Mali Solo Female Travel Safety Tips and Advice

On this page you will find first-hand, unbiased, and real safety tips, advice and reviews from women traveling solo, submitted directly from their personal experiences in the country.

Their opinions are unfiltered and submitted independently as part of the Solo Female Travel Safety Index, a ranking of 210 countries and regions based on how safe they are for women traveling solo.

The safety scores range from 1 to 4 with 1 being the safest and 4 being the most dangerous for solo female travelers.

You don’t need to login to read the below reviews. But do sign up or login to share your solo travel experiences, country safety rating and comments.

Mali Country data

We have compiled a few data points below that can help you better understand Mali and have more context when thinking about travel safety.

Official country name: Republic of Mali.

Etymology: The name derives from the West African Mali Empire of the 13th to 16th centuries A.D.

Capital: Bamako.

Independence / foundation: France, expanding from Senegal, seized control of the area in the 1890s and incorporated it into French West Africa as French Sudan.

In 1960, French Sudan gained independence from France and became the Mali Federation.

Population: 21 million.

Currency: West African CFA Franc (XOF)
1 USD = 599 - 609 XOF
1 EUR = 656 XOF

Time zone: UTC 0

Languages spoken: French (official), Bambara 46%, Peuhl/Foulfoulbe 9%, Dogon 7%, Maraka/Soninke 6%, Malinke 6%, Sonrhai/Djerma 6%, Minianka 4%, Tamacheq 3%, Senoufo 3%, Bobo 2%, other 6%, unspecified <1%.

Religions: Muslim 94%, Christian 3%, animist <1%, none 2%.

Climate: Subtropical to arid climate with hot and dry weather from February to June, rainy, humid, and mild weather from June to November and cool and dry weather from November to February.

Real GDP (ppp – purchasing power parity): $48 billion.

Real GDP per capita (ppp): $2,100.

Main airports: Modibo Keita International Airport.

World heritage sites in Mali

There are over 1,100 world heritage sites spread across more than 165 countries. New ones are added every year, and some may be removed from the list for various reasons.

Number of UNESCO listed sites: 4.

Top world heritage sites:

- Old Towns of Djenné.
- Timbuktu.
- Tomb of Askia.
- Bandiagara Cliff and Land of the Dogons.

Interesting facts about Mali

- The Empire of Mali was one of the most powerful and widely known pre-colonial African states. Founded in the 11th century, it lasted until the late 16th century when it was conquered by Morocco.

- It is believed Mali has been inhabited since 10,000 BC due to the discovery of rock art in the Sahara.

- Mansa Musa, who was king of the Mali Empire from 1280 to 1337, is considered the wealthiest man who has ever lived.

- The UNESCO-listed city of Timbuktu, founded in the 5th century, was a key trading site and center of Islamic culture.

- Mali’s Great Mosque of Djenné, built in 1907, is the largest mud-brick building in the world.

Further reading: N/A.

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Mali Travel tips

More about Mali on Solo Female Travelers

Coming soon.

Did you spot any errors? We do our best to keep this information updated and accurate, but things change. If you saw anything that is not right, let us know so we can fix it: [email protected].

About the Solo Female Travel Safety Index

Safety matters to solo female travelers, you told us so in our annual Solo Female Travel Survey, where year after year, women prove that this is their most important concern when traveling solo.

We wanted to do something about it, so we built these country-specific pages where you can find reviews and scores for 7 key variables affecting the safety of women traveling solo.

How to use the Safety Index

On this page, you will find the country score and the personal opinions on safety of other women traveling solo.

You can sort the comments by:

• The level of experience traveling solo of the reviewer (beginner = <5 trips solo, Intermediate = 5 to 10 trips solo, Experienced = >10 trips solo).
• The age of the traveler.
• Whether they are a visitor or local.
• The date they were posted.

The safety scores range from 1 to 4 with 1 being the safest and 4 being the most dangerous for solo female travelers. 

Thus, the lower the score, the safer the country.

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Looking for more safety resources?

This entire website is devoted to helping women travel solo. Check out the links below to learn more:

Solo Female Travel Stats: Results from the the largest, most comprehensive and only global research study on solo female travel trends, preferences and behaviors published.

Thanks to Jacobo Vilella for creating the Solo Female Travelers Safety Index ❤️