nd; 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, hydropower
note: bauxite, iron ore, manganese, tin, and copper deposits are
known but not exploited

Land use:
arable land: 3.82%
permanent crops: 0.03%
other: 96.15% (2001)

Irrigated land:
1,380 sq km (1998 est.)

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
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
landlocked; divided into three natural zones: the southern,
cultivated Sudanese; the central, semiarid Sahelian; and the
northern, arid Saharan

People Mali

Population:
11,956,788 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 47.1% (male 2,835,378; female 2,801,578)
15-64 years: 49.9% (male 2,862,075; female 3,101,009)
65 years and over: 3% (male 163,927; female 192,821) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 16.3 years
male: 15.7 years
female: 16.9 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
2.78% (2004 est.)

Birth rate:
47.29 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate:
19.12 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate:
-0.33 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 117.99 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 111.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 124.51 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 45.28 years
male: 44.7 years
female: 45.87 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:
6.58 children born/woman (2004 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
1.9% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
140,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
12,