Mali, formally the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked nation in West Africa, a locale topographically related to the West African Craton. Mali is the eighth-biggest nation in Africa, with a zone of a little more than 1,240,000 square kilometers (480,000 sq mi). Its capital is Bamako. The sovereign territory of Mali comprises of eight areas and its fringes on the north venture profound into the center of the Sahara Desert, while the nation's southern part, where most of occupants live, highlights the Niger and Senegal waterways. The nation's economy fixates on horticulture and mining. A portion of Mali's unmistakable regular assets incorporate gold, being the third biggest maker of gold in the African landmass, and salt. Mali was once part of three West African domains that controlled trans-Saharan exchange: the Ghana Empire, the Mali Empire (for which Mali is named), and the Songhai Empire. Amid its brilliant age, there was a thriving of science, space science, writing, and workmanship. At its top in 1300, the Mali Empire secured a zone about double the extent of cutting edge France and extended toward the west shore of Africa. In the late nineteenth century, amid the Scramble for Africa, France caught control of Mali, making it a piece of French Sudan. French Sudan (at that point known as the Sudanese Republic) united with Senegal in 1959, accomplishing freedom in 1960 as the Mali Federation.

Bamako is the capital and biggest city of Mali, with a populace of 2,009,109. It is situated on the Niger River, close to the rapids that isolate the upper and center Niger valleys in the southwestern piece of the nation. Bamako is the country's managerial focus. The city legitimate is a cercle in its own right. Bamako's stream port is situated in close-by Koulikoro, alongside a noteworthy provincial exchange and meeting focus. Bamako is the seventh-biggest West African urban focus after Lagos, Abidjan, Kano, Ibadan, Dakar, and Accra. Privately made products incorporate materials, handled meat, and metal merchandise. Business angling happens on the Niger River. he name Bamako originates from the Bambara word signifying "crocodile tail".