiths are generally amicable.The constitution establishes a secular state and provides for freedom of religion, and the government largely respects this right
Population: 12,666,987 (July 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 71
Age structure: 0-14 years: 48.3% (male 3,089,406/female 3,023,341)
15-64 years: 48.7% (male 3,065,167/female 3,101,914)
65 years and over: 3.1% (male 151,718/female 235,441) (2009 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.765% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 19
Birth rate: 49.15 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 2
Death rate: 16.16 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 17
Urbanization 32% of total population (2008)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 50.35 years
country comparison to the world: 207
male: 48.38 years
female: 52.38 years (2009 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 1.5% (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 42
HIV/AIDS - people living
with HIV/AIDS:		 100,000 (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 46
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 5,800 (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 42
Religions: Muslim 90%, Christian 1%, indigenous beliefs 9%
Education expenditures: 4.5% of GDP (2006)
country comparison to the world: 87




Economy

Mali is among the 25 poorest countries in the world, with 65% of its land area desert or semidesert and with a highly unequal distribution of income. Economic activity is largely confined to the riverine area irrigated by the Niger. About 10% of the population is nomadic and some 80% of the labor force is engaged in farming and fishing. Industrial activity is concentrated on processing farm commodities. Mali is heavily dependent on foreign aid and vulnerable to fluctuations in world prices for gold and cotton, its main exports. The government has continued its successful implementation of an IMF-recommended structural adjustment program that is helping the economy grow, diversify, and attract foreign investment. Mali has invested in tourism and a tractor assembly factory. Mali's adherence to economic reform and the 50% devaluation of the CFA franc in January 1994 have pushed up economic growth to a 5% average in 1996-2008. Worker remittances and external trade routes for the landlocked country have been jeopardized by continued unrest in neighboring Cote d'Ivoire, however, Mali is building a road network that will connect it to all adjacent countries and it has a railway line to Senegal.
GDP (purchasing power parity): $14.48 billion (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 135
$13.89 billion (2007)
$13.52 billion (2006)
GDP (official exchange rate): $8.776 billion (2008 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 4.2% (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 106
2.8% (2007 est.)
5.3% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP): $1,200 (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 207
$1,200 (2007 est.)
$1,200 (2006 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 45%
industry: 17%
services: 38% (2001 est.)
Labor force: 5.4 million (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 67
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 80%
industry and services: 20% (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate: 30% (2004 est.)
country comparison to the world: 181
Household income
or consumption by % share		 lowest 10%: 2.4%
highest 10%: 30.2% (2001)
Population below poverty rate 36.1% (2005 est.)
Budget: revenues: $1.5 billion
expenditures: $1.8 billion (2006 est.)
Public debt:
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.5% (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 30
Agriculture - products: cotton, millet, rice, corn, vegetables, peanuts; cattle, sheep, goats
Industries: food processing; construction; phosphate and gold mining
Electricity - production: 505 million kWh (2006 est.)
country comparison to the world: 158
Electricity - consumption: 469.7 million kWh (2006 est.)
country comparison to the world: 160
Telephones - main lines in use: 85,000 (2007)
country comparison to the world: 147
Telephones - mobile cellular: 2.483 million (2007)
country comparison to the world: 104
Telephone system general assessment: domestic system unreliable but improving; provides only minimal service
Internet hosts: 387 (2008)
country comparison to the world: 166
Internet users: 100,000 (2007)
country comparison to the world: 146



- Imagine Media, 2009 -