Mali, flag oflandlocked country of western Africa, mostly in the Saharan (Sahara) and Sahelian (Sahel) regions. Mali is largely flat and arid. The Niger River flows through its interior, functioning as the main trading and transport artery in the country. Sections of the river flood periodically, providing much-needed fertile agricultural soil along its banks as well as creating pasture for livestock.

Mali is bounded on the north by Algeria, on the east by Niger and Burkina Faso, on the south by Côte d'Ivoire and Guinea, and on the west by Senegal and Mauritania.

There are two main vegetation zones that correspond to the climatic regions of the Sudan and the Sahel. In the Sudanic zone, localized forest corridors are found along the Guinean border and in the river valleys; the rest of the area is covered with savanna. The trees include the néré, or twoball nitta tree (Parkia biglobosa), the karite (Butyrospermum parkii), the cailcedra (Senegal khaya; Khaya senegalensis), and the kapioka. The incidence of trees decreases to the north as the Sudanic zone merges with the Sahel. The Sahel is characterized by steppe vegetation, notably such drought-resistant trees as the baobab, doum palm, and palmyra. These trees also disappear to the north, where short, thorny plants such as the mimosa, acacia, and cram-cram (Cenchrus biflorus, a member of the grass family) grow; all vegetation is absent in the far-north region of the Sahara. Beginning in the latter half of the 20th century, deforestation, overgrazing, and repeated episodes of drought served to greatly speed the rate of naturally occurring desertification, resulting in the encroachment of the desert on the Sahel.

The notion of ethnicity is fluid in Mali. In some cases, people marry outside their ethnic group and speak languages that differ from those of their ancestors without changing their cultural affiliation. In other cases, however, identity does change, especially as people move internally and adopt Bambara, the most widely spoken African language in Mali. Nevertheless, several broad categories can be noted. Living in the Sahelian zone and north of the Niger Bend are Imazighen (Berbers (Berber), including the Tuareg, a significant subgroup) and the Arab-Spanish-Amazigh (Berber) group known as the Moors (Moor), who speak and write Arabic.

There are three main religions. Sunni Islam (Islāmic world) is practiced by about nine-tenths of the population, traditional religions by most of the rest, and Christianity (primarily Roman Catholicism and Protestantism) by a small number. Islamization dates to the 11th century and has eclipsed traditional religions among the Soninke, Songhai, Moors, Tuareg, and most Fulani. Many of the Gur (Gur languages)-speaking peoples, especially the Dogon, as well as some Malinke and Bambara, practice traditional African religions. Even among Muslim and Christian converts, many traditional beliefs persist.

Mali is traditionally divided into the nomadic region of the Sahel and the Sahara and the agricultural region of the Sudanic zone. Nearly three-fourths of the population is rural, typically living in thatched dwellings grouped together in villages of between 150 and 600 inhabitants and surrounded by cultivated fields and grazing lands. The older towns, such as Djenné, Timbuktu, Gao, and Ségou, are built in the Sudanese style of architecture, characterized by tall mud walls with wooden limbs and planks that stick out from the surface, providing a frame for the mud walls but also creating a type of ladder permitting yearly replastering; inside, a series of wooden columns holds up the roof, which has small openings to allow in some sunlight. The Djenné mosque, the epitome of Sudanese architecture, is the largest mud building in the world. Timbuktu (founded about AD 1100) was a centre of commerce and learning during the time of the Mali (13th–16th century) and Songhai (15th–16th century) empires; later, trans-Saharan trade declined in favour of trade along the Atlantic coast as desertification spread southward, and the town retained only a shadow of its former glory by the early 20th century. The newer towns, such as Bamako, Kayes, San, and Kati, consist of a central business district, around which residential districts are grouped.

Subsistence and commercial agriculture are the bases of the Malian economy. Some four-fifths of the working population is engaged in subsistence agriculture, but the government supports the development of commercial products. An agricultural area of major importance is the inland Niger delta. Millet, rice, wheat, and corn (maize), as well as yams and cassava (manioc), are the main subsistence crops, while cotton is an important commercial crop; peanuts (groundnuts), sugarcane, tobacco, and tea are also grown for market. Market gardens produce a variety of vegetables and fruits, including cabbages, turnips, carrots, beans, tomatoes, bananas, mangoes, and oranges. Irrigation projects have been developed on the Niger near the towns of Ségou and Mopti. Livestock is commercially important; the major areas for livestock raising (cattle, sheep, and goats) are the Sahel and the region around Macina. Fishing is also of economic significance, although this sector has declined since the 1980s. Still, Mali is one of the largest producers of fish in western Africa. The inland delta is a particularly important fishing ground, though periods of drought have hindered development of these fisheries. Large-scale dam construction and environmental pollution have also hindered this sector.

Houses in Mali are typically built of a mixture of earth and cement. Malian towns exhibit an eclectic mix of styles, including traditional mud huts, concrete houses, European-style villas, and mosques and government buildings in the Sudanese style. The Dogon built their houses into the Bandiagara Escarpment, which was designated a World Heritage site in 1989. These houses, built out of mud, have flat roofs where the inhabitants can sleep in warm weather, and their granaries have thatched conical roofs; both structures have decorative doors. Other houses, such as historic dwellings found in Djenné, were built on small hills to protect from seasonal flooding.

Weekly markets are held throughout Mali, often on a rotating basis in specific areas. Handwoven textiles, fresh fish, agricultural products, and other goods are purchased or traded at these bustling and well-attended markets. Herders bring their sheep, goats, and other livestock for sale and exchange. Malians travel long distances to attend the markets, which are also centres of social interaction. All ethnic groups participate; sometimes certain parts of the markets are reserved for a particular ethnic group's wares. For Mali's considerable Muslim population, mosques (mosque) are an important centre of cultural and social life, especially on Fridays, when weekly prayer services are held.

The most common cultural activities involve music and dancing. Dogon dancers wear masks that are more than 10 feet (3 metres) tall to act out their conception of the world's progress, and Bambara animal-spirit masqueraders do a fertility dance in which they imitate the movements of animals. Variants of these dances are often evident in performances given by the country's numerous dance troupes, where traditional elements are adapted and combined to suit a tourist audience. Mali also has a ballet troupe that performs throughout the world. Traditional music from women of the southern area known as Wassoulou is very popular. Several Malian musicians are internationally known: Oumou Sangaré, Sali Sidibi, Ali Farka Touré, Amadou Bagayoko and Mariam Doumbia (who perform together as Amadou and Mariam), and Salif Keita, a descendant of Sundiata Keita, the founder of the Mali empire; their music combines elements of rock and roll with indigenous traditions.

The Bambara and other groups excel in the creation of wood carvings of masks, statues, stools, and objects used in traditional religions. The Tyiwara, or gazelle mask, of the Bambara is remarkable for its fineness of line and distinct style. Localized handicrafts include jewelry making by the Malinke people and leatherworking around the Niger Bend. Carved statues and cotton cloth woven with geometric designs are produced for the tourist trade in urban areas. There are also some contemporary Malian artists, mainly in Bamako, who paint and sculpt in modern styles and media. Artists are trained in both traditional and contemporary genres at the National Institute of Arts and at the Artisan Centre of Bamako.

The National Archives of Mali and the National Library are located in Bamako, as is the Municipal Library; the Ahmed Baba Institute, a centre that houses and preserves a large collection of historical Arabic and African manuscripts, is located in Timbuktu. These institutions suffer from lack of funds and are often closed. The civilian government has sought outside funding for these cultural organizations in order to preserve Mali's rich heritage.

The French, who established a fort at Médine in western Mali in 1855, viewed the Ségou Tukulor empire as the principal obstacle to their acquisition of the Niger River valley. Fearful of British designs on the same region, they engaged in a series of diplomatic overtures and military operations to push the limits of their control eastward. Between 1880 and 1881 the French succeeded in expanding their control from Médine 200 miles (320 km) east to Kita, primarily through the diplomatic efforts of Capt. Joseph-Simon Gallieni (Gallieni, Joseph-Simon), who signed protectorate treaties with chiefs at Bafoulabé and Kita.

In 2002 Touré, the former military leader who had handed the government over to civilians in 1992, was elected president of the country on a nonpartisan platform; he was reelected in 2007. His administration was faced with continuing economic problems, some of which were partially alleviated by debt relief—particularly the significant relief granted in 2003 and 2005. Touré's administration was also occupied with various conflicts: renewed troubles with Tuareg rebels in 2006 were tenuously resolved by peace agreement that same year, and in 2007 skirmishes between Guinean and Malian villagers over land rights resulted in injury, death, and loss of property. The governments of both countries intervened, resuming a long-dormant mixed patrol along the Mali-Guinea border and encouraging the use of peaceful negotiations to reconcile the disputes.

Philippe Decraene, Le Mali (1980); and Mamadou Traoré and Yves Monnier (eds.), Atlas du Mali (1980), provide overviews. Ethnographic studies include Jean Gallais, Hommes du Sahel: espaces-temps et pouvoirs: le delta intérieur du Niger, 1960–1980 (1984); Danielle Jonckers, La Société minyanka du Mali (1987); and Bokar N'Diayé, Groupes ethniques au Mali (1970).Historical works include Nehemia Levtzion, Ancient Ghana and Mali (1973, reprinted 1980); Richard L. Roberts, Warriors, Merchants, and Slaves: The State and the Economy in the Middle Niger Valley, 1700–1914 (1987); William J. Foltz, From French West Africa to the Mali Federation (1965); Pascal James Imperato and Galvin H. Imperato, Historical Dictionary of Mali, 4th ed. (2008); and Pascal James Imperato, Mali: A Search for Direction (1989). Amidu Magasa, Papa-commandant a jeté un grand filet devant nous: les exploités des rives du Niger, 1900–1962 (1978), discusses forced labour and colonization. Oumar Diarrah, Le Mali de Modibo Keïta (1986), discusses Mali. Treatments of the transition to democracy can be found in Andrew F. Clark, “From Military Dictatorship to Democracy: The Democratization Process in Mali,” in Journal of Third World Studies, 12(1): 201–222 (Spring 1995); and R. James Bingen, David Robinson, and John M. Staatz (eds.), Democracy and Development in Mali (2000).Andrew Clark