# Mali and Niger compared

Mali and Niger side by side: 41 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, and the 6 events their chronicles record of each other.

Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/mli-vs-ner
Updated: 2026-08-10 (latest of the two dossiers' refreshes and the two chronicles' verification dates)

Two sourced records set beside each other — nothing on this page was written for the pair. Every figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two national dossiers; every event is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle. Figures are compared, never graded. A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero; each value shows its own observation year — vintages differ by indicator and nation.

## Formation

- Mali: c. 1235 — Sundiata Keita founds the Mali Empire on the upper Niger
- Niger: 3 August 1960 — Independence of the Republic of Niger

## Economy

| Metric | Mali | Observed | Niger | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP | $27 B | 2024 | $20 B | 2024 |
| GDP per capita | $1,095 | 2024 | $735 | 2024 |
| GDP growth | 5.0% | 2024 | 10.3% | 2024 |
| Inflation | 3.2% | 2024 | 9.1% | 2024 |
| Trade openness | 49.9% | 2024 | 50.0% | 2024 |

## Society

| Metric | Mali | Observed | Niger | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 24 m | 2024 | 27 m | 2024 |
| Life expectancy | 60.7 yrs | 2024 | 61.4 yrs | 2024 |
| Urban population | 31.6% | 2024 | 18.0% | 2024 |
| Fertility rate | 5.5 | 2024 | 5.9 | 2024 |

## Governance

| Metric | Mali | Observed | Niger | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voice & accountability | 35.5 | 2024 | 39.9 | 2024 |
| Political stability | 23.3 | 2024 | 35.8 | 2024 |
| Government effectiveness | 26.3 | 2024 | 36.4 | 2024 |
| Regulatory quality | 42.8 | 2024 | 42.8 | 2024 |
| Rule of law | 38.1 | 2024 | 40.7 | 2024 |
| Control of corruption | 28.0 | 2024 | 35.4 | 2024 |

## Health

| Metric | Mali | Observed | Niger | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health spending | 3.8% | 2023 | 4.0% | 2023 |
| Physicians | 0.19 | 2023 | 0.04 | 2023 |
| Under-5 mortality | 73.0 | 2024 | 110.7 | 2024 |
| Measles immunisation | 72.0% | 2024 | 81.0% | 2024 |

## Education

| Metric | Mali | Observed | Niger | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult literacy | 35.6% | 2024 | 35.6% | 2022 |
| Education spending | 4.2% | 2023 | 4.1% | 2023 |
| Primary enrolment | 72.8% | 2023 | 64.7% | 2024 |
| Secondary enrolment | 38.9% | 2023 | 19.9% | 2024 |
| Tertiary enrolment | 5.1% | 2015 | 4.2% | 2019 |

## Technology

| Metric | Mali | Observed | Niger | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R&D spending | 0.1% | 2023 | — | — |
| Researchers (per million) | 26 | 2023 | 27 | 2013 |
| Internet users | 36.8% | 2024 | 15.6% | 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptions | 112 | 2022 | 61 | 2024 |
| High-tech exports | 5.4% | 2023 | 8.6% | 2024 |

## Geography

| Metric | Mali | Observed | Niger | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Land area | 1,220,190 km² | 2023 | 1,266,700 km² | 2023 |
| Forest area | 10.9% | 2023 | 0.8% | 2023 |
| Agricultural land | 35.5% | 2023 | 36.8% | 2023 |
| CO₂ per capita (t) | 0.3 | 2024 | 0.1 | 2024 |
| Renewable energy | 71.1% | 2022 | 79.6% | 2021 |

## Resources

| Metric | Mali | Observed | Niger | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resource rents | 18.4% | 2021 | 6.4% | 2021 |
| Oil rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.6% | 2021 |
| Mineral rents | 16.2% | 2021 | 0.8% | 2021 |
| Forest rents | 2.2% | 2021 | 4.9% | 2021 |
| Electricity access | 54.5% | 2023 | 20.1% | 2023 |
| Lithium (mined) | 9,400 t | 2025 | — | — |

## Military

| Metric | Mali | Observed | Niger | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Military burden | 4.2% | 2024 | 2.2% | 2024 |
| Defense spending | $929 M | 2024 | $436 M | 2024 |
| Armed forces | 41,000 | 2020 | 10,000 | 2020 |

Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/<metric>.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/MLI.md and https://terralore.co/country/NER.md.

## Entangled histories (6 events)

Events in which either nation's sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the record exactly as its own chronicle carries it, with that chronicle's sources.

- 14th century: **Timbuktu and Djenné flourish** — Under Mali's mansas the Niger cities grow into major centres of trans-Saharan trade and Islamic scholarship, attracting merchants and scholars. (from the Mali chronicle; sources: Timbuktu — World Heritage Centre; The Mali Empire)
- 1468: **Sonni Ali takes Timbuktu** — Sonni Ali captures Timbuktu, and in 1473 Djenné, bringing the Niger trade cities under Songhai control and laying the foundation of the empire. (from the Mali chronicle; sources: The Songhai Empire (HIST103); Sonni Ali)
- April 1591: **Battle of Tondibi ends the Songhai Empire** — Moroccan forces under Judar Pasha, armed with firearms, rout the Songhai army at Tondibi near Gao, collapsing the last of the great Niger empires. (from the Mali chronicle; sources: Fall of the Songhai Empire; Moroccan invasion of the Songhai Empire)
- c. 1712: **Bitòn Coulibaly consolidates the Bambara kingdom of Segou** — Mamari (Bitòn) Coulibaly transforms a youth society into an army, founding the centralised Bambara state of Segou on the middle Niger. (from the Mali chronicle; sources: Bamana Empire; Bamana (Ségou) Empire)
- 1861: **Umar Tal's Tukulor empire conquers Segou** — Al-Hajj Umar Tal, leading the Tijaniyya jihad begun in the 1850s, overthrows the Bambara kingdom of Segou and extends the Tukulor empire across the upper Niger. (from the Mali chronicle; sources: ʿUmar Tal — West African Tukulor Leader & Jihadist; Bamana (Ségou) Empire)
- early 20th century: **Colony of French Soudan** — The conquered upper Niger is administered as French Soudan within French West Africa, its economy reoriented toward the colonial metropole. (from the Mali chronicle; sources: Modibo Keita — 1st President of Mali; Mali Federation)

## Sources

- World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://data.worldbank.org
- Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators
- Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.who.int/data/gho
- Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://childmortality.org
- R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://uis.unesco.org
- ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics
- Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 — U.S. Geological Survey · Public domain (U.S. Government work) · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center
- Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex

Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/MLI/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/NER/chronicle.md.

Citation template: Terralore, "Mali and Niger compared", terralore.co/compare/mli-vs-ner, retrieved <YYYY-MM-DD>.