Mali

American  

[mah-lee] / ˈmɑ li /

noun

1. Republic of Mali, a republic in western Africa: formerly a territory of France; gained independence 1960. 463,500 sq. mi. (120,000 sq. km). Bamako.

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Mali British  

/ ˈmɑːlɪ /

noun

1. Former name (1898–1959): French Sudan.  a landlocked republic in West Africa: conquered by the French by 1898 and incorporated (as French Sudan) into French West Africa; became independent in 1960; settled chiefly in the basins of the Rivers Senegal and Niger in the south. Official language: French. Religion: Muslim majority, also animist. Currency: franc. Capital: Bamako. Pop: 15 968 882 (2013 est). Area: 1 248 574 sq km (482 077 sq miles)

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Mali Cultural  

1. Republic in west Africa bordered by Algeria to the north and east, Niger to the east, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast to the south, Guinea to the southwest, Senegal and Mauritania to the west. Its capital is Bamako. It became an independent nation in 1960.

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Discover More

During the Middle Ages, Mali formed a huge territorial empire, noted as a center of Islamic study and as a trade route for gold. Its center was Timbuktu.

Other Word Forms

• Malian noun

Example Sentences

In the nearly two years since, Burkina Faso and Mali have lost ground.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 29, 2026

Weapons from the former Yugoslavia helped drive the Libyan civil wars after 2011, later fueling rebellions in Mali and across the Sahel.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 28, 2026

Madagascar is the latest of several former French colonies in Africa to come under military control since 2020, after coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger and other nations.

From Barron's • Feb. 24, 2026

In addition, across the women's and youth teams there are players from as far afield as Mali and Japan.

From BBC • Feb. 20, 2026

They’d traded notes about Mali and Ethiopia, and she complimented him on his enormous vocabulary.

From "Habibi" by Naomi Shihab Nye