World Factbook
Mali
République de Mali
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Literacy
male
46.2% (2018 est.)
female
25.7% (2018 est.)
total population
35.5% (2018 est.)
Languages
Bambara (official), French 17.2%, Peuhl/Foulfoulbe/Fulani 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%, other 6.3%, unspecified 0.7% (2009 est.)
note: Mali has 13 national languages in addition to its official language
Religions
Muslim 93.9%, Christian 2.8%, animist 0.7%, none 2.5% (2018 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth
1.03 male(s)/female
0-14 years
1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years
0.89 male(s)/female
total population
0.95 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
65 years and over
0.97 male(s)/female
Birth rate
39.44 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate
7.87 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Median age
male
15.7 years
total
16.5 years (2025 est.)
female
17.1 years
Population
male
10,999,331
total
22,634,423 (2025 est.)
female
11,635,092
Nationality
noun
Malian(s)
adjective
Malian
Tobacco use
male
13.1% (2025 est.)
total
6.9% (2025 est.)
female
0.6% (2025 est.)
Urbanization
urban population
46.2% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
4.57% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
46.8% (male 5,175,714/female 5,114,128)
15-64 years
50.1% (male 5,178,742/female 5,842,456)
65 years and over
3.1% (2024 est.) (male 334,299/female 345,268)
Ethnic groups
Bambara 33.3%, Fulani (Peuhl) 13.3%, Sarakole/Soninke/Marka 9.8%, Senufo/Manianka 9.6%, Malinke 8.8%, Dogon 8.7%, Sonrai 5.9%, Bobo 2.1%, Tuareg/Bella 1.7%, other Malian 6%, from members of Economic Community of West Africa 0.4%, other 0.3% (2018 est.)
Child marriage
men married by age 18
2.1% (2018)
women married by age 15
15.9% (2018)
women married by age 18
53.7% (2018)
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio
98.5 (2025 est.)
youth dependency ratio
92.3 (2025 est.)
potential support ratio
16.2 (2025 est.)
elderly dependency ratio
6.2 (2025 est.)
Physician density
0.19 physicians/1,000 population (2023)
Health expenditure
Health expenditure (as % of GDP)
4.5% of GDP (2021)
Health expenditure (as % of national budget)
5.7% of national budget (2022 est.)
Net migration rate
-2.82 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Hospital bed density
0.2 beds/1,000 population (2018 est.)
Total fertility rate
5.26 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Drinking water source
improved: rural
rural: 74.4% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 83.6% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 94.7% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 25.6% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 16.4% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 5.3% of population (2022 est.)
Education expenditure
Education expenditure (% GDP)
4.2% of GDP (2023 est.)
Education expenditure (% national budget)
17.8% national budget (2024 est.)
Infant mortality rate
male
62.6 deaths/1,000 live births
total
55.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
female
52 deaths/1,000 live births
Population growth rate
2.88% (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
2.59 (2025 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, as shown in this population distribution map
Life expectancy at birth
male
60.9 years
female
65.6 years
total population
63.2 years (2024 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
367 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Sanitation facility access
improved: rural
rural: 49.3% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 67.2% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 88.6% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 50.7% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 32.8% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 11.4% of population (2022 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
beer
0.09 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine
0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total
0.6 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits
0.02 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols
0.49 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Major urban areas - population
2.929 million BAMAKO (capital) (2023)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
8.6% (2016)
Mother's mean age at first birth
19.2 years (2018 est.)
note: data represents median age at first birth among women 20-49
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
79.2% (2018 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
15% (2024 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
male
8 years (2017 est.)
total
7 years (2017 est.)
female
6 years (2017 est.)