Population:
17,885,245 (July 2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 64
Nationality:
noun: Malian(s)
adjective: Malian
Ethnic groups:
Bambara 34.1%, Fulani (Peul) 14.7%, Sarakole 10.8%, Senufo 10.5%, Dogon 8.9%, Malinke 8.7%, Bobo 2.9%, Songhai 1.6%, Tuareg 0.9%, other Malian 6.1%, from member of Economic Community of West African States 0.3%, other 0.4% (2012-13 est.)
Languages:
French (official), Bambara 46.3%, Peul/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%
note: Mali has 13 national languages in addition to its official language (2009 est.)
Religions:
Muslim 94.8%, Christian 2.4%, Animist 2%, none 0.5%, unspecified 0.3% (2009 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: 48.17% (male 4,330,370/female 4,285,171)
15-24 years: 18.84% (male 1,604,914/female 1,765,479)
25-54 years: 26.26% (male 2,171,171/female 2,525,109)
55-64 years: 3.7% (male 335,023/female 326,910)
65 years and over: 3.03% (male 270,856/female 270,242) (2017 est.)
population pyramid:
Africa ::MALI
Population Pyramid
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
youth dependency ratio: 96.8
elderly dependency ratio: 5.1
potential support ratio: 19.5 (2015 est.)
Median age:
total: 15.8 years
male: 15.1 years
female: 16.4 years (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 228
Population growth rate:
3.02% (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 7
Birth rate:
43.9 births/1,000 population (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 3
Death rate:
9.8 deaths/1,000 population (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 43
Net migration rate:
-3.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 181
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: 41.4% of total population (2017)
rate of urbanization: 4.97% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)
Major urban areas - population:
BAMAKO (capital) 2.515 million (2015)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 0.91 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 0.87 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
Mother's mean age at first birth:
18.8 years
note: median age at first birth among women 25-29 (2012/13 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio:
587 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 16
Infant mortality rate:
total: 69.5 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 75.3 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 63.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 9
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 60.3 years
male: 58.2 years
female: 62.5 years (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 204
Total fertility rate:
6.01 children born/woman (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 3
Contraceptive prevalence rate:
15.6% (2015)
Health expenditures:
6.9% of GDP (2014)
country comparison to the world: 83
Physicians density:
0.09 physicians/1,000 population (2010)
Hospital bed density:
0.1 beds/1,000 population (2010)
Drinking water source:
improved:
urban: 96.5% of population
rural: 64.1% of population
total: 77% of population
unimproved:
urban: 3.5% of population
rural: 35.9% of population
total: 23% of population (2015 est.)
Sanitation facility access:
improved:
urban: 37.5% of population
rural: 16.1% of population
total: 24.7% of population
unimproved:
urban: 62.5% of population
rural: 83.9% of population
total: 75.3% of population (2015 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
1% (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 44
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
110,000 (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 40
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
6,100 (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 27
Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever
water contact disease: schistosomiasis
respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis
animal contact disease: rabies (2016)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate:
8.6% (2016)
country comparison to the world: 149
Education expenditures:
3.8% of GDP (2015)
country comparison to the world: 83
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 33.1%
male: 45.1%
female: 22.2% (2015 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 8 years
male: 9 years
female: 7 years (2011)
Unemployment, youth ages 15-24:
total: 11.1%
male: NA
female: NA (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 117