Mali Geography Profile 2008

Location

Western Africa, southwest of Algeria

Geographic coordinates

17 00 N, 4 00 W

Map references

Africa

Area

total: 1.24 million sq km
land: 1.22 million sq km
water: 20,000 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly less than twice the size of Texas

Land boundaries

total: 7,243 km
border countries: Algeria 1,376 km, Burkina Faso 1,000 km, Guinea 858 km, Cote d'Ivoire 532 km, Mauritania 2,237 km, Niger 821 km, Senegal 419 km

Coastline

0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims

none (landlocked)

Climate

subtropical to arid; hot and dry (February to June); rainy, humid, and mild (June to November); cool and dry (November to February)

Terrain

mostly flat to rolling northern plains covered by sand; 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, gypsum, granite, hydropower
note: bauxite, iron ore, manganese, tin, and copper deposits are known but not exploited

Land use

arable land: 3.76%
permanent crops: 0.03%
other: 96.21% (2005)

Irrigated land

2,360 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources

100 cu km (2001)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)

total: 6.55 cu km/yr (9%/1%/90%)
per capita: 484 cu m/yr (2000)

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, Whaling
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