Formerly a French colony under the name of French Sudan, Mali became independent on 20 June 1960 (along with Senegal) in the Mali Federation. After the collapse of the union, Mali proclaimed its independence on 22 September 1960. Modibo Keïta’s Third-Worldist presidency (1960-68) was succeeded by the military dictatorship of Moussa Traoré (1968-91); a democratization process began in 1992. On 22 March 2012, a military coup d’état dismissed the government and suspended the Constitution, on the pretext of the tough situation in the north of the country, where the return of militia previously in the pay of Gaddafi’s Libyan regime once more stirred up the Tuareg rebellion (MNLA, National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad), backed by Islamic fundamentalist movements with links to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (Ansar Dine and MUJAO, Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa), which took control of the northern part of the country. On 11 January 2013, a group of French troops, with forces from Chad and Nigeria, launched a military operation, allowing the swift repossession of most of the occupied land. On 25 April 2013, the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) was instituted, which was also tasked with supervising the correct execution of the presidential elections. Despite the June 2015 peace agreements, attacks by armed groups continue; Sunni fundamentalism has merged with the claims of ethnic minorities (Tuareg and Fulbe), forming, in 2017, the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims, which participated in the violent inter-ethnic clashes between nomadic pastoralists (Fulbe) and farmers (Bambara, Dogon). According to the 1992 Constitution, the President is elected directly for five years, as is the National Assembly (147 members). After the 2020 coup, the Assembly was dissolved and replaced by a National Transitional Council of 121 members.

The country relies on cotton and gold prices. Economic growth is being threatened by the long-lasting situation of insecurity. Most of the active population is employed in agriculture at a subsistence level (millet, sorghum, maize, rice and sweet potatoes or batata. The main plantation crop is cotton, which is exported to foreign markets. Fishing in inland waters (especially cichlids and clariids) is important from the point of view of feeding the local population. Mali’s forests constitute a precious resource, yielding timber and gum arabic for export. The only minerals being extracted are gold and iron ore but there are also deposits of phosphates, diamonds, manganese and salt. The manufacturing industry is limited: a tractor assembly plant, textile mills, chemical plants and cement works, shoe factories, sugar refineries and a peanut oil plant.