Map of Mali | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 | More stats

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Background: Present-day Mali is named after the Mali Empire that ruled the region between the 13th and 16th centuries. At its peak in the 14th century, it was the largest and wealthiest empire in West Africa and controlled an area about twice the size of modern-day France. Primarily a trading empire, Mali derived its wealth from gold and maintained several goldfields and trade routes in the Sahel. The empire also influenced West African culture through the spread of its language, laws, and customs, but by the 16th century it fragmented into mostly small chiefdoms.  The Songhai Empire, previously a Mali dependency centered in Timbuktu, gained prominence in the 15th and 16th centuries. Under Songhai rule, Timbuktu became a large commercial center and well-known for its scholarship and religious teaching. Timbuktu remains a center of culture in West Africa today. In the late 16th century, the Songhai Empire fell to Moroccan invaders and disintegrated into independent sultanates and kingdoms.


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Location: interior Western Africa, southwest of Algeria, north of Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire, and Burkina Faso, west of Niger

Geographic coordinates: 17 00 N, 4 00 W

Map reference: Africa

Area
Total: 1,240,192 km²
Land: 1,220,190 km²
Water: 20,002 km²
Comparative: slightly less than twice the size of Texas

Land boundaries
Total: 7,908 km
Border countries: (7) Algeria 1,359 km; Burkina Faso 1,325 km; Cote d'Ivoire 599 km; Guinea 1,062 km; Mauritania 2,236 km; Niger 838 km; , Senegal 489 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

Climate: subtropical to arid; hot and dry (February to June); rainy, humid, and mild (June to November); cool and dry (November to February)

Terrain: mostly flat to rolling northern plains covered by sand; savanna in south, rugged hills in northeast

Elevation
Highest point: Hombori Tondo 1,155 m
Lowest point: Senegal River 23 m
Mean elevation: 343 m

Natural resources: gold, phosphates, kaolin, salt, limestone, uranium, gypsum, granite, hydropower, note, bauxite, iron ore, manganese, tin, and copper deposits are known but not exploited

Land use
Agricultural land: 34.1% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land arable land: 5.6% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent crops: 0.1% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent pasture: 28.4% (2018 est.)
Forest: 10.2% (2018 est.)
Other: 55.7% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land: 3,780 km² (2012)

Major rivers
By length in km:

Major watersheds area km²: Atlantic Ocean drainage: Niger (2,261,741 km²), Senegal (456,397 km²), Volta (410,991 km²)

Total water withdrawal
Municipal: 110 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
Industrial: 4 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
Agricultural: 5.08 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources: 120 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Natural hazards: hot, dust-laden harmattan haze common during dry seasons; recurring droughts; occasional Niger River flooding

Geography
Note: landlocked; divided into three natural zones: the southern, cultivated Sudanese; the central, semiarid Sahelian; and the northern, arid Saharan


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Population
Distribution: the overwhelming majority of the population lives in the southern half of the country, with greater density along the border with Burkina Faso as shown in this: 21,359,722 (2023 est.)
Growth rate: 2.93% (2023 est.)
Below poverty line: 42.1% (2019 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Malian(s)
Adjective: Malian

Ethnic groups: Bambara 33.3%, Fulani (Peuhl) 13.3%, Sarakole/Soninke/Marka 9.8%, Senufo/Manianka 9.6%, Malinke 8.8%, Dogon 8.7%, Sonrai 5.9%, Bobo 2.1%, Tuareg/Bella 1.7%, other Malian 6%, from members of Economic Community of West Africa 0.4%, other 0.3% (2018 est.)

Languages: Bambara (official), French 17.2%, Peuhl/Foulfoulbe/Fulani 9.4%, Dogon 7.2%, Maraka/Soninke 6.4%, Malinke 5.6%, Sonrhai/Djerma 5.6%, Minianka 4.3%, Tamacheq 3.5%, Senoufo 2.6%, Bobo 2.1%, other 6.3%, unspecified 0.7% (2009 est.)
Note: Mali has 13 national languages in addition to its official language

Religions: Muslim 93.9%, Christian 2.8%, animist 0.7%, none 2.5% (2018 est.)

Demographic profile: Mali’s total population is expected to double by 2,035; its capital Bamako is one of the fastest-growing cities in Africa. A young age structure, a declining mortality rate, and a sustained high total fertility rate of 5.5 children per woman - the fourth highest in the world, as of 2022 - ensure continued rapid population growth for the foreseeable future. Significant outmigration only marginally tempers this growth. Despite decreases, Mali’s infant, child, and maternal mortality rates remain among the highest in Sub-Saharan Africa because of limited access to and adoption of family planning, early childbearing, short birth intervals, the prevalence of female genital cutting, infrequent use of skilled birth attendants, and a lack of emergency obstetrical and neonatal care.

Age structure
0-14 years: 47.05% (male 5,054,927/female 4,995,605)
15-64 years: 49.88% (male 5,006,470/female 5,647,289)
65 years and over: 3.07% (2023 est.) (male 323,170/female 332,261)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 99.3
Youth dependency ratio: 94.5
Elderly dependency ratio: 4.9
Potential support ratio: 20.6 (2021 est.)

Median age
Total: 16.3 years (2023 est.)
Male: 15.6 years
Female: 17 years

Population growth rate: 2.93% (2023 est.)

Birth rate: 40.5 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Death rate: 8.3 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Net migration rate: -3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Population distribution: the overwhelming majority of the population lives in the southern half of the country, with greater density along the border with Burkina Faso as shown in this

Urbanization
Urban population: 46.2% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 4.57% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 2.929 million BAMAKO (capital) (2023)

Environment
Current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; loss of pasture land; inadequate supplies of potable water
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling
International agreements signed, but not ratified: Nuclear Test Ban

Air pollutants
Particulate matter emissions: 38.55 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions: 3.18 megatons (2016 est.)
Methane emissions: 19.16 megatons (2020 est.)

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.89 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth: 19.2 years (2018 est.)
Note: data represents median age at first birth among women 20-49

Maternal mortality ratio: 440 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 59 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
Male: 64.3 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 53.5 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 62.8 years (2023 est.)
Male: 60.6 years
Female: 65.1 years

Total fertility rate: 5.45 children born/woman (2023 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 17.2% (2018)

Drinking water source
Improved urban: 99.9% of population
Improved rural: 75.9% of population
Improved total: 86.4% of population
Unimproved urban: 0.1% of population
Unimproved rural: 24.1% of population
Unimproved total: 13.6% of population (2020 est.)

Current health expenditure: 4.3% of GDP (2020)

Physicians density: 0.13 physicians/1,000 population (2018)

Hospital bed density: 0.1 beds/1,000 population

Sanitation facility access
Improved urban:
Unimproved urban:

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases
Degree of risk: very high (2023)
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
Vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever
Water contact diseases: schistosomiasis
Animal contact diseases: rabies
Respiratory diseases: meningococcal meningitis
Aerosolized dust or soil contact diseases: Lassa fever
Note: on 31 August 2023, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Travel Alert for polio in Africa; Mali is currently considered a high risk to travelers for circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPV); vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV) is a strain of the weakened poliovirus that was initially included in oral polio vaccine (OPV) and that has changed over time and behaves more like the wild or naturally occurring virus; this means it can be spread more easily to people who are unvaccinated against polio and who come in contact with the stool or respiratory secretions, such as from a sneeze, of an “infected” person who received oral polio vaccine; the CDC recommends that before any international travel, anyone unvaccinated, incompletely vaccinated, or with an unknown polio vaccination status should complete the routine polio vaccine series; before travel to any high-risk destination, the CDC recommends that adults who previously completed the full, routine polio vaccine series receive a single, lifetime booster dose of polio vaccine

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 8.6% (2016)

Alcohol consumption
Per capita total: 0.6 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita beer: 0.09 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita wine: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita spirits: 0.02 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita other alcohols: 0.49 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Tobacco use
Total: 8.3% (2020 est.)
Male: 15.6% (2020 est.)
Female: 1% (2020 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 18.5% (2022)

Education expenditures: 4.4% of GDP (2021 est.)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 35.5%
Male: 46.2%
Female: 25.7% (2018)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 7 years
Male: 8 years
Female: 7 years (2017)

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 17.3% (2021 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 15.4%
Rate ages 15 24 female: 19.8%


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Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of Mali
Conventional short form: Mali
Local long form: Republique de Mali
Local short form: Mali
Former: French Sudan, Sudanese Republic, Mali Federation
Etymology: name derives from the West African Mali Empire of the 13th to 16th centuries A.D.

Government type: semi-presidential republic

Capital
Name: Bamako
Geographic coordinates: 12 39 N, 8 00 W
Time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Etymology: the name in the Bambara language can mean either "crocodile tail" or "crocodile river" and three crocodiles appear on the city seal

Administrative divisions: 10 regions (regions, singular - region), 1 district*; District de Bamako*, Gao, Kayes, Kidal, Koulikoro, Menaka, Mopti, Segou, Sikasso, Taoudenni, Tombouctou (Timbuktu); note - Menaka and Taoudenni were legislated in 2016, but implementation has not been confirmed by the US Board on Geographic Names

Dependent areas

Independence: 22 September 1960 (from France)

National holiday: Independence Day, 22 September (1960)

Constitution
History: several previous; latest drafted 13 October 2022 and submitted to Transition President Assimi GOITA; final draft completed 1 March 2023; referendum held on 18 June 2023 and approved; referendum results validated by Constitutional Court on 22 July 2023; note - the new constitution includes provisions for the extension of presidential and military powers and the creation of a "senate"
Amendments: procedure for amending the 2023 constitution NA

Legal system: civil law system based on the French civil law model and influenced by customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Constitutional Court

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Mali
Dual citizenship recognized: yes
Residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: Transition President Assimi GOITA (since 7 June 2021); note - an August 2020 coup d'état deposed President Ibrahim Boubacar KEITA; on 21 September 2020, a group of 17 electors chosen by the Malian military junta, known as the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP) and led by Colonel Assimi GOITA, selected Bah NDAW as transition president; GOITA served as vice president of the transitional government which was inaugurated on 25 September 2020; Vice President GOITA seized power on 25 May 2021; NDAW resigned on 26 May 2021; on 6 June 2022, GOITA's government announced a transition period of 24 months with a planned return to civilian rule by March 2024
Head of government:
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister
Elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 29 July 2018 with runoff on 12 August 2018; prime minister appointed by the president; note - on 21 February 2022, the transition government adopted a charter allowing transition authorities to rule for up to 5 years; thereafter, transition President GOITA is barred as a candidate in presidential elections
Election results:

Legislative branch
Description:
Elections: last held on 30 March and 19 April 2020
Election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA composition - NA

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Supreme Court or Cour Supreme (consists of 19 judges organized into judicial, administrative, and accounting sections); Constitutional Court (consists of 9 judges)
Judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judges appointed by the Ministry of Justice to serve 5-year terms; Constitutional Court judges selected - 3 each by the president, the National Assembly, and the Supreme Council of the Magistracy; members serve single renewable 7-year terms
Subordinate courts: Court of Appeal; High Court of Justice (jurisdiction limited to cases of high treason or criminal offenses by the president or ministers while in office); administrative courts (first instance and appeal); commercial courts; magistrate courts; labor courts; juvenile courts; special court of state security

Political parties and leaders:

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, AU (suspended), CD, ECOWAS (suspended), EITI (compliant country), FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINUSCA, MONUSCO, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNDP, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNOPS, UN Women, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, World Bank Group, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Sékou BERTHE (since 16 September 2022)
In the us chancery: 2,130 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 332-2,249
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 332-6,603
In the us email address and website:
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Rachna KORHONEN (since 16 March 2023)
From the us embassy: ACI 2000, Rue 243, (located off the Roi Bin Fahad Aziz Bridge west of the Bamako central district), Porte 297, Bamako
From the us mailing address: 2,050 Bamako Place, Washington DC 20,521-2,050
From the us telephone: [223] 20-70-23-00
From the us FAX: [223] 20-70-24-79
From the us email address and website:

Flag description: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), yellow, and red
Note: uses the popular Pan-African colors of Ethiopia; the colors from left to right are the same as those of neighboring Senegal (which has an additional green central star) and the reverse of those on the flag of neighboring Guinea

National symbols: Great Mosque of Djenne; national colors: green, yellow, red

National anthem
Name: "Le Mali" (Mali)
Lyrics/music: Seydou Badian KOUYATE/Banzoumana SISSOKO
Note: adopted 1962; also known as "Pour L'Afrique et pour toi, Mali" (For Africa and for You, Mali) and "A ton appel Mali" (At Your Call, Mali)

National heritage
Total World Heritage Sites: 4 (3 cultural, 1 mixed)
Selected World Heritage Site locales:


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Economy overview: low-income Saharan economy; recession due to COVID-19 and political instability; extreme poverty; environmentally fragile; high public debt; agricultural and gold exporter; terrorism and warfare are common

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Note: data are in 2017 dollars

Real gdp growth rate:

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2017 dollars

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 82.9% (2017 est.)
Government consumption: 17.4% (2017 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 19.3% (2017 est.)
Investment in inventories: -0.7% (2017 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 22.1% (2017 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -41.1% (2017 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 41.8% (2017 est.)
Industry: 18.1% (2017 est.)
Services: 40.5% (2017 est.)

Agriculture products: maize, rice, millet, sorghum, mangoes/guavas, cotton, watermelons, green onions/shallots, okra, sugar cane

Industries: food processing; construction; phosphate and gold mining

Industrial production growth rate: 1.01% (2021 est.)

Labor force: 7.9 million (2021 est.)

Unemployment rate:

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 17.3% (2021 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 15.4%
Rate ages 15 24 female: 19.8%

Population below poverty line: 42.1% (2019 est.)

Gini index
Coefficient distribution of family income: 36.1 (2018 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10%: 3.5%
Highest 10%: 25.8% (2010 est.)

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $2.657 billion (2018 est.)
Expenditures: $3.467 billion (2018 est.)
Surplus  or deficit: -2.9% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Taxes and other revenues: 14.16% (of GDP) (2020 est.)

Public debt:

Revenue
From forest resources: 2.02% of GDP (2018 est.)
From coal: 0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance:

Exports:
Partners: United Arab Emirates 66%, Switzerland 26% (2019)
Commodities: gold, cotton, sesame seeds, lumber, refined petroleum (2021)

Imports:
Partners: Senegal 23%, Cote d'Ivoire 15%, China 11%, France 9% (2019)
Commodities: refined petroleum, clothing and apparel, packaged medicines, cement, broadcasting equipment (2019)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:

Debt external:

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Access population without electricity: 10 million (2020)
Access electrification-total population: 53.3% (2021)
Access electrification-urban areas: 96.8% (2021)
Access electrification-rural areas: 18.2% (2021)
Installed generating capacity: 890,000 kW (2020 est.)
Consumption: 2,620,980,000 kWh (2019 est.)
Exports: 550 million kWh (2019 est.)
Imports: 200 million kWh (2019 est.)
Transmission/distribution losses: 346 million kWh (2019 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels: 67.4% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources solar: 1% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources wind: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 29.7% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources biomass and waste: 1.9% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

Coal
Production: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
Consumption: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
Exports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
Imports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
Proven reserves: 0 metric tons (2019 est.)

Petroleum
Total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2021 est.)
Refined petroleum consumption: 37,600 bbl/day (2019 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate exports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate imports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil estimated reserves: 0 barrels (2021 est.)

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products exports: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products imports: 20,610 bbl/day (2015 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Consumption: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Exports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Imports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Proven reserves: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions: 5.679 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From coal and metallurgical coke: 0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From petroleum and other liquids: 5.679 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From consumed natural gas: 0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)

Energy consumption per capita: 4.396 million Btu/person (2019 est.)


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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 306,900 (2022 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 1 (2021 est.)
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 21,882,251 (2021 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 100 (2021 est.)

Telephone system

Broadcast media: national public TV broadcaster; 2 privately owned companies provide subscription services to foreign multi-channel TV packages; national public radio broadcaster supplemented by a large number of privately owned and community broadcast stations; transmissions of multiple international broadcasters are available (2019)

Internet
Country code: .ml
Users total: 7.48 million (2021 est.)
Users percent of population: 34% (2021 est.)

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 243,806 (2020 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 1 (2020 est.)


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Military expenditures:

Military and security forces: Malian Armed Forces (Forces Armées Maliennes or FAMa): Land Forces (l’Armée de Terre), Air Force (l’Armée de l’Air); National Guard (la Garde Nationale du Mali or GNM); General Directorate of the National Gendarmerie (la Direction Générale de la Gendarmerie Nationale or DGGN) (2023)
Note 1: the Gendarmerie and the National Guard are under the authority of the Ministry of Defense and Veterans Affairs (Ministere De La Defense Et Des Anciens Combattants, MDAC), but operational control is shared with the Ministry of Internal Security and Civil Protection which also controls the National Police; the National Police has responsibility for law enforcement and maintenance of order in urban areas and supports the FAMa in internal military operations
Note 2: the Gendarmerie's primary mission is internal security and public order; its duties also include territorial defense, humanitarian operations, intelligence gathering, and protecting private property, mainly in rural areas; it also has a specialized border security unit
Note 3: the National Guard is a military force responsible for providing security to government facilities and institutions, prison service, public order, humanitarian operations, some border security, and intelligence gathering; its forces include a camel corps for patrolling the deserts and borders of northern Mali
Note 4: there are also pro-government militias operating in Mali, such as the Imghad Tuareg Self-Defense Group and Allies (GATIA); the leader of GATIA is also a general in the national army

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for men and women for selective compulsory and voluntary military service; 24-month compulsory service obligation (2023)

Space program

Terrorist groups
Terrorist groups: Ansar al-Dine; Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham in the Greater Sahara (ISIS-GS); Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM); al-Mulathamun Battalion (al-Mourabitoun)
Note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in terrorist organizations


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National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 0 (2020)

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: TZ, TT

Airports: 25 (2021)
With paved runways: 8
With paved runways note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)
With unpaved runways: 17
With unpaved runways note: unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control

Heliports: 2 (2021)

Pipelines

Railways
Total: 593 km (2014)
Narrow gauge: 593 km (2014) 1.000-m gauge

Roadways
Total: 139,107 km (2018)
Paved: (2009)
Unpaved: (2009)

Waterways: 1,800 km (2011) (downstream of Koulikoro; low water levels on the River Niger cause problems in dry years; in the months before the rainy season the river is not navigable by commercial vessels)

Merchant marine

Ports and terminals
River ports: Koulikoro (Niger)


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Disputes international: Mali-Burkina Faso: demarcation is underway with Burkina Faso

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees country of origin: 29,138 (Burkina Faso) (refugees and asylum seekers), 20,617 (Niger) (refugees and asylum seekers), 14,956 (Mauritania) (refugees and asylum seekers) (2023)
IDPs: 375,539 (Tuareg rebellion since 2012) (2023)

Illicit drugs: a transit point for illicit drugs trafficked to Europe; trafficking controlled by armed groups, criminal organizations, terrorist groups and government officials that facilitate, protect and profit from the activity