Languages of the country
Mali
Official languages by law: 13; in the atlas: Bambara, Maasina Fulfulde, Soninke, Kita Maninkakan, Koyraboro Senni, Tamashek, Koyra Chiini, Tomo Kan Dogon, Xaasongaxango, Bomu, Jenaama Bozo, Hassaniyya. Working languages: French. Multilingualism according to CLDR (Greenberg index): 0.71 (multilingualism map). Population (CLDR): 22 million.
The Constitution of 22 July 2023 (art. 31) makes all national languages – 13 under the 1996 law – official and French a working language. The atlas has 12 entries for 11 of them (Songhay in two varieties); Mamara (Minyanka) and Syenara (Senufo) have no pages here.
Full list of official languages in the text of the law (13): bamanankan, bomu, bozo, dogoso, fulfulde, hasanya, mamara, maninkakan, soninke, songhay, syenara, tamasheq, xaasongaxanno. Source: [1]
Map of regions
We have not described regional languages for this country yet – the map shows the whole country in the colour of its main language.
Languages and their status
Share: the estimated part of the population that uses the language (also as a second language), according to CLDR.
| Language | Status | Share |
|---|---|---|
|
Bambara
bamanakan Legal basis: [1] |
Co-official | 46% |
|
Maasina Fulfulde
Legal basis: [1] |
Co-official | 7.7% |
|
Soninke
Legal basis: [1] |
Co-official | 5.9% |
|
Kita Maninkakan
Legal basis: [1] |
Co-official | 5% |
|
Koyraboro Senni
One of two varieties of the national language Songhay. Legal basis: [1] |
Co-official | 3.4% |
|
Tamashek
Legal basis: [1] |
Co-official | 2.1% |
|
Koyra Chiini
Koyra ciini One of two varieties of the national language Songhay. Legal basis: [1] |
Co-official | 1.7% |
|
Tomo Kan Dogon
Legal basis: [1] |
Co-official | 1.1% |
|
Xaasongaxango
Legal basis: [1] |
Co-official | 1% |
|
Bomu
Legal basis: [1] |
Co-official | 0.9% |
|
Jenaama Bozo
Legal basis: [1] |
Co-official | 0.9% |
|
Hassaniyya
Hasanya – a national language; CLDR gives no share of speakers in Mali. Legal basis: [1] |
Co-official | – |
|
French
français A working language, not an official one, since 2023. Legal basis: [1] |
Working | 17% |
| Arabic العربية | Minority | 0.9% |
Legal basis of the statuses
Statuses with a legal basis are our corrections to CLDR, based on the text of the constitution, the law or the official journal. Quotes are in the original language.
-
Constitution of Mali of 22 July 2023 (Decree No. 2023-0401/PT-RM) – Journal officiel, special issue 13 of 22 July 2023, art. 31 (WIPO Lex)
· act of 2023-07-22, text checked 2026-11-04
Les langues nationales sont les langues officielles du Mali. Une loi organique détermine les conditions et les modalités de leur emploi. Le français est la langue de travail. L'Etat peut adopter toute autre langue comme langue de travail.
The Constitution does not name the national languages; the list of 13 is in Law No. 96-049 of 23 August 1996 (we have not retrieved its text from the official journal – names as given in secondary sources).
Mali on other Ominuvo maps
- World in NumbersPopulation: 25.2 million (2025)Source: World Bank – WDI: UN World Population Prospects (CC BY 4.0)
- Prices around the worldWest African CFA franc (XOF)Source: ISO 4217
- Time zones mapUTCSource: IANA tz database (public domain)
- Plugs and sockets of the worldType C, E · 220 V · 50 Hz
- National dishes of the world2 national dishes
- Plants of the world8 characteristic plants
- World Heritage map4 World Heritage SitesSource: World Heritage List (facts)
- VPN provider mapServers of 1 VPN providerSource: VPN Map (Ominuvo) (CC BY 4.0)