Population:
19,553,397
(July 2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
62
[see also: Population country ranks ]
Nationality:
noun:
Malian(s)
adjective:
Malian
Ethnic groups:
Bambara 33.3%, Fulani (Peuhl) 13.3%, Sarakole/Soninke/Marka 9.8%, Senufo/Manianka 9.6%, Malinke 8.8%, Dogon 8.7%, Sonrai 5.9%, Bobo 2.1%, Tuareg/Bella 1.7%, other Malian 6%, from member of Economic Community of West Africa .4%, other .3%
(2018 est.)
Languages:
French (official), Bambara 46.3%, Peuhl/Foulfoulbe 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%, unspecified 0.7%, other 6.3%
(2009 est.)
note: Mali has 13 national languages in addition to its official language
Religions:
Muslim 93.9%, Christian 2.8%, Animist .7%, none 2.5%
(2018 est.)
Demographic profile:
Mali’s total population is expected to double by 2035; its capital Bamako is one of the fastest-growing cities in Africa. A young age structure, a declining mortality rate, and a sustained high total fertility rate of 6 children per woman – the third highest in the world – ensure continued rapid population growth for the foreseeable future. Significant outmigration only marginally tempers this growth. Despite decreases, Mali’s infant, child, and maternal mortality rates remain among the highest in Sub-Saharan Africa because of limited access to and adoption of family planning, early childbearing, short birth intervals, the prevalence of female genital cutting, infrequent use of skilled birth attendants, and a lack of emergency obstetrical and neonatal care.
Mali’s high total fertility rate has been virtually unchanged for decades, as a result of the ongoing preference for large families, early childbearing, the lack of female education and empowerment, poverty, and extremely low contraceptive use. Slowing Mali’s population growth by lowering its birth rate will be essential for poverty reduction, improving food security, and developing human capital and the economy.
Mali has a long history of seasonal migration and emigration driven by poverty, conflict, demographic pressure, unemployment, food insecurity, and droughts. Many Malians from rural areas migrate during the dry period to nearby villages and towns to do odd jobs or to adjoining countries to work in agriculture or mining. Pastoralists and nomads move seasonally to southern Mali or nearby coastal states. Others migrate long term to Mali’s urban areas, Cote d’Ivoire, other neighboring countries, and in smaller numbers to France, Mali’s former colonial ruler. Since the early 1990s, Mali’s role has grown as a transit country for regional migration flows and illegal migration to Europe. Human smugglers and traffickers exploit the same regional routes used for moving contraband drugs, arms, and cigarettes.
Between early 2012 and 2013, renewed fighting in northern Mali between government forces and Tuareg secessionists and their Islamist allies, a French-led international military intervention, as well as chronic food shortages, caused the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Malians. Most of those displaced domestically sought shelter in urban areas of southern Mali, except for pastoralist and nomadic groups, who abandoned their traditional routes, gave away or sold their livestock, and dispersed into the deserts of northern Mali or crossed into neighboring countries. Almost all Malians who took refuge abroad (mostly Tuareg and Maure pastoralists) stayed in the region, largely in Mauritania, Niger, and Burkina Faso.
Age structure:
0-14 years: 47.69%
(male 4,689,121/female 4,636,685)
[see also: Age structure - 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 19%
(male 1,768,772/female 1,945,582)
[see also: Age structure - 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 26.61%
(male 2,395,566/female 2,806,830)
[see also: Age structure - 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 3.68%
(male 367,710/female 352,170)
[see also: Age structure - 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 3.02%
(male 293,560/female 297,401)
(2020 est.)
[see also: Age structure - 65 years and over country ranks ]
population pyramid:
This is the population pyramid for Mali. A population pyramid illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as well as economic development. The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and international migration trends.
For additional information, please see the entry for Population pyramid on the Definitions and Notes page under the References tab.
Dependency ratios:
total dependency ratio: 101.9
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - total dependency ratio country ranks ]
youth dependency ratio: 96.8
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - youth dependency ratio country ranks ]
elderly dependency ratio: 5.1
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - elderly dependency ratio country ranks ]
potential support ratio: 19.5
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - potential support ratio country ranks ]
Median age:
total: 16 years
[see also: Median age - total country ranks ]
male: 15.3 years
[see also: Median age - male country ranks ]
female: 16.7 years
(2020 est.)
[see also: Median age - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
225
Population growth rate:
2.95%
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
9
[see also: Population growth rate country ranks ]
Birth rate:
42.2 births/1,000 population
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
4
[see also: Birth rate country ranks ]
Death rate:
9 deaths/1,000 population
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
63
[see also: Death rate country ranks ]
Net migration rate:
-3.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
188
[see also: Net migration rate country ranks ]
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
Urbanization:
urban population: 43.1% of total population
(2019)
[see also: Urbanization - urban population country ranks ]
rate of urbanization: 4.86% annual rate of change
(2015-20 est.)
[see also: Urbanization - rate of urbanization country ranks ]
Major urban areas - population:
2.529 million BAMAKO (capital)
(2019)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - at birth country ranks ]
0-14 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 0.91 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 0.85 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 0.99 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 65 years and over country ranks ]
total population: 94.8 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio country ranks ]
Mother's mean age at first birth:
18.9 years
(2018 est.)
note: median age at first birth among women 25-29
[see also: Mother's mean age at first birth country ranks ]
Maternal mortality rate:
562 deaths/100,000 live births
(2017 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
15
[see also: Maternal mortality rate country ranks ]
Infant mortality rate:
total: 64 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - total country ranks ]
male: 69.6 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - male country ranks ]
female: 58.3 deaths/1,000 live births
(2020 est.)
[see also: Infant mortality rate - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
9
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 61.6 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - total population country ranks ]
male: 59.4 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - male country ranks ]
female: 63.9 years
(2020 est.)
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
211
[See also: Healthy Life Expectancy ]
[See also: Health Performance ]
Total fertility rate:
5.72 children born/woman
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
4
[see also: Total fertility rate country ranks ]
Contraceptive prevalence rate:
15.6%
(2015)
[see also: Contraceptive prevalence rate country ranks ]
Drinking water source:
improved:
urban: 96.5% of population
[see also: Drinking water source - improved - urban country ranks ]
rural: 64.1% of population
[see also: Drinking water source - improved - rural country ranks ]
total: 77% of population
unimproved:
urban: 3.5% of population
rural: 35.9% of population
total: 23% of population
(2015 est.)
Current Health Expenditure:
3.8%
(2016)
[see also: Current Health Expenditure country ranks ]
Physicians density:
0.14 physicians/1,000 population
(2016)
[see also: Physicians density country ranks ]
Hospital bed density:
0.1 beds/1,000 population
(2010)
[see also: Hospital bed density country ranks ]
Sanitation facility access:
improved:
urban: 37.5% of population
(2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - improved - urban country ranks ]
rural: 16.1% of population
(2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - improved - rural country ranks ]
total: 24.7% of population
(2015 est.)
unimproved:
urban: 62.5% of population
(2015 est.)
rural: 83.9% of population
(2015 est.)
total: 75.3% of population
(2015 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
1.4%
(2018 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
36
[see also: HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
150,000
(2018 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
35
[see also: HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS country ranks ]
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
6,500
(2018 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
22
[see also: HIV/AIDS - deaths country ranks ]
Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk:
very high
(2016)
food or waterborne diseases:
bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
(2016)
vectorborne diseases:
malaria and dengue fever
(2016)
water contact diseases:
schistosomiasis
(2016)
animal contact diseases:
rabies
(2016)
respiratory diseases:
meningococcal meningitis
(2016)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate:
8.6%
(2016)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
149
[see also: Obesity - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]
Children under the age of 5 years underweight:
25%
(2015)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
18
[see also: Children under the age of 5 years underweight country ranks ]
Education expenditures:
3.1% of GDP
(2016)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
134
[see also: Education expenditures country ranks ]
Literacy:
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 33.1%
[see also: Literacy - total population country ranks ]
male: 45.1%
[see also: Literacy - male country ranks ]
female: 22.2%
(2015)
[see also: Literacy - female country ranks ]
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 7 years
[see also: School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) - total country ranks ]
male: 8 years
[see also: School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) - male country ranks ]
female: 7 years
(2015)
[see also: School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) - female country ranks ]
Unemployment, youth ages 15-24
total: 2.3%
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - total country ranks ]
male: 2.5%
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - male country ranks ]
female: 2.2%
(2016 est.)
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
175
NOTE: 1) The information regarding Mali on this page is re-published from the 2020 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Mali People 2020 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Mali People 2020 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.
2) The rank that you see is the CIA reported rank, which may have the following issues:
a) They assign increasing rank number, alphabetically for countries with the same value of the ranked item, whereas we assign them the same rank.
b) The CIA sometimes assigns counterintuitive ranks. For example, it assigns unemployment rates in increasing order, whereas we rank them in decreasing order.
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This page was last modified 27-Jan-20