COUNTRY PROFILE: MALI January 2005 COUNTRY Formal Name: Republic of Mali (République De Mali). Short Form: Mali. Term for Citi
Library of Congress – Federal Research Division Country Profile: Mali, January 2005 COUNTRY PROFILE: MALI January 2005 COUNTRY Formal Name: Republic of Mali (République de Mali). Short Form: Mali. Term for Citizen(s): Malian(s). Capital: Bamako. Major Cities: Bamako (more than 1 million inhabitants according to the 1998 census), Sikasso (113,813), Ségou (90,898), Mopti (79,840), Koutiala (74,153), Kayes (67,262), and Gao (54,903). Independence: September 22, 1960, from France. Public Holidays: In 2005 legal holidays in Mali include: January 1 (New Year’s Day); January 20 (Armed Forces Day); January 21* (Tabaski, Feast of the Sacrifice); March 26 (Democracy Day); March 28* (Easter Monday); April 21* (Mouloud, Birthday of the Prophet); May 1 (Labor Day); May 25 (Africa Day); September 22 (Independence Day); November 3–5* (Korité, end of Ramadan); December 25 (Christmas Day). Dates marked with an asterisk vary according to calculations based on the Islamic lunar or Christian Gregorian calendar. Flag: Mali’s flag consists of three equal vertical stripes of green, yellow, and red (viewed left to right, hoist side). Click to Enlarge Image HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Early History: The area now constituting the nation of Mali was once part of three famed West African empires that controlled trans-Saharan trade in gold, salt, and other precious commodities. All of the empires arose in the area then known as the western Sudan, a vast region of savanna between the Sahara Desert to the north and the tropical rain forests along the Guinean coast to the south. All were characterized by strong leadership (matrilineal) and kin-based societies.
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