Mali: People & Society#
| Population | 17,467,108 (July 2016 est.) |
|---|---|
| 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: 47.27% (male 4,145,290/female 4,110,642) 15-24 years: 19.19% (male 1,601,474/female 1,751,161) 25-54 years: 26.82% (male 2,173,415/female 2,511,844) 55-64 years: 3.76% (male 327,923/female 329,296) 65 years and over: 2.95% (male 257,519/female 258,544) (2016 est.) |
| Dependency ratios | total dependency ratio: 100.2% youth dependency ratio: 95.1% elderly dependency ratio: 5% potential support ratio: 19.8% (2015 est.) |
| Median age | total: 16.2 years male: 15.5 years female: 16.8 years (2016 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 2.96% (2016 est.) |
| Birth rate | 44.4 births/1,000 population (2016 est.) |
| Death rate | 12.6 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.) |
| Net migration rate | -2.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.) |
| 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: 39.9% of total population (2015) rate of urbanization: 5.08% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.) |
| Major urban areas - population | BAMAKO (capital) 2.515 million (2015) |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 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 (2016 est.) |
| Mother's mean age at first birth | 18.8 note: median age at first birth among women 25-29 (2012/13 est.) |
| Maternal mortality rate | 587 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 100 deaths/1,000 live births male: 106.6 deaths/1,000 live births female: 93.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.) |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 55.8 years male: 53.9 years female: 57.7 years (2016 est.) |
| Total fertility rate | 5.95 children born/woman (2016 est.) |
| Contraceptive prevalence rate | 10.3% (2012/13) |
| Health expenditures | 6.9% of GDP (2014) |
| Physicians density | 0.08 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 | 1.25% (2015 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | 124,200 (2015 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths | 6,500 (2015 est.) |
| 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 | 5.7% (2014) |
| Children under the age of 5 years underweight | 27.9% (2006) |
| Education expenditures | 3.6% of GDP (2014) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 38.7% male: 48.2% female: 29.2% (2015 est.) |
| School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) | total: 8 years male: 9 years female: 7 years (2011) |
| Child labor - children ages 5-14 | total number: 1,485,027 percentage: 36% (2010 est.) |
| Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 | total: 11.1% male: NA female: NA (2014 est.) |