Islam


Islam, tinged with animism, is the religion of 90% of Malians. Some 9% of them have retained animist beliefs. Christianity affects only 1% of the population.

Ethnic groups
Nearly 40% of the population belongs to the Mandingo ethnic group, are mostly Bambara living mainly in the district of Bamako. They are followed by the Fulani (13.9%), Senoufo (9%), Soninke (8.8%), the Dogon (8%), Songhai (7.2%), Malinke (6, 6%), Dioula (2.9%), Bwaba (2.4%), the Tuareg (1.7%), or Berber Moors (1.2%). The Fulani live in the region Macina (Kayes), the Senoufo live around Sikasso in the border area with Burkina Faso and Cote d'Ivoire, in Western Soninke (Kayes), the Dogon northwest on Bandiagara plateau, Songhai settled in the East, while the Sahara (in the Timbuktu region) is the area of Berbers and mainly nomadic Tuareg.

These ethnic divisions are reflected in the distribution of work. The Bambara, Dogon and the Senoufo are usually peasants, and Bozo, fishermen, and Marka and the Malinke, traditionally traders, make up the bulk of the urban population, the Tuareg, the Peul (Fulani) and the Moors ( Berbers), nomads are mostly farmers