Mali - online puzzles
Online puzzle Mali
Mali ( ( listen); French pronunciation: [mali]), officially the Republic of Mali (French: République du Mali), is a landlocked country in West Africa, a region geologically identified with the West African Craton. Mali is the eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of just over 1,240,000 square kilometres (480,000 sq mi). The population of Mali is 18 million. Its capital is Bamako. Mali consists of eight regions and its borders on the north reach deep into the middle of the Sahara Desert, while the country 's southern part, where the majority of inhabitants live, features the Niger and Senegal rivers. The country 's economy centers on agriculture and fishing. Some of Mali's prominent natural resources include gold, being the third largest producer of gold in the African continent, and salt. About half the population lives below the international poverty line of $1.25 (U.S.) a day. A majority of the population (90%) are Muslims.
Present- day Mali was once part of three West African empires that controlled trans-Saharan trade : the Ghana Empire, the Mali Empire (for which Mali is named), and the Songhai Empire.