Contents • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Etymology [ ] The name Mali is taken from the name of the. The name was originally derived from the or word mali, meaning “hippopotamus”, but it eventually came to mean 'the place where the king lives'. Ny I Norge Tekstbok Pdf Printer.

The word carries the connotation of strength. Guinean writer suggests in Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali (1965) that it is not impossible that Mali was the name given to one of the capitals of the emperors. 14th century Moroccan traveller reported that the capital of the Mali Empire was called Mali.

One tradition tells that the legendary first emperor changed himself into a hippopotamus upon his death in the, and that it's possible to find villages in the area of this river, termed 'old Mali', which have Mali for a name. This name could have formerly been that of a city.

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In old Mali, there is one village called Malikoma which means “New Mali.” Another theory suggests that Mali is a pronunciation of the name of the. It is suggested that a sound shift led to the change, whereby in Fulani the alveolar segment /nd/ shifts to /l/ and the terminal vowel denasalises and raises, thus “Manden” shifts to /Mali/. Main article: Mali was once part of three famed West African empires which controlled in gold, salt,, and other precious commodities. These had neither rigid geopolitical boundaries nor rigid ethnic identities. The earliest of these empires was the, which was dominated by the, a -speaking people. The empire expanded throughout West Africa from the 8th century until 1078, when it was conquered by the. The later formed on the upper, and reached the height of power in the 14th century.

Under the Mali Empire, the ancient cities of and were centers of both trade and Islamic learning. The empire later declined as a result of internal intrigue, ultimately being supplanted by the. The Songhai people originated in current northwestern. The Songhai had long been a major power in West Africa subject to the Mali Empire's rule.

In the late 14th century, the Songhai gradually gained independence from the Mali Empire and expanded, ultimately subsuming the entire eastern portion of the Mali Empire. The Songhai Empire's eventual collapse was largely the result of a invasion in 1591, under the command of. The fall of the Songhai Empire marked the end of the region's role as a trading crossroads. Following the, the trans-Saharan trade routes lost significance. One of the worst in the region's recorded history occurred in the 18th century. According to, 'The worst crises were in the 1680s, when famine extended from the Senegambian coast to the Upper Nile and 'many sold themselves for slaves, only to get a sustenance', and especially in 1738–56, when West Africa's greatest recorded subsistence crisis, due to drought and locusts, reportedly killed half the population of.' French colonial rule [ ].

Ex Malian Transition President Until the military coup of 22 March 2012 and a second military coup in December 2012, Mali was a governed by the Constitution of 12 January 1992, which was amended in 1999. The constitution provides for a separation of powers among the executive,, and branches of government.

The system of government can be described as 'semi-presidential'. Executive power is vested in a president, who is elected to a five-year term by and is limited to two terms. The president serves as a and of the armed forces. A prime minister appointed by the president serves as head of government and in turn appoints the Council of Ministers. The unicameral National Assembly is Mali's sole legislative body, consisting of deputies elected to five-year terms.

Following the 2007 elections, the held 113 of 160 seats in the assembly. The assembly holds two regular sessions each year, during which it debates and votes on legislation that has been submitted by a member or by the government. Mali's constitution provides for an independent judiciary, but the executive continues to exercise influence over the judiciary by virtue of power to appoint judges and oversee both judicial functions and law enforcement. Mali's highest courts are the Supreme Court, which has both judicial and administrative powers, and a separate Constitutional Court that provides judicial review of legislative acts and serves as an election arbiter.

Various lower courts exist, though village chiefs and elders resolve most local disputes in rural areas. Foreign relations [ ]. Former President of Mali and Minister-president of the Netherlands Mali's foreign policy orientation has become increasingly pragmatic and pro-Western over time. Since the institution of a democratic form of government in 2002, Mali's relations with the West in general and in particular have improved significantly. Mali has a longstanding yet ambivalent relationship with France, a.

Mali was active in regional organizations such as the until its suspension over the. Working to control and resolve regional conflicts, such as in,, and, is one of Mali's major foreign policy goals. Mali feels threatened by the potential for the spillover of conflicts in neighboring states, and relations with those neighbors are often uneasy. General insecurity along borders in the north, including cross-border and terrorism, remain troubling issues in regional relations. Military [ ]. Main article: In 2016, Mali's population was an estimated 18 million. The population is predominantly rural (68 percent in 2002), and 5–10 percent of Malians are.

More than 90 percent of the population lives in the southern part of the country, especially in, which has over 1 million residents. In 2007, about 48 percent of Malians were younger than 12 years old, 49 percent were 15–64 years old, and 3 percent were 65 and older. The median age was 15.9 years. The in 2014 is 45.53 births per 1,000, and the (in 2012) was 6.4 children per woman.

The in 2007 was 16.5 deaths per 1,000. At birth was 53.06 years total (51.43 for males and 54.73 for females). Mali has one of the of, with 106 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2007. The are historic, nomadic inhabitants of northern Mali. Mali's population encompasses a number of ethnic groups. The (: Bamanankaw) are by far the largest single ethnic group, making up 36.5 percent of the population. Collectively, the Bambara,,, and (also called ), all part of the broader group, constitute 50 percent of Mali's population.

Other significant groups are the (French: Peul;: Fulɓe) (17 percent), (12 percent), (6 percent), and and (10 percent). Personal names reflect Mali's complex regional identities. In the far north, there is a division between -descendent nomad populations and the darker-skinned Bella or people, due to the historical spread of in the region.

An estimated 800,000 people in Mali are descended from. Slavery in Mali has persisted for centuries. The Arabic population kept slaves well into the 20th century, until slavery was suppressed by around the mid-20th century. There still persist certain hereditary servitude relationships, and according to some estimates, even today approximately 200,000 Malians are still enslaved. Although Mali has enjoyed a reasonably good inter-ethnic relationships based on the long history of coexistence, some hereditary servitude and bondage relationship exist, as well as ethnic tension between settled and nomadic Tuaregs of the north. Due to a backlash against the northern population after independence, Mali is now in a situation where both groups complain about discrimination on the part of the other group. This conflict also plays a role in the continuing where there is a tension between both Tuaregs and the Malian government, and the Tuaregs and radical who are trying to establish.

Languages [ ]. A mosque entrance Islam was introduced to West Africa in the 11th century and remains the predominant religion in much of the region. An estimated 90 percent of Malians are (mostly, ), approximately 5 percent are Christian (about two-thirds and one-third Protestant) and the remaining 5 percent adhere to. And agnosticism are believed to be rare among Malians, most of whom practice their religion on a daily basis. The constitution establishes a and provides for, and the government largely respects this right. Islam as historically practiced in Mali has been malleable and adapted to local conditions; relations between Muslims and practitioners of minority religious faiths have generally been amicable. After the 2012 imposition of rule in northern parts of the country, however, Mali came to be listed high (number 7) in the Christian persecution index published by, which described the persecution in the north as severe.

Education [ ]. High school students in Public education in Mali is in principle provided free of charge and is compulsory for nine years between the ages of seven and sixteen.

The system encompasses six years of primary education beginning at age 7, followed by six years of secondary education. Mali's actual primary school enrollment rate is low, in large part because families are unable to cover the cost of uniforms, books, supplies, and other fees required to attend. In the 2000–01 school year, the primary school enrollment rate was 61 percent (71 percent of males and 51 percent of females). In the late 1990s, the secondary school enrollment rate was 15 percent (20 percent of males and 10 percent of females). The education system is plagued by a lack of schools in rural areas, as well as shortages of teachers and materials. Estimates of literacy rates in Mali range from 27–30 to 46.4 percent, with literacy rates significantly lower among women than men. The, which includes four constituent universities, is the largest university in the country and enrolls approximately 60,000 undergraduate and graduate students.

Malian children playing football in a village The is (soccer), which became more prominent after Mali hosted the. Most towns and cities have regular games; the most popular teams nationally are,, and, all based in the capital. Informal games are often played by youths using a bundle of rags as a ball. Basketball is another major sport; the, led by, competed at the 2008.

( la lutte) is also somewhat common, though popularity has declined in recent years. The game, a variant, is a common pastime.