Mali

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Country Name

Mali, or officially the Republic of Mali.

Location

Mali is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali is bordered by Senegal and Mauritania to the west, Algeria to the north, Niger to the east, and Burkina Faso, Guinea, and Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) to the south.

Capital

Bamako.

The reason for naming the country

The name Mali is taken from the name of the Mali Empire. The name means "the place where the king lives".

Flag

The current flag was adopted on March 1, 1961. The original flag was adopted on April 4, 1959, when Mali joined the Mali Federation.

The flag consists of vertical tricolor green, yellow and red stripes. The green color represents the forests and the nation's fertile lands,

The yellow color represents purity and the mineral wealth of Mali, and the red color represents the bloodshed during the struggles for freedom.

* Flag Facts:

-The flag of Mali and the flag of Senegal have very similar flags. Look for Senegal's central green star to differentiate the two.

- Guinea's flag is also very similar, although the colors are in reverse order.

Language

Mali is a multilingual country whose official language is French. Mali has national languages besides French and Bambara, namely Bomu, Tieyaxo Bozo, Toro So Dogon, Maasina Fulfulde, Hassaniya Arabic, Mamara Senoufo, Kita Maninkakan, Soninke, Koyraboro Senni, Syenara Senoufo, Tamasheq, and Xaasongaxango. Each is spoken as a first language primarily by the ethnic group with which it is associated.

Religion

The majority of Mali's Population are Muslims they are mostly adhering to Sunni The remaining 5% of the population are Christian (about two-thirds Roman Catholic and one-third Protestant). There are also a few people who adhere to traditional African religions such as the Dogon religion. Atheism and agnosticism are believed to be rare among Malians.

Currency

West African CFA franc (XOF).