Total Area:1.24 million sq km Land Borders: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Guinea,
Population: 11,716,829 Cote d'Ivoire, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal
Life Expectancy: 49 years HIV % Total Poulation:1.9%
Ethnic Groups: Mande 50% (Bambara, Malinke, Soninke), Peul 17%, Voltaic 12%, Songhai 6%, Tuareg and Moor 10%, other 5%
Languages:French (official), Bambara 80%, numerous African languages
President:Amadou Toumani TOURE GDP - Per Capita: $1,200
The Sudanese Republic and Senegal became independent of France in 1960 as the Mali Federation. When Senegal withdrew after only a few months, what formerly made up the Sudanese Republic was renamed Mali. Rule by dictatorship was brought to a close in 1991 by a coup that ushered in democratic government. 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