Mali Environment - 2023

Environment - current issues

deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; loss of pasture land; inadequate supplies of potable water

Environment - 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

signed, but not ratified: Nuclear Test Ban

Climate

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

Land use

agricultural land: 34.1% (2018 est.)

arable land: 5.6% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0.1% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 28.4% (2018 est.)

forest: 10.2% (2018 est.)

other: 55.7% (2018 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 46.2% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 4.57% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Food insecurity

severe localized food insecurity:

due to civil insecurity and high food prices - the food security situation deteriorated in 2021, particularly in conflict-affected central and northern areas; according to the latest analysis, about 1.84 million people are estimated to be in “Crisis” and above between June and August 2022, as a result of worsening conflicts, weather shocks, reduced cereal production in 2021 and high food prices

Revenue from forest resources

2.02% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 31.17 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 3.18 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 19.16 megatons (2020 est.)

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 1,937,354 tons (2012 est.)

Major lakes (area sq km)

fresh water lake(s): Lac Faguibine - 590 sq km
note - the Niger River is the only source of water for the lake; in recent years the lake is dry

Major rivers (by length in km)

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

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Atlantic Ocean drainage: Niger (2,261,741 sq km), Senegal (456,397 sq km), Volta (410,991 sq km)

Major aquifers

Lullemeden-Irhazer Basin, Taodeni-Tanezrouft Basin

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.)

NOTE: The information regarding Mali on this page is re-published from the 2023 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Mali 2023 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Mali 2023 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.