Mali

Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the eighth-largest country in Africa and the 23rd largest country in the world, with an area of 1,240,192 square kilometres (478,841 sq mi). It is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east by Niger, to the northwest by Mauritania, to the south by Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast, and to the west by Guinea and Senegal. The population is about 25.20 million, 47.19% of which are estimated to be under age 15 in 2024. Its capital and largest city is Bamako. French was the official language until 2022, when it was replaced by 13 African languages, with Bambara being the first language of the majority of the population.