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 had 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, 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. France, expanding from Senegal, seized control of the area in the 1890s and incorporated it into French West Africa as French Sudan. In 1960, French Sudan gained independence from France and became the Mali Federation. When Senegal withdrew after only a few months, the remaining area was renamed the Republic of Mali. Mali saw 31 years of dictatorship until 1991, when a military coup led by Amadou Toumani TOURE ousted the government, established a new constitution, and instituted a multi-party democracy. Alpha Oumar KONARE won Mali's first two democratic presidential elections in 1992 and 1997. In keeping with Mali's two-term constitutional limit, he stepped down in 2002 and was succeeded by Amadou Toumani TOURE, who won a second term in 2007. In 2012, rising ethnic tensions and an influx of fighters -- some linked to Al-Qa’ida -- from Libya led to a rebellion and military coup. Following the coup, rebels expelled the military from the country’s three northern regions, allowing terrorist organizations to develop strongholds in the area. With a 2013 French-led military intervention, the Malian government managed to retake most of the north. However, the government’s grasp in the region remains weak with local militias, terrorists, and insurgent groups competing for control. In 2015, the Malian Government and northern rebels signed an internationally mediated peace accord. Despite a 2017 target for implementation of the agreement, the signatories have made little progress. Terrorist groups were left out of the peace process, and terrorist attacks remain common. Ibrahim Boubacar KEITA won the Malian presidential elections in 2013 and 2018. Aside from security and logistic shortfalls, international observers deemed these elections credible. Terrorism, banditry, ethnic-based violence, and extra-judicial military killings plagued the country during KEITA’s second term. In 2020, the military arrested KEITA, his prime minister, and other senior members of the government and established a military junta called the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP). The junta then established a transition government and appointed Bah N’DAW, a retired army officer and former defense minister, as interim president and Colonel Assimi GOITA, the coup leader and chairman of the CNSP, as interim vice president. The transition government’s charter allowed it to rule for up to 18 months before calling a general election. In 2021, GOITA led a military takeover, arresting the interim president after a Cabinet shake-up removed GOITA’s key allies. GOITA was sworn in as transition president, and Choguel Kokalla MAIGA was sworn in as prime minister. In 2022, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) imposed sanctions on the transition government, and member states closed their borders with Mali after the transition government presented a five-year extension to the electoral calendar. The transition government and ECOWAS agreed to a new two-year timeline, which would have included presidential elections in February 2024, but the transition government postponed the elections indefinitely in September 2023 and withdrew from ECOWAS in January 2024.: Between A.D. 800 and 1100, immigrant Muslim Arabs and Persians set up coastal trading posts along the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, solidifying present-day Somalia’s close trading relationship with the Arab Peninsula. In the late 19th century, Britain, France, and Italy established colonies in the Somali Peninsula that lasted until 1960, when British Somaliland gained independence and joined with Italian Somaliland to form the Republic of Somalia. The country functioned as a parliamentary democracy until 1969, when General Mohamed SIAD Barre took control in a coup, beginning a 22-year socialist dictatorship. In an effort to centralize power, SIAD called for the eradication of the clan, the key cultural and social organizing principle in Somali society. Resistance to SIAD’s socialist leadership, which was causing a rapid deterioration of the country, prompted allied clan militias to overthrow SIAD in 1991, resulting in state collapse. Subsequent fighting between rival clans for resources and territory overwhelmed the country, causing a manmade famine and prompting international intervention. Beginning in 1993, the UN spearheaded an international humanitarian mission, but the international community largely withdrew by 1995 after an incident that became known as Black Hawk Down, in which two US military helicopters were shot down in Mogadishu. The fighting and subsequent siege and rescue resulted in 21 deaths and 82 wounded among the international forces. International peace conferences in the 2000s resulted in a number of transitional governments that operated outside Somalia. Left largely to themselves, Somalis in the country established alternative governance structures; some areas formed their own administrations, such as Somaliland and Puntland, while others developed localized institutions. Many local populations turned to sharia courts, an Islamic judicial system that implements religious law. Several of these courts came together in 2006 to form the Islamic Courts Union (ICU). The ICU established order in many areas of central and southern Somalia, including Mogadishu, but was forced out when Ethiopia intervened militarily in 2006 on behalf of the Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG). As the TFG settled in the capital, the ICU fled to rural areas or left Somalia altogether, but the organization reemerged less than a year later as the Islamic insurgent and terrorist movement al-Shabaab, which is still active today. In 2007, the African Union (AU) established a peacekeeping force, took over security responsibility for the country, and gave the TFG space to develop Somalia’s new government. By 2012, Somali powerbrokers agreed on a provisional constitution with a loose federal structure and established a central government in Mogadishu called the Somali Federal Government (SFG). Since then, the country has seen several interim regional administrations and three presidential elections, but significant governance and security problems remain because al-Shabaab still controls large portions of the country.

Area
Total: 1,240,192 km²
Land: 1,220,190 km²
Water: 20,002 km²
Total: 637,657 km²
Land: 627,337 km²
Water: 10,320 km²
Comparative: slightly less than twice the size of Texas
Comparative: almost five times the size of Alabama; slightly smaller than Texas

Land boundaries
Total: 7,908 km
Border countries (6): (7) Algeria 1,359 km; Burkina Faso 1,325 km; Côte d'Ivoire 599 km; Guinea 1,062 km; Mauritania 2,236 km; Niger 838 km; , Senegal 489 km
Total: 2,385 km
Border countries (3): (3) Djibouti 61 km; Ethiopia 1,640 km; Kenya 684 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked): 3,025 km

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
Territorial sea: 200 nm; note: the US does not recognize this claim
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate: subtropical to arid; hot and dry (February to June); rainy, humid, and mild (June to November); cool and dry (November to February): principally desert; northeast monsoon (December to February), moderate temperatures in north and hot in south; southwest monsoon (May to October), torrid in the north and hot in the south, irregular rainfall, hot and humid periods (tangambili) between monsoons

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

Elevation
Highest point: Hombori Tondo 1,155 m
Lowest point: Senegal River 23 m
Mean elevation: 343 m
Highest point: Mount Shimbiris 2,460 m
Lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
Mean elevation: 410 m

Land use
Agricultural land: 35.5% (2023 est.)
Arable land: 6.8% (2023 est.)
Permanent crops: 0.2% (2023 est.)
Permanent pasture: 28.4% (2023 est.)
Forest: 8.8% (2023 est.)
Other: 55.8% (2023 est.)
Agricultural land: 70.3% (2023 est.)
Arable land: 1.8% (2023 est.)
Permanent crops: 0% (2023 est.)
Permanent pasture: 68.5% (2023 est.)
Forest: 7.9% (2023 est.)
Other: 21.7% (2023 est.)

Irrigated land: 3,780 km² (2012): 2,000 km² (2012)

Major rivers: Niger (shared with Guinea [s], Niger, and Nigeria [m]) - 4,200 km; Senegal (shared with Guinea [s], Senegal, and Mauritania [m]) - 1,641 km
Note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

Natural hazards: hot, dust-laden harmattan haze common during dry seasons; recurring droughts; occasional Niger River flooding: recurring droughts; frequent dust storms over eastern plains in summer; floods during rainy season

Geography
Note landlocked; divided into three natural zones: the southern, cultivated Sudanese; the central, semiarid Sahelian; and the northern, arid Saharan
Note: strategic location on Horn of Africa along southern approaches to Bab el Mandeb and route through Red Sea and Suez Canal

Population
Total: 21,990,607 (2024 est.)
Male: 10,688,755
Female: 11,301,852
Total: 13,017,273 (2024 est.)
Male: 6,546,312
Female: 6,470,961
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 population distribution map
Distribution: distribution varies greatly throughout the country; least densely populated areas are in the northeast and central regions, as well as areas along the Kenyan border; most populated areas are in and around the cities of Mogadishu, Marka, Boorama, Hargeysa, and Baidoa, as shown on this population distribution map
Growth rate: 2.9% (2024 est.)
Growth rate: 2.55% (2024 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: Somali (official), Arabic (official), Italian, English
Major-language sample(s): ; Buugga Xaqiiqda Aduunka, waa laga maarmaanka macluumaadka assasiga. (Somali); The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Religions: Muslim 93.9%, Christian 2.8%, animist 0.7%, none 2.5% (2018 est.): Muslim 99.9% (Sunni Muslim 98.1%, Shia Muslim 1.2%, Islamic schismatic 0.6%), ethnic religionist 0.1% (2020 est.)

Age structure
0-14 years: 46.8% (male 5,175,714/female 5,114,128)
15-64 years: 50.1% (male 5,178,742/female 5,842,456)
65 years and over: 3.1% (2024 est.) (male 334,299/female 345,268)
0-14 years: 41.4% (male 2,689,086/female 2,694,372)
15-64 years: 55.8% (male 3,699,721/female 3,568,163)
65 years and over: 2.8% (2024 est.) (male 157,505/female 208,426)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 99.5 (2024 est.)
Youth dependency ratio: 93.4 (2024 est.)
Elderly dependency ratio: 6.2 (2024 est.)
Potential support ratio: 16.2 (2024 est.)
Total dependency ratio: 100.9 (2024 est.)
Youth dependency ratio: 97.6 (2024 est.)
Elderly dependency ratio: 3.2 (2024 est.)
Potential support ratio: 30.8 (2024 est.)

Median age
Total: 16.4 years (2024 est.)
Male: 15.7 years
Female: 17.1 years
Total: 19.1 years (2024 est.)
Male: 19.3 years
Female: 18.9 years

Population growth rate: 2.9% (2024 est.): 2.55% (2024 est.)

Birth rate: 40 births/1,000 population (2024 est.): 37.4 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)

Death rate: 8.1 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.): 11.2 deaths/1,000 population (2024 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 population distribution map: distribution varies greatly throughout the country; least densely populated areas are in the northeast and central regions, as well as areas along the Kenyan border; most populated areas are in and around the cities of Mogadishu, Marka, Boorama, Hargeysa, and Baidoa, as shown on this population distribution map

Urbanization
Urban population: 46.2% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 4.57% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Urban population: 47.9% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 4.2% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 2.929 million BAMAKO (capital) (2023)
Population: 2.610 million MOGADISHU (capital), 1.127 million Hargeysa (2023)

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 (2024 est.)
At birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female
Total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

Maternal mortality ratio: 367 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.): 563 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 57.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)
Male: 62.6 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 52 deaths/1,000 live births
Total: 83.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)
Male: 93.2 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 73.7 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 63.2 years (2024 est.)
Male: 60.9 years
Female: 65.6 years
Total population: 56.5 years (2024 est.)
Male: 54.1 years
Female: 59 years

Total fertility rate: 5.35 children born/woman (2024 est.): 5.12 children born/woman (2024 est.)

Drinking water source
Urban: 5.3% of population (2022 est.)
Rural: 25.6% of population (2022 est.)
Total: 16.4% of population (2022 est.)
Urban: 19.9% of population (2022 est.)
Rural: 61.4% of population (2022 est.)
Total: 41.7% of population (2022 est.)

Sanitation facility access
Urban: 11.4% of population (2022 est.)
Rural: 50.7% of population (2022 est.)
Total: 32.8% of population (2022 est.)
Urban: 17.1% of population (2022 est.)
Rural: 65.2% of population (2022 est.)
Total: 42.4% of population (2022 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 15% (2024 est.)

Youth unemployment
Rate (ages 15-24): 3.1% (2024 est.); 3% (2023 est.); 2.4% (2022 est.)
Rate (ages 15-24) note: % of labor force seeking employment
Rate (ages 15-24): 18.9% (2024 est.); 19% (2023 est.); 19.1% (2022 est.)
Rate (ages 15-24) note: % of labor force seeking employment

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 origin of the name is unclear, but it comes from the Bambara language and can refer either to a crocodile or to a person's name
Name: Mogadishu
Geographic coordinates: 2 04 N, 45 20 E
Time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Etymology: the name is probably derived from the Arabic word mukaddas, meaning 'holy'

Administrative divisions: 19 regions (régions, singular - région), 1 district*; Bamako*, Bandiagara, Bougouni, Dioila, Douentza, Gao, Kayes, Kidal, Kita, Koulikoro, Koutiala, Menaka, Mopti, Nara, Nioro, San, Segou, Sikasso, Taoudenni, Tombouctou (Timbuktu): 18 regions (gobollo, singular - gobol); Awdal, Bakool, Banaadir, Bari, Bay, Galguduud, Gedo, Hiiraan, Jubbada Dhexe (Middle Jubba), Jubbada Hoose (Lower Jubba), Mudug, Nugaal, Sanaag, Shabeellaha Dhexe (Middle Shabeelle), Shabeellaha Hoose (Lower Shabeelle), Sool, Togdheer, Woqooyi Galbeed

Legal system: civil law system based on the French civil law model and influenced by customary law; Constitutional Court reviews legislative acts: mixed system of civil law, Islamic (sharia) law, and customary law (referred to as Xeer)

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction: accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; non-party state to the ICCt

Executive branch
Chief of state: Transition President Assimi GOITA (since 7 June 2021)
Head of government: Transition Prime Minister Abdoulaye MAIGA (since 22 November 2024)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister
Election/appointment process: president directly elected by absolute-majority popular vote in 2 rounds, if needed, for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); prime minister appointed by the president
Most recent election date: 29 July 2018, with runoff on 12 August 2018
2018: Ibrahim Boubacar KEITA reelected president in second round; percent of vote in first round - Ibrahim Boubacar KEITA (RPM) 41.7%, Soumaila CISSE (URD) 17.8%, other 40.5%; percent of vote in second round - Ibrahim Boubacar KEITA 67.2%, Soumaila CISSE 32.8%
2013: Ibrahim Boubacar KEITA elected president in second round; percent of vote in first round - Ibrahim Boubacar KEITA (RPM) 39.8%, Soumaila CISSE (URD) 19.7%, other 40.5%; percent of vote in second round - Ibrahim Boubacar KEITA (RPM) 77.6%, Soumaila CISSE (URD) 22.4%
Note: in 2022, the transition government adopted a charter allowing transition authorities to rule for up to 5 years, but the military junta pushed through a referendum in 2023 that created the potential for transition President GOITA to maintain his hold on power indefinitely
Chief of state: President HASSAN SHEIKH Mohamud (since 23 May 2022)
Head of government: Prime Minister Hamza Abdi BARRE (since 25 June 2022)
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister, approved by the House of the People
Election/appointment process: president indirectly elected by the Federal Parliament by two-thirds majority vote in 2 rounds, if needed, for a single 4-year term; prime minister appointed by the president, approved by the House of the People
Most recent election date: 15 May 2022
2022: HASSAN SHEIKH Mohamud elected president in third round - Federal Parliament percent of vote in first round - Said ABDULLAHI DENI (Kaah) 20.2%, Mohamed ABDULLAHI Mohamed 'Farmaajo' (TPP) 18.3%, HASSAN SHEIKH Mohamud (PDP) 16.2%, Hassan Ali KHAYRE (independent) 14.6%, other 30.7%; Federal Parliament percent of vote in second round - HASSAN SHEIKH Mohamud 34.1%, Mohamed ABDULLAHI Mohamed 'Farmaajo' 25.7%, Said ABDULLAHI DENI 21%, Hassan Ali KHAYRE 19.2%; Federal Parliament percent of vote in third round - HASSAN SHEIKH Mohamud 66%, Mohamed ABDULLAHI Mohamed 'Farmaajo' 34%
2017: Mohamed ABDULLAHI Mohamed 'Farmaajo' elected president in second round; Federal Parliament number of votes in first round - HASSAN SHEIKH Mohamud (PDP) 88, Mohamed ABDULLAHI Mohamed 'Farmaajo' (TPP) 72, Sheikh SHARIF Sheikh Ahmed (ARS) 49, other 37; Federal Parliament number of votes in second round - Mohamed ABDULLAHI Mohamed 'Farmaajo' 184, HASSAN SHEIKH Mohamud 97, Sheikh SHARIF Sheikh Ahmed 45
Expected date of next election: 2026

Legislative branch
Legislature name: Transitional National Council (Conseil national de transition)
Legislative structure: unicameral
Chamber name: Transitional National Council (Conseil national de transition )
Number of seats: 147 (all appointed)
Electoral system: plurality/majority
Scope of elections: full renewal
Most recent election date: 12/5/2020
Percentage of women in chamber: 30.1%
Expected date of next election: December 2,030
Note 1: the National Assembly was dissolved on 18 August 2020 after a military coup; the transitional government created a Transitional National Council (CNT) that acts as the transitional government's legislative body; a new constitution was ratified in July 2023 that expanded the military junta's powers, and no plans for legislative elections have been announced
Note 2: coup leaders appointed a president and vice president; the president then apportioned CNT seats to various groups and political parties
Legislature name: Federal Parliament
Legislative structure: bicameral
Note: despite the formation of political parties in 2020, the 2021 parliamentary elections maintained a primarily clan-based system of appointments; seats in the legislature were apportioned to Somali member states and not by party representation

Flag description: three equal vertical bands of green (left side), yellow, and red: light blue with a large white five-pointed star in the center

National anthem
Title: 'Le Mali' (Mali)
Lyrics/music: Seydou Badian KOUYATE/Banzoumana SISSOKO
History: adopted 1962
Title: 'Qolobaa Calankeed' (Every Nation Has Its Own Flag)
Lyrics/music: Abdullahi QARSHE
History: adopted 2012

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

Real gdp growth rate: 5% (2024 est.); 4.7% (2023 est.); 3.5% (2022 est.)
Note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency: 4% (2024 est.); 4.2% (2023 est.); 2.7% (2022 est.)
Note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

Real gdp per capita: 5% (2024 est.); 4.7% (2023 est.); 3.5% (2022 est.)
Note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency: 4% (2024 est.); 4.2% (2023 est.); 2.7% (2022 est.)
Note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 71.9% (2024 est.)
Government consumption: 13.1% (2024 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 21.6% (2024 est.)
Investment in inventories: -0.7% (2024 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 22.5% (2024 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -28.4% (2024 est.)
Note: figures may not total 100% due to rounding or gaps in data collection
Household consumption: 124% (2024 est.)
Government consumption: 7.6% (2024 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 22.7% (2024 est.)
Investment in inventories: 0% (2024 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 20% (2024 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -74.3% (2024 est.)
Note: figures may not total 100% due to rounding or gaps in data collection

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 33.4% (2024 est.)
Industry: 22.7% (2024 est.)
Services: 36.7% (2024 est.)
Note: figures may not total 100% due to non-allocated consumption not captured in sector-reported data

Industries: food processing; construction; phosphate and gold mining: light industries, including sugar refining, textiles, wireless communication

Industrial production growth rate: -2.4% (2024 est.)
Note: annual % change in industrial value added based on constant local currency

Labor force: 9.126 million (2024 est.)
Note: number of people ages 15 or older who are employed or seeking work: 3.439 million (2024 est.)
Note: number of people ages 15 or older who are employed or seeking work

Unemployment rate: 3.1% (2024 est.); 3% (2023 est.); 2.4% (2022 est.)
Note: % of labor force seeking employment: 18.9% (2024 est.); 19% (2023 est.); 19.1% (2022 est.)
Note: % of labor force seeking employment

Youth unemployment
Rate (ages 15-24): 3.1% (2024 est.); 3% (2023 est.); 2.4% (2022 est.)
Rate (ages 15-24) note: % of labor force seeking employment
Rate (ages 15-24): 18.9% (2024 est.); 19% (2023 est.); 19.1% (2022 est.)
Rate (ages 15-24) note: % of labor force seeking employment

Budget
Revenues: $2.841 billion (2020 est.)
Expenditures: $3.563 billion (2020 est.)
Note: central government revenues and expenses (excluding grants/extrabudgetary units/social security funds) converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated

Taxes and other revenues: 12% (of GDP) (2020 est.)
Note: central government tax revenue as a % of GDP: 0% (of GDP) (2023 est.)
Note: central government tax revenue as a % of GDP

Exports: $6.13 billion (2023 est.); $5.855 billion (2022 est.); $5.381 billion (2021 est.)
Note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars: $2.424 billion (2024 est.); $2.164 billion (2023 est.); $1.804 billion (2022 est.)
Note: GDP expenditure basis - exports of goods and services in current dollars
Commodities: gold, cotton, oil seeds, fertilizers, gum resins (2023)
Commodities note: top five export commodities based on value in dollars
Commodities: sheep and goats, gold, postage stamps/documents, other animals, cattle (2023)
Commodities note: top five export commodities based on value in dollars

Imports: $8.066 billion (2023 est.); $7.942 billion (2022 est.); $7.596 billion (2021 est.)
Note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars: $9.002 billion (2024 est.); $8.002 billion (2023 est.); $7.456 billion (2022 est.)
Note: GDP expenditure basis - imports of goods and services in current dollars
Commodities: refined petroleum, broadcasting equipment, cement, cotton fabric, plastic products (2023)
Commodities note: top five import commodities based on value in dollars
Commodities: raw sugar, tobacco, broadcasting equipment, rice, milk (2023)
Commodities note: top five import commodities based on value in dollars

Electricity
Installed generating capacity: 1.222 million kW (2023 est.)
Consumption: 4.261 billion kWh (2023 est.)
Exports: 661.63 million kWh (2023 est.)
Imports: 880 million kWh (2023 est.)
Transmission/distribution losses: 320.616 million kWh (2023 est.)
Installed generating capacity: 156,000 kW (2023 est.)
Consumption: 396.792 million kWh (2023 est.)
Transmission/distribution losses: 15.408 million kWh (2023 est.)
Access electrification - total population: 53% (2022 est.)
Access electrification - urban areas: 99.7%
Access electrification - rural areas: 18.3%
Access electrification - total population: 48.9% (2022 est.)
Access electrification - urban areas: 76.7%
Access electrification - rural areas: 30.6%
Generation sources fossil fuels: 57.3% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Generation sources solar: 3.5% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 37.6% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Generation sources biomass and waste: 1.6% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels: 82.5% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Generation sources solar: 16% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Generation sources wind: 1.5% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)

Coal
Imports: 36 metric tons (2023 est.)
Imports: 4 metric tons (2023 est.)

Petroleum
Refined petroleum consumption: 46,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)
Refined petroleum consumption: 6,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)

Natural gas
Proven reserves: 5.663 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions: 6.858 million metric tonnes of CO&sub2; (2023 est.)
From coal and metallurgical coke: 83 metric tonnes of CO&sub2; (2023 est.)
From petroleum and other liquids: 6.858 million metric tonnes of CO&sub2; (2023 est.): 838,000 metric tonnes of CO&sub2; (2023 est.)
From coal and metallurgical coke: 10 metric tonnes of CO&sub2; (2023 est.)
From petroleum and other liquids: 838,000 metric tonnes of CO&sub2; (2023 est.)

Energy consumption per capita: 4.307 million Btu/person (2023 est.): 649,000 Btu/person (2023 est.)

Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 307,000 (2022 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 1 (2022 est.)
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 91,000 (2022 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 1 (2022 est.) less than 1
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 25.9 million (2022 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 114 (2022 est.)
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 8.84 million (2022 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 50 (2022 est.)

Internet
Users percent of population: 35% (2023 est.)
Users percent of population: 28% (2022 est.)

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 179,000 (2022 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 1 (2022 est.)
Total: 119,000 (2022 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 1 (2022 est.)

Military expenditures: 4.3% of GDP (2024 est.); 4% of GDP (2023 est.); 3.5% of GDP (2022 est.); 3.4% of GDP (2021 est.); 3.4% of GDP (2020 est.): 6% of GDP (2021 est.); 6% of GDP (2020 est.); 5.6% of GDP (2019 est.); 6% of GDP (2018 est.); 5.9% of GDP (2017 est.)

Airports: 30 (2025): 40 (2025)

Heliports: 4 (2025)

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

Merchant marine
Total: 4 (2023)
By type: general cargo 1, other 3