the strongest democracies on the
continent. President Alpha KONARE won Mali's first democratic
presidential election in 1992 and was reelected in 1997. In keeping
with Mali's two-term constitutional limit, KONARE stepped down in
2002 and was succeeded by Amadou TOURE, who was subsequently elected
to a second term in 2007. The elections were widely judged to be
free and fair.

Geography
Mali

Location:

Western Africa, southwest of Algeria

Geographic coordinates:

17 00 N, 4 00 W

Map references:

Africa

Area:

total: 1.24 million sq km
land: 1.22 million sq km
water: 20,000 sq km

Area - comparative:

slightly less than twice the size of Texas

Land boundaries:

total: 7,243 km
border countries: Algeria 1,376 km, Burkina Faso 1,000 km, Guinea
858 km, Cote d'Ivoire 532 km, Mauritania 2,237 km, Niger 821 km,
Senegal 419 km

Coastline:

0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims:

none (landlocked)

Climate:

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

Terrain:

mostly flat to rolling northern plains covered by sand; savanna in
south, rugged hills in northeast

Elevation extremes:

lowest point: Senegal River 23 m
highest point: Hombori Tondo 1,155 m

Natural resources:

gold, phosphates, kaolin, salt, limestone, uranium, gypsum, granite,
hydropower
note: bauxite, iron ore, manganese, tin, and copper deposits are
known but not exploited

Land use:

arable land: 3.76%
permanent crops: 0.03%
other: 96.21% (2005)

Irrigated land:

2,360 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources:

100 cu km (2001)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):

total: 6.55 cu km/yr (9%/1%/90%)
per capita: 484 cu m/yr (2000)

Natural hazards:

hot, dust-laden harmattan haze common during dry seasons; recurring
droughts; occasional Niger River flooding

Environment - current issues:

deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; inadequate supplies of
potable water; poaching

Environment - international agreements:

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law
of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:

landlocked; divided into three natural zones: the southern,
cu