Mali

Through the ages

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Mali fought or stood against, from the first to today.

1. Sosso Empire1200 to 1235

   The Sosso king Sumanguru Kanté takes over the remains of Ghana and the Malinke lands of the upper Niger. Sundiata Keita defeats him at the Battle of Kirina around 1235, founding the Mali Empire.

2. Songhai Empire1468 to 1550

   As Mali weakens, Songhai, its former vassal centred on Gao, takes over the middle Niger. Sonni Ali captures Timbuktu in 1468 and Djenné around 1473, and Mali is pushed back towards its western heartland.

3. 🇲🇦 Saadi Sultanate of Morocco1591 to 1618

   Morocco's army destroys Songhai at Tondibi in 1591. Its soldiers, the Arma, rule Timbuktu and the Niger bend for the sultan in Marrakesh, but after 1618 their pashas are chosen locally and Moroccan control fades.

4. Toucouleur Empire of Umar Tall1861 to 1864

   Umar Tall's jihad army takes Ségou in 1861 and destroys the Fula state of Massina in 1862. A Massina revolt kills Umar near Bandiagara in 1864, but his heirs keep ruling from Ségou.

5. 🇫🇷 French Third Republic1880 to 1898

   French columns advancing from Senegal fight Ahmadu's Toucouleur state, Samori Touré's Wassoulou empire and the Kenedougou kingdom of Sikasso. Ségou falls in 1890, Timbuktu in 1894 and Sikasso in 1898, the year Samori is captured.

6. Tuareg rebel movementsSince 1963Still open

   Tuareg groups rebel against Bamako in 1963, 1990, 2006 and 2012, seeking autonomy or independence for the north, which they call Azawad. The 2015 peace deal broke down, and fighting resumed in 2023.

7. 🇧🇫 Upper Volta, later Burkina Faso1974 to 1986

   Mali and its neighbour fight brief border wars over the Agacher strip in 1974 and at Christmas 1985. The International Court of Justice divides the strip roughly in half in 1986, and both accept the ruling.

8. Jihadist groupsSince 2012Still open

   Groups linked to al-Qaeda, united since 2017 as JNIM, and the Islamic State's Sahel branch fight the state across the north and centre. They control large rural areas and have besieged towns and roads.

Today

Mali now

Present-day Mali is named after the Mali Empire that ruled the region between the 13th and 16th centuries. At its peak in the 14th century, it was the largest and wealthiest empire in West Africa and controlled an area about twice the size of modern-day France. Primarily a trading empire, Mali derived its wealth from gold and maintained several goldfields and trade routes in the Sahel.

Capital

Bamako

Government

semi-presidential republic

Head of government

Abdoulaye Maïga

Head of state

Assimi Goïta

Languages

Hassaniya Arabic, Kassonke, Soninke

Area

1,241,238 km²

Through time

Then and now

• Population23.8 million2023 · 4.7 million in 1950
• Life expectancy60.4 years2023 · 28.7 years in 1950
• GDP per person$1,6512022 · $728 in 1950
• Living in cities32%2025 · 4% in 1950
• Literacy36%2024
• Political regimeClosed autocracy2025 · Closed autocracy in 1950
• Military alliancesNone of these2024 · None of these in 1950
• Military spending3.9% of GDP2025
• War deaths8.5 per 100,0002025

Population: HYDE 3.3, Gapminder and UN WPP. GDP per capita: Maddison Project Database 2023. Urban share: UN WPP. Life expectancy: Riley, HMD, UN WPP. Literacy: OWID historical estimates, World Bank, UNESCO. Military spending: SIPRI. War deaths: UCDP. Political regime: V-Dem, Regimes of the World. All via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0). Alliances and organization memberships: compiled by Atlas. Satellites in orbit: CelesTrak SATCAT. Modern borders, backcast.

Relations

Close partners and tensions

Summarised from World Bank and Wikipedia data, updated 23 October 2026.