Demographics of Mali

This article is about the demographic features of the population of Mali, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Mali's population (1961-2003)

Population

In July 2007, Mali's population was an estimated 12.0 million, with an annual growth rate of 2.7%. The population is predominantly rural (68% in 2002), and 5–10% of Malians are nomadic. More than 90% of the population lives in the southern part of the country, especially in Bamako, which has over 1 million residents.

In 2007, about 48% of Malians were less than 15 years old, 49% were 15–64 years old, and 3% were 65 and older. The median age was 15.9 years. The birth rate in 2007 was 49.6 births per 1,000, and the total fertility rate was 7.4 children per woman.

The death rate in 2007 was 16.5 deaths per 1,000. Life expectancy at birth was 49.5 years total (47.6 for males and 51.5 for females). Mali has one of the world's highest rates of infant mortality, with 106 deaths per 1,000 live births.

The total population was 15,370,000 in 2010, compared to 4,638,000 in 1950. The proportion of the population aged below 15 in 2010 was 47.2%. 50.6% of the population were aged between 15 and 65 years of age. 2.2% of the population were aged 65 years or older.

	Total population (x 1000)	Population aged 0–14 (%)	Population aged 15–64 (%)	Population aged 65+ (%)
1950	4 638	38.9	58.3	2.8
1955	4 928	40.1	57.4	2.5
1960	5 248	40.5	57.2	2.3
1965	5 597	41.5	56.2	2.3
1970	6 034	42.3	55.2	2.4
1975	6 604	43.3	54.1	2.6
1980	7 246	44.6	52.6	2.8
1985	8 010	45.8	51.3	2.9
1990	8 673	47.5	49.5	3.0
1995	9 825	47.4	49.9	2.8
2000	11 295	47.2	50.3	2.5
2005	13 177	47.1	50.6	2.3
2010	15 370	47.2	50.6	2.2

Structure of the population

Structure of the population (01.04.2009) (Cesnsus, Complete tabulation):

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	7 204 990	7 323 672	14 528 662	100
0-4	1 328 871	1 294 514	2 623 385	18,06
5-9	1 202 875	1 154 948	2 357 823	16,23
10-14	918 866	865 138	1 784 004	12,28
15-19	732 526	783 620	1 516 146	10,44
20-24	529 535	612 368	1 141 903	7,86
25-29	449 099	546 603	995 702	6,85
30-34	385 003	427 795	812 798	5,59
35-39	325 005	326 894	651 949	4,49
40-44	271 239	275 364	546 603	3,76
45-49	228 626	217 261	445 887	3,07
50-54	189 424	192 382	381 806	2,63
55-59	148 594	134 083	282 677	1,95
60-64	127 557	123 461	251 018	1,73
65-69	88 292	77 082	165 374	1,14
70-74	67 319	66 063	133 382	0,92
75-79	40 904	36 197	77 101	0,53
80+	41 992	43 602	85 594	0,59
unknown	129 213	146 297	275 510	1,90

Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0-14	3 450 612	3 314 600	6 765 212	46,56
15-64	3 386 658	3 639 831	7 026 489	48,36
65+	238 507	222 944	461 451	3,18

Structure of the population (DHS 2012-2013) (Males 27 571, Females 28 264 = 55 836) :

Age Group	Male (%)	Female (%)	Total (%)
0-4	19,7	18,3	19,0
5-9	18,8	17,7	18,3
10-14	15,9	14,8	15,3
15-19	7,4	7,1	7,2
20-24	4,5	6,9	5,7
25-29	4,5	7,7	6,1
30-34	4,7	6,1	5,4
35-39	4,6	4,9	4,8
40-44	3,8	3,3	3,5
45-49	3,4	2,4	2,9
50-54	2,9	4,9	3,9
55-59	2,1	2,2	2,1
60-64	2,9	1,8	2,3
65-69	2,0	0,9	1,5
70-74	1,2	0,5	0,9
75-79	0,7	0,3	0,5
80+	0,8	0,3	0,5
unknown	0,1	0,1	0,1

Age group	Male (%)	Female (%)	Total (%)
0-14	54,4	50,8	52,6
15-64	40,8	47,1	43,9
65+	4,7	2,0	3,4

Ethnic groups

A family in Djenné, Mali.

Ethnic groups: Mande 50% (Bambara, Malinke, Soninke), Fula 17%, Voltaic 12%, Songhai 6%, Tuareg and Moor 10%, other 5%.

Mali's population consists of Sub-Saharan ethnic groups, sharing similar historic, cultural, and religious traditions. Exceptions are two nomadic northern groups, the Tuaregs, a Berber people, and Maurs (or Moors), of Arabo-Berber origins.

The Tuaregs traditionally have opposed the central government. Starting in June 1990 in the north, Tuaregs seeking greater autonomy led to clashes with the military. In April 1992, the government and most opposing factions signed a pact to end the fighting and restore stability in the north. Its major aims are to allow greater autonomy to the north and increase government resource allocation to what has been a traditionally impoverished region. The peace agreement was celebrated in 1996 in Timbuktu during an official and highly publicized ceremony called "Flamme de la Paix"--(peace flame).

Historically, interethnic relations throughout the rest of the country were facilitated by easy mobility on the Niger River and across the country's vast savannahs. Each ethnic group was traditionally tied to a specific occupation, all working within proximity to each other, although the distinctions were often blurred.

The Bambara, Malinké, Sarakole, Dogon and Songhay are farmers; the Fula or Fulani, Maur, and Tuareg are herders, while the Bozo are fishers. In recent years this linkage has shifted considerably, as ethnic groups seek nontraditional sources of income.

Vital statistics

Registration of vital events is in Mali not complete. The Population Departement of the United Nations prepared the following estimates.

Period	Live births per year	Deaths per year	Natural change per year	CBR*	CDR*	NC*	TFR*	IMR*
1950-1955	231 000	166 000	65 000	48.4	34.7	13.6	6.48	175
1955-1960	248 000	175 000	74 000	48.8	34.3	14.5	6.65	173
1960-1965	266 000	182 000	84 000	49.1	33.7	15.5	6.75	168
1965-1970	287 000	180 000	107 000	49.4	31.0	18.4	6.87	162
1970-1975	312 000	179 000	133 000	49.3	28.3	21.1	6.93	156
1975-1980	343 000	179 000	163 000	49.5	25.9	23.6	7.01	149
1980-1985	377 000	181 000	196 000	49.4	23.7	25.8	7.07	141
1985-1990	408 000	179 000	229 000	48.9	21.5	27.4	7.09	135
1990-1995	450 000	185 000	265 000	48.7	20.1	28.7	7.01	127
1995-2000	519 000	196 000	323 000	49.1	18.6	30.5	6.88	119
2000-2005	600 000	210 000	390 000	49.0	17.2	31.8	6.71	111
2005-2010	680 000	221 000	459 000	47.6	15.5	32.1	6.46	101
* CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births; TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman)

Births and deaths

Year	Population	Live births	Deaths	Natural increase	Crude birth rate	Crude death rate	Rate of natural increase	TFR
2009	14 517 176	666 216	62 371	603 845	45,9	4,3	41,6

Fertility and Births

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):

Year	CBR (Total)	TFR (Total)	CBR (Urban)	TFR (Urban)	CBR (Rural)	TFR (Rural)
1981-1983		7,10		6,85		7,17
1984-1986		6,73		6,09		6,97
1995-1996	45,1	6,7 (6,0)	39,9	5,4 (4,8)	47,2	7,3 (6,6)
2001	45,1	6,8 (6,1)	42,1	5,5 (4,8)	45,9	7,3 (6,6)
2006	45,2	6,6 (6,0)	41,8	5,4 (5,1)	46,6	7,2 (6,5)
2012-2013	38,8	6,1 (5,3)	36,7	5,0 (4,3)	39,2	6,5 (5,6)

Immigration and emigration

Mali had an estimated net migration rate of –6.6 migrants per 1,000 people in 2006. About 3 million Malians are believed to reside in Côte d'Ivoire and France. Conversely, according to a 2003 estimate, Mali hosts about 11,000 Mauritanians; most are Fulani herders who routinely engage in cross-border migration. In addition, there are several thousand refugees from Côte d'Ivoire, Sierra Leone, and Liberia in Bamako and other urban areas of Mali.

Languages

Main article: Languages of Mali

Although each ethnic group speaks a separate language, nearly 80% of Malians communicate over ethnic borders in Bambara, which is the common language of the marketplace. French is the country's official language and is spoken somewhat by 30% of Malians.

Religion

Main article: Religion in Mali

An estimated 90% of Malians are Muslim (mostly Sunni), 9% adhere to indigenous or traditional animist beliefs, and 1% are Christian (about two-thirds Roman Catholic and one-third Protestant). Atheism and agnosticism are believed to be rare among Malians, most of whom practice their religion on a daily basis. Islam as practiced in Mali is moderate, tolerant, and adapted to local conditions; relations between Muslims and practitioners of minority religious faiths are generally amicable. The constitution establishes a secular state and provides for freedom of religion, and the government largely respects this right.

Health

Main article: Health in Mali

Mali's health and development indicators rank among the worst in the world. In 2000 only 62–65 percent of the population was estimated to have access to safe drinking water and only 69 percent to sanitation services of some kind; only 8 percent was estimated to have access to modern sanitation facilities. Only 20 percent of the nation’s villages and livestock watering holes had modern water facilities.

There were an estimated 140,000 cases of human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) reported in 2003, and an estimated 1.9 percent of the adult population was afflicted with HIV/AIDS that year, among the lowest rates in Sub-Saharan Africa (see also HIV/AIDS in Africa). In the same year, there were 12,000 AIDS deaths. The infant mortality rate is 107.58 deaths/1,000 live births (117.32/1,000 among males and 97.54/1,000 among females) (2006 est.). Life expectancy at birth is 49 years (47.06 years among males and 51.01 years among females) (2006 est.).

Education

Main article: Education in Mali

In the 2000–01 school year, the primary school enrollment rate was 61% (71% of males and 51% of females). The primary school completion rate is also low: only 36 percent of students in 2003 (and lower for females). The majority of students reportedly leave school by age 12. In the late 1990s, the secondary school enrollment rate was 15% percent (20% of males and 10% of females).

According to United States government estimates, the adult literacy rate (defined as those over age 15 who can read and write) was 46.4 percent for the total population in 2003 (53.5 percent for males and 39.6 percent for females). According to United Nations sources, however, the literacy rate is actually much lower—only 27–30 percent overall and as low as 12 percent for females, among the lowest rates in Africa.

Further reading

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