Mali

Mali is a poor, landlocked Sahelian economy dependent on gold and agriculture, much of its vast territory desert, with most of the population in subsistence farming and herding.

Gold is the leading export, but a long-running jihadist insurgency, ethnic conflict, and military coups have plunged the country into deep insecurity and isolated it from former Western partners.

Key Sectors

The economy rests on gold mining (a top African producer), cotton, livestock, and subsistence agriculture along the Niger River, all strained by conflict.