Mali

Mali is a large landlocked West African state spanning the Sahara and the Sahel, crossed by the Niger River. A former French colony independent since 1960, its territory once held the medieval Mali and Songhai empires and the trading city of Timbuktu. Recent decades have brought coups and a jihadist insurgency in the north. Its capital is Bamako.

• Existed: 1960 CE – present
• Type: Country
• Government: Provisional military government
• Capital: Bamako