Before colonization 's peak written in Sudani script (a form of
Arabic) from the
Mali Empire showing established knowledge of astronomy and mathematics. Today there are close to a million of these manuscripts found in
Timbuktu alone. The rock art in the
Sahara suggests that northern Mali has been inhabited since 10,000 BC, when the Sahara was fertile and rich in wildlife. Early ceramics have been discovered at the central Malian site of Ounjougou dating to about 9,400 BC, and are believed to represent an instance of the independent invention of pottery in the region. Farming took place by 5000 BC and iron was used by around 500 BC. In the first millennium BC, early cities and towns were created by Mande peoples related to the
Soninke people, along the middle Niger River in central Mali, including
Dia which began from around 900 BC, and reached its peak around 600 BC, and
Djenne-Djenno, which lasted from around 300 BC to 900 AD. Through approximately 6th century BC and 4th century BC, the lucrative trans-Saharan trade in pack-animals, gold, salt and slaves had begun, facilitating the rise of West Africa's great empires. There are a few references to Mali in early Islamic literature. Among these are references to "Pene" and "Malal" in the work of
al-Bakri in 1068, the story of the conversion of an early ruler, known to
Ibn Khaldun (by 1397) as Barmandana, and a few geographical details in the work of
al-Idrisi. Mali was once part of three famed West African empires which controlled
trans-Saharan trade in gold, salt, other precious commodities, and
slaves majorly during the reign of
Mansa Musa from c. 1312 – c. 1337. These
Sahelian kingdoms had neither rigid geopolitical boundaries nor rigid ethnic identities. The
Battle of Kirina in 1235, culminated in a victory for the
Mandinka under the command of the exiled prince
Sundiata Keita, which led to the downfall of the
Sosso Empire. (yellow-striped) as part of the
Saadi dynasty of Morocco (outlined black) within the
Songhai Empire (outlined red), s of
Sambala, king of Médina (
Fula people, Mali), 1890. Photo by
Joannès Barbier. The
Mali Empire later formed on the upper
Niger River, and reached the height of power in the 14th century.
French colonial rule into bales for export to other parts of Africa and to France, c. 1950 Mali fell under the control of France during the
Scramble for Africa in the late 19th century. The last resistance was suppressed only in September 1916. During the suppression of the uprising, over 100 villages were destroyed by French colonial troops. On 24 November 1958, French Sudan (which changed its name to the Sudanese Republic) became an autonomous republic within the
French Community. In January 1959, Mali and
Senegal united to become the
Mali Federation.
Modibo Keïta was elected the first president. On 19 November 1968, following progressive economic decline, the Keïta regime was overthrown in a bloodless military coup led by
Moussa Traoré, a day which is now commemorated as
Liberation Day.
Socialism under President Modibo Keïta, 1960-1968 After
Modibo Keïta became the President of the Republic of Mali on 22nd September 1960, the Malian government announced a socialist plan for development. The government then introduced socialist policies with a focus on economic development, aimed at achieving social changes in the country, especially transforming rural populations and communities. The government announced a one-party state after the independence of Mali, banning other political parties with the only legal political party being the
US-RDA (Sudanese Union – African Democratic Rally /
Union Soudanaise – Rassemblement Démocratique Africain). Those who tried to create a political opposition were arrested, such as Mamadou Faïnké who was arrested in 1964 and sentenced to life in prison. Prior to independence, Keïta and the US-RDA campaigned against colonial and authoritarian rule, advocating for a democratic system in its place. This, however, did not happen and rather it became a
Marxist-Leninist state. Keïta adapted the Marxist-Leninist ideology for
African socialism, moving past the development of capitalism and instead opting for immediate strict control over foreign investments and involvement in the economy. Soon after independence in 1960, the government under Keïta introduced a national civil service programme,
service civique rural, to help the development of Mali as a socialist and self-sustaining independent country. The service targeted men in rural Mali aged 18-21 and in the early 1960s, when almost 60% of Mali's population was under the age of 25, had assembled around 40,000 young men. The national civil service outlined a 2-year programme of education and training to prepare the young men for the handling of their own duties in their communities as peasant farmers. As part of the programme, men were taught methods of modern agriculture while working on state owned farms, and they took lessons in literacy and were taught the socialist values that the Malian government expected from them. The programme saw the use of young people as labourers for the state which led to significant desertions and a declining number of young men being recruited. Some people saw comparisons between the national civil service and forced labour under colonial rule. A 1962 report from
The International Labour Organization (ILO) deemed the national service scheme in Mali unlawful as it did not follow the Forced Labour Convention that had made it illegal in 1957. A further report from 1962 stated that the Malian government had submitted only 1 of 11 annual reports to the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations regarding labour conventions that had been signed and ratified by Mali previously. Keïta viewed education as essential to the development of Mali as a socialist state. At the time of independence, 93% of the population in Mali were illiterate in French, 90% illiterate in Arabic, and very few people were given a Western education. Those who did receive a Western education were part of the elites after independence. France used education in Mali to create an elite loyal to France and for the exploitation of people and resources. At the time of independence, there were 12 professors, 10 doctors, 3 pharmacists, and 3 veterinary doctors in Mali. In 1964, two years after the law was passed, the number of school-age Malians in education had more than tripled the pre-independence numbers with 24% in school and the number of people in secondary education had increased from 434 students in 1962-1963 to 1,325 by 1966-1967. Education was used to promote socialist ideology across Mali and was adapted to fit the national aims of Keïta's economic and political policies. The education system was changed to focus on African history, culture, and needs rather than that of the former colonial power France. In 1964, new teaching materials focused on African socialism was introduced in schools. Despite the increases in the number of people in education across Mali, numbers were still restricted due to the lack of teachers and resources. In July 1962, Keïta announced The Bank of the Republic of Mali (
La Banque de la République de Mali) which was responsible for minting its own currency, the
Malian franc. Keïta believed that Mali having its own currency was a sign of sovereignty, stating in a speech that "political power is always and necessarily accompanied by the sovereign right of minting money, that monetary power is inseparable from national sovereignty". It was revealed that the Malian franc would be equal to the
CFA franc, the currency used in the
Franc zone. The Franc zone was created by France for continued monetary influence over former French colonies including Mali. Nationalising the banking industry gave the Malian government more control, reducing economic dependence and influence from foreign countries including France. Throughout the 1960s inflation increased, the economy declined, and so the Malian franc in 1967 was devalued by 50% against the CFA franc to prevent further inflation rates and further economic decline. On 19th December 1967, Keïta announced an agreement between Mali and France that would later lead to Mali's re-entry into the
UMOA (West African Monetary Union /
Union monétaire ouest-africaine) in 1984. Opposition and critics of President Keïta and the US-RDA government were met with violence and imprisonment. Political opponents of the government were arrested and some were sent to
Kidal, a desert town in northern Mali, and imprisoned there.
Fily Dabo Sissoko, who founded the
PSP (Sudanese Progressive Party /
Parti Progressite Soudanais) which was a political opponent of the US-RDA, was imprisoned in Kidal and died there, supposedly under the orders of Keïta, though this is not confirmed. Following the establishment of Mali's own currency in 1962, protestors opposing the government and the new monetary policies were arrested and sent to prison. To further control the economy and the development of industrialisation, Keïta created new state-owned enterprises. These enterprises spanned across different industries including textiles, food processing, tobacco, cotton, and radio manufacturing.
Moussa Traoré regime The subsequent military-led regime, with Traoré as president, attempted to reform the economy. His efforts were frustrated by political turmoil and a devastating
drought from 1968 to 1974, The Traoré regime faced student unrest beginning in the late 1970s and three coup attempts. The Traoré regime repressed all dissenters until the late 1980s. Scattered acts of rioting and vandalism of public buildings followed, but most actions by the dissidents remained nonviolent. By 26 March, the growing refusal of soldiers to fire into the largely nonviolent protesting crowds turned into a full-scale tumult. Military soldiers clashed with peaceful protesters, resulting in the massacre of dozens under the orders of Traoré. That afternoon, Lieutenant Colonel
Amadou Toumani Touré announced on the radio that he had arrested the dictatorial president, Moussa Traoré. He and three associates were, tried, convicted and received the death sentence for their role in this massacre. The date is now a national holiday in Mali. The coup is remembered as Mali's
March Revolution of 1991.
Multi-party democracy Opposition parties were legalized, a transitional government was formed and a national congress of civil and political groups met to draft a
new democratic constitution to be approved by a national referendum. During this democratic period Mali was regarded as one of the most politically and socially stable countries in Africa.
Slavery persists in Mali today with as many as 200,000 people held in direct servitude to a master.
Northern Mali conflict In January 2012
a Tuareg rebellion began in northern Mali, led by the
National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA). In March, military officer
Amadou Sanogo seized power in
a coup d'état, citing Touré's failures in quelling the rebellion, and leading to sanctions and an embargo by the
Economic Community of West African States. The MNLA quickly took control of the north, declaring its independence as
Azawad. However, Islamist groups, including
Ansar Dine and
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), who had helped the MNLA defeat the government, turned on the Tuareg and took control of the north with the goal of implementing
sharia in Mali. On 11 January 2013, the
French Armed Forces intervened at the request of the interim government of president
Dioncounda Traoré. On 30 January, the coordinated advance of the French and Malian troops claimed to have retaken the last remaining Islamist stronghold of Kidal, which was also the last of three northern provincial capitals. On 2 February, French president
François Hollande joined Dioncounda Traoré in a public appearance in recently recaptured Timbuktu. In August 2013,
Ibrahim Boubacar Keita was elected as the new
president of Mali in the second round of
the election.
Conflict in Central Mali In the central Mali province of
Mopti, conflict has escalated since 2015 between agricultural communities like the
Dogon and the
Bambara, and the
pastoral Fula (or Fulani) people. Historically, the two sides have fought over access to land and water, factors which have been exacerbated by
climate change as the Fula move into new areas. The Dogon and the Bambara communities have formed "self-defense groups" The government denies this. no candidate received more than 50% of the vote in the first round. A runoff was held on 12 August 2018 between the top two candidates, incumbent president
Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta of the
Rally for Mali and
Soumaïla Cissé of the
Union for the Republic and Democracy, and Keïta was re-elected with 67% of the vote. In September 2018, the
Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue negotiated a unilateral ceasefire with Dan Na Ambassagou "in the context of the conflict which opposes the group to other community armed groups in central Mali". However, the group has been blamed for the
24 March 2019 massacre of 160 Fula villagers. The group denied the attack, but afterwards Malian president Keita ordered the group to disband. The UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide,
Adama Dieng, warned of a growing
ethnicization of the conflict. By 2020, more than 600,000 people had been
displaced by the conflict in Mali. The United Nations reported that the number of children killed in the conflict in the first six months of 2019 was twice as many for the entire year of 2018. Many of the children have been killed in intercommunal attacks attributed to ethnic militias, with the majority of attacks occurring around
Mopti. It is reported that around 900 schools have closed down and that armed militias are recruiting children. During the first week of October 2019, two jihadist attacks in the towns of Boulikessi and
Mondoro killed more than 25 Mali soldiers near the border with
Burkina Faso. President Keïta declared that "no military coup will prevail in Mali", continuing by saying that he does not think it "is on the agenda at all and cannot worry us". On 1 November 2019, the
IS-GS militants killed at least 50 soldiers in the
2019 Indelimane attack in the
Ménaka Region of Mali. In February 2020, Human Rights Watch documented atrocities against civilians in Central Mali and said that at least 456 civilians were killed, while hundreds were injured from January 2019 until November.
2020s coups and Assimi Goïta junta , September 2020 Popular unrest began on 5 June 2020 following irregularities in the March and April parliamentary elections, including outrage against the kidnapping of opposition leader
Soumaïla Cissé. Between 11 and 23 deaths followed protests that took place from 10 to 13 June. President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta and Prime Minister
Boubou Cissé were arrested, and shortly after midnight Keïta announced his resignation, saying he did not want to see any bloodshed. On 12 September 2020, the CNSP agreed to an 18-month political transition to civilian rule. Shortly after,
Bah N'daw was named interim president by a group of 17 electors, with Goïta being appointed vice president. The government was inaugurated on 25 September 2020. On 18 January 2021, the transitional government announced that the CNSP had been disbanded, almost four months after had been promised under the initial agreement. Tensions between the civilian transitional government and the military ran high after the handover of power in September 2020. The tensions came to a head on 24 May 2021 after a cabinet reshuffle, where two leaders of the 2020 military coup –
Sadio Camara and
Modibo Kone – were replaced by N'daw's administration. Later that day, journalists reported that three key civilian leaders – President N'daw, Prime Minister
Moctar Ouane and Defence Minister
Souleymane Doucouré, were being detained in a military base in
Kati, outside Bamako. On 7 June 2021, Mali's military commander Assimi Goïta was sworn into office as the new interim president. . In 2022 and 2023, the
Islamic State in the Greater Sahara saw major gains in the
Mali War, occupying large swathes of territory in southeastern Mali.
Ansongo and
Tidermène were also captured by the group. By mid-2023, the militant group had doubled the amount of territory it controlled since the overthrow of the previous government and establishment of the junta. On 10 January 2022, Mali announced the closure of its borders and recalled several ambassadors to ECOWAS countries in response to sanctions placed on Mali for deferring elections for four years. On 4 February, France's ambassador was expelled. According to
Human Rights Watch, Malian troops and suspected Russian mercenaries from the
Wagner Group executed around 300 civilian men in central Mali in March 2022. France had started withdrawing French troops from Mali in February 2022, commencing the end of
Operation Barkhane. On 2 May, the military government announced breaking its defence accords concluded in 2013 with France, constituting an additional step in the deterioration of Malian–French relations. This latest announcement has been criticized by French authorities and considered as "illegitimate". A UN panel reported that in the first three months of 2022, 543 civilians were killed and 269 wounded, warning the 2015 peace agreement between the government and pro-independence groups was threatened by a potential risk of confrontation for the first time in five years. The report also noted a sharp increase in the number of people needing humanitarian assistance over the previous year. In June 2023, Mali removed French as an official language with the approval of a new constitution by 97% of voters in
a referendum conducted by the junta. On 7 September 2023, al-Qaeda linked
JNIM militants
attacked a vessel on the
Niger River, killing at least 154 civilians. In July 2024,
CSP-DPA rebels and JNIM militants killed dozens of Russian mercenaries and Malian government forces during the
Battle of Tinzaouaten. On 5 August 2024 the Republic of Mali announced that it was severing diplomatic relations with
Ukraine. On 17 September 2024, al-Qaeda linked JNIM militants
attacked several locations across
Bamako, killing at least 77 people and injuring 255 others. In July 2025, JNIM began a strategy to blockade the government-controlled cities from foreign fuel imports and to cut them off from each other. Mali depends on foreign fuel imports, receiving 95% of its fuel from
Senegal or
Ivory Coast. Starting from 1 July, JNIM attacks cut off connections to
Mauritania and Senegal, and they were followed by similar attacks in the south near Ivory Coast and
Guinea. This increased fuel prices in the capital by 500% and has led to economic disruption, lines at gas stations, school closures, and cancellations of flights from the
Bamako International Airport. In early September the Malian truckers' union stopped operations for two weeks due to the dangerous conditions along roads in southern Mali, leaving 1,000 fuel trucks waiting in Ivory Coast. == Geography ==