---
title: "Mali — capital, area, population and currency"
description: "Mali: capital Bamako, area 1,240,192 km², population 25,198,821 (2025), currency West African CFA franc. Languages, time zones and calling code."
url: https://atoneplace.net/country/mali/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Mali

**Mali: Capital Bamako**

1,240,192 km² · 25,198,821 people (2025) · West African CFA franc

The Niger River bends north into the Sahara here and spreads into the Inner Niger Delta, a seasonal wetland of up to 30,000 km² in the middle of dry country. Timbuktu sits at its northern edge, where the river comes closest to the desert caravan routes.

## The facts

- **Capital:** Bamako
- **Area:** 1,240,192 km² — 478,841 sq mi
- **Population:** 25,198,821 (2025)
- **Density:** 20.3 people per km²
- **Currency:** West African CFA franc (XOF, Fr)
- **Official language:** French
- **Time zone:** UTC+00:00
- **Calling code:** +223
- **Drives on the:** right
- **ISO codes:** ML · MLI
- **Continent:** Africa

## How it compares

- **By area:** 24 of 200
- **By population:** 58 of 200

> Population is the only figure on this page that dates — it is a 2025 estimate and will drift. Area, capital, currency, languages, calling code and driving side change rarely or never.

## Countries of a similar size

| Country | Area (km²) | Population |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Niger | 1,267,000 | 27,917,831 |
| Angola | 1,246,700 | 39,040,039 |
| Mali ← | 1,240,192 | 25,198,821 |
| South Africa | 1,219,090 | 64,747,319 |
| Colombia | 1,138,910 | 53,425,635 |

## Common questions

### What is the capital of Mali?

Bamako

### What currency does Mali use?

The West African CFA franc (XOF).

### How big is Mali?

1,240,192 km², or 478,841 square miles — 24 of 200 by area.

### Which side of the road does Mali drive on?

The right.

## Related pages

- [Niger](https://atoneplace.net/country/niger/)
- [Angola](https://atoneplace.net/country/angola/)
- [South Africa](https://atoneplace.net/country/south-africa/)
- [Colombia](https://atoneplace.net/country/colombia/)
- [Nigeria](https://atoneplace.net/country/nigeria/)
- [Ethiopia](https://atoneplace.net/country/ethiopia/)
- [Egypt](https://atoneplace.net/country/egypt/)
- [Democratic Republic of the Congo](https://atoneplace.net/country/democratic-republic-of-the-congo/)
- [Tanzania](https://atoneplace.net/country/tanzania/)
- [South Africa](https://atoneplace.net/country/south-africa/)
- [Kenya](https://atoneplace.net/country/kenya/)
- [Sudan](https://atoneplace.net/country/sudan/)

## Sources

- The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency (https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/) [Public domain (US Government)]
- World Bank Open Data — The World Bank (https://data.worldbank.org/) [CC BY 4.0]