Editing Demographics of Mali (section)

== Ethnic groups ==
[[File:Family trip.jpg|thumb|300px|A family in [[Djenné]], Mali.]]

Ethnic groups include:<ref name="CIATONGA">{{cite web|url= https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/mali/|title= Africa :: MALI|date= 19 April 2022|publisher= CIA The World Factbook}}</ref>
* 33.3% [[Bambara people|Bambara]]
* 13.3% [[Fula people|Fula]]
* 9.8% [[Soninke people|Soninke]]
* 9.6% [[Senufo people|Senufo]] / [[Bwa people|Bwa]] / [[Mandinka people|Malinke]]
* 8.7% [[Dogon people|Dogon]]
* 6.1% [[Bobo people|Bobo]]
* 5.9% [[Songhai people|Songhai]]
* 1.7% [[Tuareg people|Tuareg]]
* 11.6% Others
[[Mali]]'s population consists of [[Sub-Saharan]] [[ethnic groups]], sharing similar historic, cultural, and religious traditions. Exceptions are two [[nomad]]ic northern groups, the [[Tuareg people|Tuareg]]s, a [[Berber people]], and [[Moors#Present-day Moors|Maur]]s (or Moors), of [[Arab]]o-Berber origins. In Mali and [[Niger]], the Moors are also known as [[Azawagh Arabs]], named after the [[Azawagh]] region of the [[Sahara]].<ref>For an introduction to the culture of the ''Azawagh Arabs'', see Rebecca Popenoe, ''Feeding Desire — Fatness, Beauty and Sexuality among a Saharan People''. Routledge, London (2003) {{ISBN|0-415-28096-6}}</ref> Azawagh Arabs speak mainly [[Hassaniya Arabic]] which is one of the regional [[varieties of Arabic]].<ref>Popenoe (2003), p. 16-17.</ref>

The Tuaregs traditionally have opposed the central government. Starting in June 1990 in the north, Tuaregs seeking greater autonomy led to clashes with the military. In April 1992, the government and most opposing factions signed a pact to end the fighting and restore stability in the north. Its major aims are to allow greater autonomy to the north and increase government resource allocation to what has been a traditionally impoverished region. The peace agreement was celebrated in 1996 in [[Timbuktu]] during an official and highly publicized ceremony called "Flamme de la Paix" (peace flame).

Historically, interethnic relations throughout the rest of the country were facilitated by easy mobility on the [[Niger River]] and across the country's vast savannahs. Each ethnic group was traditionally tied to a specific occupation, all working within proximity to each other, although the distinctions were often blurred.

The [[Bambara people|Bambara]], [[Mandinka people|Malinké]], [[Soninke people|Sarakole]], [[Dogon people|Dogon]] and [[Songhai people|Songhay]] are farmers; the [[Fula people|Fula or Fulani]], [[Moors|Maur]], and [[Tuareg people|Tuareg]] are herders, while the [[Bozo people|Bozo]] and [[Somono]] are fishers. In recent years this linkage has shifted considerably, as ethnic groups seek nontraditional sources of income.

=== Europeans in Mali ===
People of European origin form a small minority in the country. They include those of mixed European and African descendant, as well as those of full European background. The latter includes the French, as well as the Spanish, Irish, Italian and Portuguese origins. Some of them descend from the [[Arma people]] (1% of the nation's population). They mainly live in [[Bamako]], [[Sikasso]], [[Kalabancoro]], [[Koutiala]], [[Ségou]], [[Kayes]], [[Kati]], [[Mopti]], [[Niono]], [[Gao]], [[San, Mali|San]], [[Koro, Mali|Koro]], [[Bla, Mali|Bla]], [[Bougouni]], [[Mandé]], [[Baguineda-Camp]], [[Kolondiéba]], [[Kolokani]], and others.<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q3mx8aAo6x0C |title = The Cambridge History of Africa|isbn = 9780521204132|last1 = Fage|first1 = J. D.|last2 = Oliver|first2 = Roland Anthony|year = 1975| publisher=Cambridge University Press }}</ref>