A former French colony, Mali became independent in 1960. After over 20 years of military rule, civilian governance has been in place since 1992. In the early 1990s the army was sent to the north to quell a rebellion by nomadic Tuareg tribes over land, cultural and linguistic rights. The uprising was brought to an end by a series of treaties in the mid-1990s, but agravation over continuing perceived inequalities led to a renewed rebellion in 2007. Intermittent fighting continued throughout 2008, despite a cease-fire signed in May. In early 2009, military successes for the government and the surrender of several hundred rebels boosted hopes of a return to a peace process.

The country is one of the world's poorest nations, and has suffered droughts, although it remains self sufficient in food, owing to the fertile Niger river basin. The country's official language is French with Bambara, Berber, and Arabic commonly spoken.

Leader: President Amadou Toumani Toure
Capital city: Bamako

Economic profile

Monetary unit: CFA franc (Communaute Financiere Africaine)
GDP per capita: $1200 (2010) (CIA)
GDP composition by sector:
Agriculture: 45% (2010) (CIA)
Industry: 17% (2010) (CIA)
Services: 4.5% (2010) (CIA)
GDP growth rate: 4.5% (2010) (CIA)
Budget:
Government revenue, excluding grants: 17,9% of GDP (2007) (IMF)
Government expenditure: 2.2% of GDP (2007) (IMF)
Consumer price inflation: 9.2% (2008) (World Bank)
Industries: Food processing; construction; phosphate and gold mining
Exports of goods and services: 27.4% of GDP (2007) (IMF)
Imports of goods and services: 33.8% of GDP (2007) (IMF)
Export commodities: Cotton, gold, and livestock
Import commodities: Petroleum, machinery and equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs, and textiles
Trade balance: -1.1% of GDP (2007) (IMF)
Reserves: $1.7-bil (2008) (World Bank)
Total investment: 23.1% of GDP (2007) (IMF)
Market capitalisation of listed companies: Figures not available

Social profile

Population: 13.01-million (2011) (World Bank)
Population growth: 2.4% (2011) (World Bank)
Life expectancy at birth: 48.8 years (2011) (World Bank)
School enrolment primary: 95% (2009) (World Bank)
School enrolment secondary: 38% (2009) (World Bank)
School enrolment tertiary: 6% (2009) (World Bank)
Unemployment: 30% (2004) (CIA)
Number of people living with HIV/Aids: 76 000 (2009) (Unicef)