8 Billion Lives
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Where you could be born / Africa / Western Africa

Born in Mali

About 1 in 139 people born in 2023 started life in Mali. A boy can expect to live 59 years and a girl 62, up from 28 and 30 in 1950. Fewer than half of people live in cities, and 85% have basic drinking water.

1 in 139
odds of being born here
951,400 births · Ranked 32nd of 230
59 / 62
years of life, boys / girls
Was 28 / 30 in 1950
$1,785
income per person a year
2021 dollars · Ranked 176th of 203 · extrapolated
31%
live in a city
Most live in villages

Life and health

Life lasts about 32 years longer than in 1950. Child deaths fell from 460 in every 1,000 births to 92.

How long a life lasts

GirlsBoys

020406080195019852023

Years a baby born that year could expect to live.

Children who die before age 5
0200400600195019852023

In every 1,000 births.

Life expectancy at birth59.0 years for boys, 61.9 for girlsUN WPP 2024
Children who die before age 591.7 in every 1,000 birthsUN WPP 2024
Deaths a year205,000UN WPP 2024
Doctors per 1,000 people0.2World Bank WDI
Children immunized against measles68%World Bank WDI
Adults living with HIV0.8%World Bank WDI
New tuberculosis cases a year52 per 100,000 peopleWorld Bank WDI
Malaria cases a year346 per 1,000 people at riskWorld Bank WDI

Family

Women had 6.9 children on average in 1950. Now it is 5.6.

Children per woman
02468195019852023

Average over a lifetime.

Children per woman5.61UN WPP 2024
Average age of mothers at birth28.9 yearsUN WPP 2024

Money and work

If every 100 coins of income were shared out, the richest fifth would hold 44 and the poorest fifth 8.

Who gets the income
Share of all income by fifth of the population, 2021
8%Poorest fifth
12%Second
15%Middle
22%Fourth
44%Richest fifth
Income per personabout $1,785 a year (2021 dollars, adjusted for prices)World Bank PIP, scaled between survey years Extrapolated
Share of income going to the richest fifth / poorest fifth44% / 8% (2021)World Bank PIP
Unemployment2.9% of the workforce (2023)World Bank WDI
Price rises2.1% a year (2023)World Bank WDI
Growth in output per person1.7% (2023)World Bank WDI
Jobs in farming64% of jobsWorld Bank WDI
Self-employed76% of jobs (2025)World Bank WDI
Secondary school enrolment39% (can pass 100 when older students are counted)World Bank WDI

Daily life

The largest city is Bamako, with 4.2 million people.

31%
live in cities
55%
have electricity at home
85%
have basic drinking water
Largest cities
People living there
Bamako4.2 million
Sikasso349,324
Koutiala218,031
Ségou205,787
Kayes194,716
Languages
Share of people who can use each
Bambara46%
French17%
Soninke6%
Koyraboro Senni3%
Tamashek2%
French is official.

Cities and regions

Every state, province and large city with a page.

Largest regions

Bamako4.2 million
Sikasso857,714
Koulikoro775,619
Ségou625,575
Kayes422,246
Mopti344,991
Gao226,105
Tombouctou134,956
Kidal40,030
Ménaka18,688

Sourced: GeoNames Population of each state, province or region.

Large cities

Sourced: GeoNames Cities with a page: a million people or more.

People on the move

About 5.3% as many people born here live abroad as live here. The most common destinations are Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Niger.

Where people born here live abroad
By country of residence, 2024
Ivory Coast403,646
Nigeria184,965
Niger140,431
Residents born abroad2.2% (2024)World Bank WDI
People born here who live abroadequal to 5.3% of the people who live hereUN DESA migrant stock
Where they go mostIvory Coast (403,646), Nigeria (184,965), Niger (140,431)UN DESA migrant stock
Money sent home from abroadabout $1.1 billion a year (2024)World Bank WDI

Safety nets

6% of older people receive a pension. Help for someone who loses a job reaches 0%.

6%
of older people receive a pension (2022)
0%
of unemployed people receive a benefit (2022)

Events in the data

The game draws real events from these records, so a life lived here can meet them.

Reported COVID-19 deaths, 2020 to 2024743Our World in Data, from WHO
Deaths in organized violence17,620 between 1990 and 2024UCDP

Now live it.

Born in Mali, to a family drawn from these numbers. Every life replays exactly from its seed.

Be born in Mali

Elsewhere in Africa

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How to read the sources. Every figure is sourced to a named dataset, shown beside it. A figure marked "Extrapolated" is estimated by a model because no survey covers the year. UN figures are for 2023, the latest year of UN estimates; other figures are the latest year their dataset has. Rank 1 is the highest figure among 230 countries and territories. All sources and licences