Mali

Women

Mali ranks 158 out of 162 countries in the Gender Inequality Index, where a high rank equals high equality. Women should always be considered as a particularly vulnerable group though.

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Children

Mali has a Workplace Index score of 6.2, a Marketplace Index score of 4.9 and a Community and Environment Index score of 6.3 in the Children’s Rights and Business Atlas, where countries receive scores between 0 and 10. A score closer to 0 reflects a need for basic children’s rights due diligence, while a higher score reflects a need for enhanced or heightened due diligence. Children should always be considered as a particularly vulnerable group though. 

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Persons with Disabilities

Due to differences in data collection and definitions it is difficult to compare countries on disability prevalence rates. Persons with disabilities should always be considered as a particularly vulnerable group though.

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Minorities and Indigenous Peoples

According to the World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples, the main minority groups in Mali are ​Peuhl (also called Fula or Fulani) (14.7 %), Maure, Soninké (Saracolé) (10.8 %), Senoufo (10.5 %), Minianka, Dogon (8.9 %), Tuareg (7.7 %), Bozo (2.9 %), Songhai (1.6 %), Diawara, Xaasongaxango (Khassonke). Ethnic rivalries have not been a major feature of the Malian political scene to date and the various groups often compliment each other. Such diverse farming groups as Bambara, Malinké, Songhai and Dogon do not compete for the same lands and do not produce sufficient surplus to become marketplace rivals. However, the pastoralists of the peripheries, especially in the north, have suffered from neglect and the ravages of drought. The perception of political and economic exclusion has coincided with the geographic distribution of ethnicities to fuel resentment between ethnic groups, which has surfaced in recent episodes of conflict. Similarly, while religious tolerance and acceptance has been the norm in Mali (there are no legal obstacles to conversion, for example, and followers of one religion freely attend ceremonies of others), the imposition of Sharia law under some militant groups in 2012/13 and the involvement of extreme Islamist groups in violent conflict has added a new dimension of discord in the north.

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Migrant Workers​

According to the ILO Global Estimates on International Migrant Workers, migrant workers as a proportion of all workers is 3 % in the subregion Sub-Saharan Africa.

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Persons in Armed Conflict

Mali ranks 19 out of 179 countries in the Fragile States Index, where a high rank equals high fragility. For monthly crisis updates, check out CrisisWatch.