Country · Africa
Mali
Republic of Mali
Mali is a country in Western Africa. About 19.1 million people live there, in an area of 1 240 192 square kilometres. Its capital city is Bamako.
Picture credit: H. Grobe (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Robin Taylor (CC BY 2.0) · Ryszard Vorbrich (CC BY-SA 3.0 pl) · Mark Fischer (CC BY-SA 4.0) · GMason (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Mali?
Mali lies in Western Africa, on the continent of Africa.
It sits in the northern half of the world, roughly 1 892 km from the equator.
Mali is landlocked: it has no coast at all, so you cannot reach the sea without crossing another country.
It shares a border with 7 countries: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Guinea, the Ivory Coast, Mauritania, Niger and the Senegal.
How big is Mali?
Mali covers 1 240 192 square kilometres.
That is about 12 times the size of Iceland.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 23rd largest.
If everybody spread out evenly, there would be about 15.4 people on every square kilometre.
That is emptier than the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in Mali?
About 19.1 million people live in Mali.
That is the 60th biggest population in the world.
People here speak French.
They pay with the West African CFA franc (Fr).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 47 years.
The land of Mali
The land of Mali sits on average 343 metres above sea level.
Because it is landlocked, anything that comes by ship has to cross one of its 7 neighbours to get here.
It lies inside the tropics, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes Mali different?
Websites from here often end in .ml.
Mali and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about 3 live in Mali.
It takes up about 0.93 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Africa the country ranks 8th of 54 by size, and 20th by population.
Mali and its neighbours
Algeria, its largest neighbour, is about 1.9 times bigger.
Algeria has more people: 42.2 million against 19.1 million.
Nature and animals
Of the animals on this site, 3 live wild in Mali: Desert locust, Fennec fox and Olive baboon. The highest mountain in the country is Hombori Tondo, at 1 155 metres. The longest river in the country is the Niger. The largest lake in the country is Lake Débo.
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.
Where this country lands in the record lists
How big is Mali compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 7.6 times as big as Mali: 9 372 610 km² against 1 240 192 km².
- Mali is about 5.1 times as big as the United Kingdom: 1 240 192 km² against 242 900 km².
Questions children ask
What is the capital of Mali?
The capital of Mali is Bamako. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in Mali?
About 19.1 million people live in Mali, which makes it the 60th most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
Which countries border Mali?
Mali borders Algeria, Burkina Faso, Guinea, the Ivory Coast, Mauritania, Niger and the Senegal — 7 neighbours in total.
How big is Mali?
Mali covers 1 240 192 square kilometres, making it the 23rd largest country in the world. That is about 12 times the size of Iceland.
What is the highest mountain in Mali?
The highest mountain in Mali is Hombori Tondo, 1 155 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in Mali?
The longest river in Mali is the Niger. Of its 4 200 kilometres, about 1 693 run through the country.
What is the largest lake in Mali?
The largest lake in Mali is Lake Débo. It covers about 160 km².
Which continent is Mali in?
Mali is in Africa, in the part called Western Africa.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
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