According to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts, Mali’s GDP is anticipated to reach 14.00 USD billion by the end of 2021. According to our econometric models, Mali’s GDP is expected to trend at 17.50 billion dollars in 2022.
Is Mali a wealthy or impoverished country?
Mali’s economy is mostly focused on agriculture, with a predominantly rural population engaged in subsistence farming.
Mali is one of the world’s poorest countries, one of the 37 Heavily Indebted Poor Countries, and a major recipient of foreign aid from a variety of sources, including multilateral organizations (most notably the World Bank, the African Development Bank, and Arab Funds), as well as bilateral programs funded by the European Union, France, the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, and Germany. Prior to 1991, the former Soviet Union, China, and Warsaw Pact nations were key sources of economic and military assistance.
In 1999, Mali’s per capita gross domestic product (GDP) was $820. Mining and the production of agricultural goods, cattle, and fish are two areas where Mali has a lot of potential income. Along the banks of the Niger River, the Inner Niger Delta, and the southwestern region surrounding Sikasso, the most productive agricultural area exists.
Is Mali’s economy doing well?
Despite the destabilizing effects of Mali’s coups d’tats in 2012 and 2020, as well as ongoing terrorist threats, Mali’s long-term economic prospects remain bright, thanks to large natural resource endowments, energy opportunities (particularly in the renewables sector), and high agricultural potential. Despite the fact that Mali still has enormous political, security, and development issues, the government is open for business and sees importing high-quality American products and forming relationships with American companies as a promising new frontier. However, investors should continue with caution, as the possibility for large rewards is accompanied by a high level of risk.
Agriculture, agro-industry, telecommunications, mineral exploitation, defense, power generation and distribution, machinery, new and used clothing, computers, processed foods, vehicles, electronics, consumer goods, office equipment, and water resources are all potential areas for well-targeted, price-competitive US exports to Mali’s private sector. Contracts with the Malian government for donor-funded development initiatives provide further prospects. Hydroelectric and solar power generation and distribution, irrigation, telecommunications, public health, and agricultural and agro-industrial development may all require equipment and technical services. Many imported items have traditionally come from France, but imports from other nations, particularly China, have gained market share. Malian entrepreneurs are seeking to broaden their business networks beyond established networks and form new business connections with Europe and the United States.
Mali, with a GDP of $17.28 billion and a GNI per capita of $830 in 2020, is one of the world’s poorest countries. Corruption, instability, a lack of infrastructure, a shortage of trained personnel, a high level of informality, and inefficient government administration are all impediments to doing business in Mali. Although Mali is not a large economic partner of the United States, U.S. goods exports to the country have increased in recent years. Goods exports from the United States to Mali totaled $98.7 million in 2020, up 45 percent ($68.1 million) from 2019 and 164.6 percent from 2010. Mali’s exports to the US have declined from $4.6 million in 2019 to $2.2 million in 2020.
The economy of Mali is based on two key exports: gold and cotton. In 2020, these two items accounted for 89.6% of Malian exports. Mali’s gold exports have increased, with industrial gold production expected to reach 65 tons in 2019 and 2020. Mali’s government has prioritized mining sector diversification, with strong prospects in uranium, bauxite, phosphates, iron, lithium, and manganese production.
Mali’s second-largest export is cotton. Cotton employs about four million Malians (almost a fifth of the population), and cotton exports amounted for 6.7 percent of total exports in 2020. Mali’s foreign exchange earnings have risen as a result of increased cotton production, and the country consistently ranks among Africa’s top cotton producers. In the foreseeable future, the Malian Chamber of Agriculture hopes to increase yearly cotton production to one million tons.
Agricultural activities make for nearly one-third of Mali’s GDP, while farming, livestock raising, and fishing employ an estimated 80% of the population. Mali’s government continues to dedicate roughly 15% of its annual budget to agricultural development, and it encourages both domestic and foreign investment in the field.
The rainy season and bright weather in Mali are ideal for hydroelectric and solar energy production. With a national power access rate of less than 40% and a rural electricity access rate of less than 20%, Mali’s government has prioritized energy infrastructure development and is eager to attract foreign investment to help the country develop. To improve generation capacity and minimize dependency on costly thermal power, which presently accounts for over 40% of Mali’s energy mix, approximately 400 MW of solar projects are being developed in various parts of the nation.
Textiles, agricultural equipment, cosmetics, batteries, paint, plastics, processed foods, cement, cigarettes, and drinks are among the domestically created commodities in Mali, despite the country’s limited industrial capacity. Chemicals (including fertilizers), pharmaceuticals, automobiles and spare parts, machinery, electronics, telephones, mining equipment, and most other manufactured things are all imported. Chinese imports are quickly expanding, despite the fact that French products have traditionally dominated imports in several fields.
Mali and the United States have an excellent relationship. The government has placed a heavy focus on free trade and private enterprise since 1992, as indicated by economic reform programs backed by the IMF, World Bank, US, and other donors. Mali is receptive to foreign investment. The government encourages the privatization of government-owned businesses. Mali’s investment, mining, oil, and commercial rules allow for duty-free capital equipment imports, tax breaks for operations in priority areas, and unrestricted capital and profit repatriation. Mali was eligible for the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) in 2021, as well as help from the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and some US EXIM Bank financing programs. Following the March 2012 coup d’tat, the US halted its support programs in Mali, but resumed them in September 2013 with the inauguration of a democratically elected government. The US has discontinued most of its defense and security aid to Malian forces in response to the August 2020 coup and May 2021 consolidation of military authority. Since 2013, the United States has given more than $1 billion to the Malian people, making it the country’s top bilateral development contributor.
Why is Mali now so impoverished?
What makes Mali a developing country? The military coup that occurred in Mali in 2012 is another reason for the country’s poverty. Poverty in Mali has been fostered by a lack of access to education and professional training, in addition to severe climatic conditions and violence.
Is there gold in Mali?
Mali’s natural resource industry is dominated by gold, and the country is Africa’s fourth largest gold producer (trailing Ghana, South Africa, and Sudan). Mali’s most important export is gold, which will account for more than 80% of overall exports in 2020. The price of gold fluctuates with the price of gold on the global market. Unprofitable mines have been closed, and more are set to close in the near future, posing challenges to the industry. However, two new mines with a capacity of 14 tons per year started in 2017. In 2015, two smaller mines began operations. Gold panning is estimated to weigh between 4 and 26 tons, according to sources. More than two million people, or more than 10% of the population, rely on the mining industry for a living.
Most of the people of ancient Mali made their living inagriculture, just as they do today.
Pastoralism predominated in the dry, sparsely inhabited north, with cattle, goats, sheep, and some camels being herded. The wettersouth was dominated by crop production.
- Cotton, rice, peanuts, and tobacco are cash crops, as are kola nuts in the southern forest zone.
As the concept of comparative advantage would predict, agricultural trade grew between the north and south. The Salhelian grasslands provided leather, hides, sheepskins, and goatskins. The south, the savannah, and the forest zones provided cash and food crops. They were, and still are, traded in local markets. People at Niani, the ancient capital of the Mali Empire, subsisted mostly on pounded millet, honey, and milk.
The wealth of ancient Mali was based on trade, particularly the trans-Saharatrade.
Trade control and taxation injected money into the imperial coffers and kept the Mali Empire afloat. Gold and salt were the most profitable commodities exchanged.
- Gold. Bambuk, on one of the upper Senegal River’s tributaries, was the first place where gold was discovered. It was later mined in Bure, near the Niger River’s sources. As the mines in the west became exhausted and new supplies were identified further east, the position of the gold mines shifted. All of the gold nuggets were claimed by the mansa (King), but gold dust was available for barter. Mali continues to mine gold today.
- Salt. Deep in the Sahara, near the settlements of Taghaza and Taoudeni, salt was mined. Camels still transport slabs, which may be found at the markets of Timbuktu, Mopti, and other Niger River cities.
The trans-Sahara trade included these and other items. From the north and northeast, great camel caravans brought salt, iron, copper, fabric, books, and pearls. Gold, kola nuts, ivory, leather, rubber, and slaves from the south were traded for them. The Niger River developed into an important trade route. The caravans’ cargo would be unloaded on riverboats when they reached the Niger, and the camels would return north laden with precious items from the south.
During the fourteenth century, cowrie shells from the Indian Ocean were introduced as currency, in addition to salt and gold dust. The collection of taxes and the trading of goods improved as a result of their use.
Mali had artisans who worked with iron, wood, metal, weaving, dyeing, and tanning leather in ancient times.
In economic terms, Mali is one of the contemporary world’s poorestcountries.
Mali is now one of the world’s poorest countries. The arrival of the Europeans shifted trade away from the trans-Saharan trading routes and toward the coast. Mali’s commodities now command low prices, and the country’s soil has likely become drier and less productive. Desert or semi-desert covers two-thirds of the current country. The vast majority of the people (80%) are subsistence farmers who raise just enough for their personal consumption and sell little surpluses at local markets. Fishing is also essential. The majority of labor is still done by animal or human power. Cotton and peanuts are the principal cash crops grown on a few larger farms. Approximately 5% of the population is nomadic. The majority of industrial activity is focused on processing farm commodities grown for export, particularly cotton, which is the primary export. New gold mining activities provide hope for future economic progress, but Mali remains heavily reliant on foreign aid and sensitive to cotton price swings throughout the world.
Other countries with harsh climates and few resources, on the other hand, have thrived. A large part of Mali’s difficulties stem from a lack of investment in the country during the French colonial period and subsequent corrupt governments. Mali, like most African countries, has clearly been left behind in an era of rising globalization.
Why is Mali significant to the United States?
On September 24, 1960, the United States and Mali established diplomatic relations.
Mali participated in the Global War on Terrorism as a regional partner. Mali also acts as a vital testing ground for new anti-malaria drugs for use by American citizens traveling to Africa, as well as for research with a pan-African impact. USAID, the Peace Corps, and other US government programs all contribute to long-term economic and social development. Prior to the military coup in March 2012, USAID programs helped to consolidate the peace process in northern Mali as well as the region’s socioeconomic and political integration. As a result of the coup, the United States withdrew all aid.
Is Mali a predominantly black country?
The majority of people in the southwest and along the Niger River are black, albeit not everyone is of the same race. Historically, the northern part of the country has been more diversified.