Mali

Mali overview

Mali is in Western Africa, Africa. Its capital is Bamako. The World Bank counts about 25.2 million people for 2025 on 1,241,238 km² of surface area.

In the Travle map, Mali has 7 neighbours: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Mauritania, Niger and Senegal. From there, 125 countries can be reached by land.

Population, density and language

The World Bank counts 25,198,821 people in Mali for 2025, which is 58th of 170 by population. Spread over 1,241,238 km² of surface area (2024), that is about 20 people per km², 137th of 169 by density.

Rankings compare the entries in Travle's country list that have World Bank data (170 with population, 169 with surface area). Some list entries are territories, so a rank here is not a rank among sovereign states.

CLDR shares are estimates of people who use each language, so they can add up to more than 100%.

How big is Mali, really?

With 1,241,238 km² (2024, land plus inland water), Mali is 23rd of 169 by surface area and covers 0.88% of the combined area of those entries.

In that ordering, Angola (1,246,700 km²) is just larger; South Africa (1,219,602 km²) just smaller.

Mali at a glance

Each figure is sourced in its own section below. "Not available" means no source used on this page has the figure.

Mali within Western Africa

Natural Earth places Mali in Western Africa (UN subregion). Of the 15 entries from Travle's country list in that subregion, Mali is 5th by population and 2nd by surface area, with 5.4% of the combined population of those entries.

Entries in Western Africa from Travle's country list, by World Bank population

Country	Population (2025)	Area km² (2024)
Nigeria	237,527,782	923,768
Ghana	35,064,272	238,539
Côte d'Ivoire	32,711,547	322,460
Niger	27,917,831	1,267,000
Mali	25,198,821	1,241,238
Burkina Faso	24,074,580	274,200
Senegal	18,931,966	196,710
Guinea	15,099,727	245,857
Benin	14,814,460	114,760
Sierra Leone	8,819,794	72,300
Togo	8,591,626	56,785
Liberia	5,731,206	111,370
Mauritania	5,315,065	1,030,700
The Gambia	2,822,093	11,295
Guinea-Bissau	2,249,515	36,125

Sources: World Bank WDI (SP.POP.TOTL, AG.SRF.TOTL.K2), data updated 2026-10-08; subregion from Natural Earth 1:110m. A dash means the World Bank has no figure.

Location, borders and position

Mali is in Western Africa, Africa. Its outline in Natural Earth lies in the northern hemisphere and the eastern and western hemispheres. Its capital, Bamako, is at about 12.7° N and 8.0° W.

On land, Natural Earth's boundary data gives Mali 7 neighbours; the Travle game map gives it 7.

Sources: Natural Earth 1:110m (outline and capital) and 1:10m boundary lines (neighbours), public domain.

Where Mali is on the map

Countries bordering Mali

Natural Earth's boundary data and the Travle map agree on these 7 land neighbours.

Land neighbours of Mali: geographic boundary data compared with the Travle game map

Country	Direction	Land boundary in Natural Earth	Border in Travle
Algeria	north-east	Yes	Yes
Burkina Faso	south	Yes	Yes
Côte d'Ivoire	south	Yes	Yes
Guinea	south-west	Yes	Yes
Mauritania	north-west	Yes	Yes
Niger	east	Yes	Yes
Senegal	west	Yes	Yes

Geographic column: Natural Earth 1:10m Admin-0 boundary lines (land) 5.1.0 (public domain), checked 2026-10-19; Natural Earth shows de facto boundaries and does not settle disputes. Travle column: the game's own border map.

Money and language in Mali

Currency

• CFA Franc BCEAO: code XOF, numeric 952. ISO 4217 lists it for 8 entries in total, so it is shared with 7 others.

Official languages

• French: official in 44 territories in CLDR, including Mali.

CLDR is a technical reference, not a legal text. Laws and constitutions can describe languages differently.

Currency, domain and dialling code

Mali codes and abbreviations

Sources: Natural Earth (ISO 3166-1), ISO 4217 list one (SIX), IANA Root Zone Database, ITU E.164 list; linked with dates in the sections above.

Fun facts about Mali

• French has official status in 44 territories in Unicode CLDR, Mali among them.
• The longest Travle trip from Mali takes 13 steps, to Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste.
• The CFA Franc BCEAO is listed for 8 entries in ISO 4217.
• UNESCO lists 4 World Heritage properties in Mali; the earliest inscription dates from 1988.

Each fact is calculated from the sources cited on this page.

How far can you travel from Mali in Travle?

Starting from Mali and moving one border at a time, this is how many countries in the game's map you reach at each step. Countries that need a sea crossing never appear, because the game only follows land borders.

In total 125 of the 171 other countries in the map can be reached by land. The longest trips take 13 steps and end in Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste. The other 46 cannot be reached without crossing the sea (18 in North America, 13 in South America, 6 in Oceania, 5 in Asia, 3 in Europe, 1 in Africa).

Nearby routes from Mali

Shortest land routes in the game's map to the countries up to 3 steps away. There can be several routes of the same length; this list shows one. The section above shows how many countries are reachable in total.

• Algeria: 1 step (Mali → Algeria)
• Burkina Faso: 1 step (Mali → Burkina Faso)
• Côte d'Ivoire: 1 step (Mali → Côte d'Ivoire)
• Guinea: 1 step (Mali → Guinea)
• Mauritania: 1 step (Mali → Mauritania)
• Niger: 1 step (Mali → Niger)
• Senegal: 1 step (Mali → Senegal)
• Benin: 2 steps (Mali → Burkina Faso → Benin)
• Chad: 2 steps (Mali → Niger → Chad)
• Ghana: 2 steps (Mali → Burkina Faso → Ghana)
• Guinea-Bissau: 2 steps (Mali → Guinea → Guinea-Bissau)
• Liberia: 2 steps (Mali → Côte d'Ivoire → Liberia)
• Libya: 2 steps (Mali → Algeria → Libya)
• Morocco: 2 steps (Mali → Algeria → Morocco)
• Nigeria: 2 steps (Mali → Niger → Nigeria)
• Sierra Leone: 2 steps (Mali → Guinea → Sierra Leone)
• The Gambia: 2 steps (Mali → Senegal → The Gambia)
• Togo: 2 steps (Mali → Burkina Faso → Togo)
• Tunisia: 2 steps (Mali → Algeria → Tunisia)
• Western Sahara: 2 steps (Mali → Algeria → Western Sahara)
• Cameroon: 3 steps (Mali → Niger → Nigeria → Cameroon)
• Central African Republic: 3 steps (Mali → Niger → Chad → Central African Republic)
• Egypt: 3 steps (Mali → Algeria → Libya → Egypt)
• Spain: 3 steps (Mali → Algeria → Morocco → Spain)
• Sudan: 3 steps (Mali → Algeria → Libya → Sudan)

World Heritage in Mali

UNESCO lists 4 World Heritage properties in Mali: 3 cultural and 1 mixed. The first 2 were inscribed in 1988.

• Old Towns of Djenné (cultural, inscribed 1988, on the List in Danger)
• Timbuktu (cultural, inscribed 1988)
• Cliff of Bandiagara (Land of the Dogons) (mixed, inscribed 1989)
• Tomb of Askia (cultural, inscribed 2004, on the List in Danger)

Source: UNESCO World Heritage List (XML feed); checked 2026-10-19. Names as listed by UNESCO; descriptions on this page are our own.

Mali — frequently asked questions

What is the capital of Mali?

Bamako.

Which countries border Mali?

On land, Algeria, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire, Mauritania, Niger and Senegal, according to Natural Earth's boundary data. The Travle map uses the same neighbours.

What currency and language does Mali use?

The currency is the CFA Franc BCEAO (XOF). Unicode CLDR gives French official status.

How far can you travel from Mali in Travle?

Following land borders only, 125 countries are reachable. The farthest need 13 steps: Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste.

How many people live in Mali?

The World Bank counts 25,198,821 people for 2025.

How big is Mali?

1,241,238 km² of surface area (2024), according to the World Bank.

What is the dialling code and internet domain of Mali?

The international dialling code is +223 and the country-code domain is .ml.

What time zone does Mali use?

UTC+00:00 all year (2026).

Keep exploring

• Spin the country wheel to get a random country.
• Play Travle and try to cross the map border by border.
• Browse all countries of the world, countries by population, capitals, country codes or try the flag quiz.