Facts about Mali

Mali is a landlocked country in West Africa. Bamako is the capital city as well as the largest city in the country. French is the country’s national language, and the Franc CFA is the country’s national currency. The national name of Mali is "Republicaque de Mali". Similarly, “Le Mali” is the country’s national anthem, and the Niger river is the country’s Principle River. Blue Water Lily is the national flower, and the Calicedra is the national tree of Mali. Further, the Vulture is the country’s national bird, as well as the national animal of Mali. Green Tea is the country's national drink. Additionally, Football is the country’s national sport, and Mango is the national fruit. With these interesting facts about Mali, let’s learn more about the history, culture, religion, people, industries, tourism, tradition, and many more.

Quick Facts about Mali

 
The official name of Mali: The Republic of Mali
Area: 1,240,192 km2
Population(2020): 21.26 million
Population density: 17 per kilometers Square
GDP (PPP)(2020): $45.339 Billion
GDP Per Capita (nominal): $760
Continent: Africa
Capital: Bamako
Spoken Languages in the country: French, Bambara, Fuka, Dogon, Soninke, Songhai, Mandinka, Minianka, Tamasheq, Senoufo, Bobo, Tieyaxo Bozo, Kassonke, Maure, Dafing, Samongo, Arabic (Hassaniya), and Malian are some highly spoken languages in the country. Around 40 other African languages are spoken in the country.
Official Languages: French
Largest by area: 23rd largest country
Religion: Islam: 92.9% (Sunni Islam), Christianity: 2.8% , No religion: 2.5%, Ahmadiyya: 1.1%, Traditional African religions: 0.7%
Government: Unitary Provisional government under a military Junta
Currency: West African CFA franc (XOF)
Calling Code: +223
Time Zone: UTC (GMT)

18 Interesting Facts about Mali

1. Bordering country of Mali

Mali shared its land border with seven countries. It is bordered by Algeria to the north, Nigeria and Burkina Faso to the east, Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) and Guinea to the south, and Senegal and Mauritania to the west.

2. Mali was once part of three West African empires

Present-day Mali was once part of three West African empires that controlled trans-Saharan trade. The first was the Ghana Empire, which was among the first major African empires in history, the second one is the Mali Empire (for which Mali is named), and the Songhai Empire (one of the largest African empires in history).
Mali was the cradle of the Empire of Ghana, West Africa’s very first black empire.

3. One of the richest men in history

Musa Keita I of Mali was one of the wealthiest men ever lived. He was the emperor of the Mali Empire from 1280 to 1337 AD. Musa Keita was one of history's richest people, and according to some history books, he might've just been the absolute richest.
He has made his pilgrimage to Mecca, bringing with him 12,000 slaves, 60,000 men, and 80 camels each carried between 23 kg and 136 kg of gold, and built a mosque every Friday during his journey.
Around 28 tonnes of gold are used for making his pilgrimage to Mecca.

4. The Largest mud-brick building in the world

Mali's Great Mosque of Djenne is the largest mud-brick building in the world. This beautiful building was first built in the 13th century, although it took too much time to complete and it was completed in 1907.
Every April residents of Djenne maintain the walls of the mosque during a one-day festival called plastering which reconstructs the walls with mud.
The Great Mosque of Djenne and the old towns of Djenne have been listed as Unesco world heritage sites.

5. The Mausoleum of Askia the Great

In the Malian city of Gao lies the mausoleum of Askia the great, a spiky pyramid-looking edifice from the 16th century. Askia Mohammad I, the emperor that extended the Songhai empire to its largest extent, was buried in the mausoleum of Askia.
For its construction, Askia brought all of the mud and wood directly from Mecca.

6. Mali was also once called Sudan

In the 19th century, Mali become known as Sudan. During the Scramble for Africa, France occupied and controlled Mali, and renamed it Soudan in 1890.
In 1960, Soudan/Mali gained its independence from France and form the Mali Federation with Senegal. Later Senegal withdrew from the Federation and the country become the Republic of Mali.
“Sudan” derives from the Arabic bilād as-sudān meaning “land of the Blacks”.
In 1991 Mali changed from a socialist state to a democratic one and adopted a new constitution.
The country that we now call Sudan or the Republic of Sudan was part of Egypt until 1956. After 1956 it also gained its independence and become a Sudan or the Republic of Sudan.

7. Mali's most important masks festival

The Dogon people of central Mali are an ancient ethnic group, famous for their lifestyle and their masks. They have more than 75 different ritual masks.
They hold the world record for the longest religious ceremony, the Sigui Festival, which can last for years.
It happens once every 60 years, when the star Sirius is at a certain point, men dance with masks from one village to the next village.
This Festival symbolizes the period between the death of the first ancestor and the moment humans began to speak.

8. The capital city of Mali

The capital city of Mali is Bamako. But it is more famous for Timbuktu's name. It was called "the most distant place imaginable" in the 19th century.
But for 400 years from the mid-13th century onwards, the city was one of history's greatest cultural centers and popular for Islamic scholarship with religious universities. Timbuktu had many unrivaled collections of books and manuscripts.
In the 1400s Timbuktu was twice the population of London and home to 100,000 inhabitants at that time.

9. Mali's three natural land zones

Mali's three natural land zones include the arid Saharan zone, the semiarid central Sahelian zone, and the southern cultivated Sudanese where the majority of the country's population lives.

10. Most dangerous countries in the world

According to the United Kingdom foreign office, mali is one of the 17 countries deemed to be entirely unsafe for tourists to visit. It is also among the 10 most dangerous countries in the world, according to the International SOS Travel Risk Map.

11. The world's second-highest fertility rate

According to the World Bank, Mali has the world's second-highest fertility rate at 5.6 births per woman as of 2019 compared to the global average of 2.4.

12. Mali is divided into the eight largest regions

Mali is divided into the eight largest regions and one district. These regions are Kayes, Koulikoro, Sikasso, Segow, Gao, Mopti, Kindal, and Tombouctou (also known as Timbuktu).

13. The prime meridian marker is located in Gao, Mali

The prime meridian marker is located in Gao, Mali. Here you can literally stand on the edge of the two different hemispheres at the same time.

14. Mali's climate is subtropical to arid

Mali's climate is subtropical to arid, with February to June being the hot, dry season. June to November is rainy, humid, and Mild. November to February is the cool, dry season.

15. Mali is the third-highest good producer in Africa

Gold is mined in Mali's southern region and generates the third-highest total gold production in all of Africa, after South Africa and Ghana. Mali depends on agricultural exports and gold mining for its main revenue.
Mali's most frequently exported natural resources include gold, phosphates, Kaolin, Uranium, Salt, Limestone, and Granite.
The country's economic stability fluctuates with agricultural commodities and gold prices. Cotton, the country's annual harvest, and gold exports represent 80 percent of Mali's earnings.
The Senegal and Niger rivers make the south of Mali the most fertile region.

16. Poorest countries in the world

Mali is one of the 25 poorest countries in the world. Around 70% of the country's population earns less than a dollar per day. The average annual salary of a Malian is $1,500 (U.S. dollars) annually.

17. Most of Mali's land is flat

Most of Mali's land is flat, rising to roll plains in the north that is covered with sand. The majority of the country is located in the southern part of the Sahara Desert.
The lowest geographic point in Mali is the Senegal River and its highest point is Mount Hombori Tondo.
34 % of the country's land is used as agricultural land, with 5.6% in arable land, and 28.4% in permanent pastureland. Forests occupy 10% of the total land of Mali.

18. The new Islamic State of Azawad

The Tuareg MNLA and the Islamic group Ansar Dine merged in the last few years and declared northern Mali to be the new Islamic State of Azawad. They even opened an embassy of their own in the Netherlands.
These are some interesting facts about Mali.

Mali Facts

• The thermal equator crosses Mali, making it one of the hottest countries in the world. In Mali, rainfall is negligible and droughts are frequent.
• The discovery of rock art in the Sahara desert suggests that Mali has been inhabited since 10,000 BC when the Sahara desert was fertile and rich in wildlife making it one the oldest inhabited places in the world.
• Mali is the eighth-largest country in Africa, comparable in size to the nation of South Africa and almost twice the size of the U.S. state of Texas.
• Mali's Ghana Empire was west Africa's first black empire. The empire's wealth came mainly from the country's position in the cross-Sahara trade routes.
• Since the dawn of the 21st century, the northern Mail Tuareg tribes have led multiple military and political rebellions against different incarnations of the mali central government.
• United Nations Peacekeepers were deployed in 2013 and more than 100 have been killed in Mali since then. It is considered one of the deadliest U.N. assignments.

These are some Mali facts.

Some interesting facts about Mali

• Mali's president requested aid from France in 2013 as Islamist fighters captured many of the main northern cities, including the city of Timbuktu, and began destroying many ancient shrines.
• Thirty-nine people are killed in two separate hotel attacks in Mali in 2015. One was in August and one in November. Several hotels throughout the country close until the troubles cease.
• A new Islamist group emerged in central and southern Mali in the last two years and was recruited by protecting local villages from bandits and corruption in the government.
• Most of Mali's economic activity is conducted in the area of the country the Niger River irrigates. The other 65% of the country is desert or semi-desert land.

These are some interesting facts about Mali.

In Conclusion

In this article, we discussed some interesting facts about Mali. After reading this article, you might gain some knowledge about Mali. If you have still queries and want to learn more about the country, then please comment to us. Further, if you already visited this beautiful country, and want to add more interesting facts to this article that are not included in the article above, please comment to us. Also, share your take on this article.

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