Mali

Mali is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali is the eighth largest country in Africa with an area of ​​over 1,240,000 square kilometers (480,000 square miles). Mali has a population of 19.1 million. In 2017, an estimated 67% of its population was under the age of 25. Its capital and largest city is Bamako. The sovereign state of Mali consists of eight regions, and its borders in the north extend deep into the middle of the Sahara Desert. The southern part of the country lies in the Sudanese savannah, where most of the inhabitants live, and the Niger and Senegal rivers flow here. The country's economy is focused on agriculture and mining. One of the most important natural resources of Mali is gold and the country is the third largest gold producer on the African continent. He also exports salt.

Today's Mali was once part of three West African empires that controlled the trans-Saharan trade: the Ghana Empire (after which Ghana is named), the Mali Empire (after which Mali is named), and the Songhai Empire. At its peak in 1300, the Mali empire occupied an area about twice the size of modern France, and extended to the west coast of Africa. In the late 19th century, during the Battle of Africa, France seized control of Mali, making it part of French Sudan. French Sudan (then known as the Sudanese Republic) joined Senegal in 1959, gaining independence in 1960 as the Federation of Mali. Shortly thereafter, after Senegal's withdrawal from the federation, the Sudan Republic declared itself the independent Republic of Mali. After a long period of one-party rule, the 1991 coup led to the writing of a new constitution and Mali's transformation into a democratic multi-party state.

In January 2012, an armed conflict broke out in northern Mali, during which Tuareg rebels took control of territory in the north, and in April announced their withdrawal from the new state of Azawad. The conflict was exacerbated by a military coup in March, followed by fighting between Tuaregs and other rebel groups. In response to territorial conquests, the French military launched Operation Serval in January 2013. A month later, Malian and French forces recaptured most of the north. Presidential elections were held on July 28, 2013, a second round on August 11, and legislative elections on November 24 and December 15, 2013.

At the turn of the 2020s, there were two military coups in Mali by Assimi Goyta.