mali (bambara: ߡߊߟߌ, fula: 𞤥𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, ), officially the republic of mali (; bambara: ߡߊߟߌ ߞߊ ߝߊߛߏߖߊߡߊߣߊ); fula: 𞤪𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤥𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, ) is a landlocked country (a country entirely surrounded by land) in west africa. mali is bordered by algeria on the north, niger on the east, burkina faso and the côte d'ivoire on the south, guinea on the south-west, and senegal and mauritania on the west. physical features of mali include the sahara desert in the north, with the niger river and sénégal river in the southern part of the country. as of a july 2011 estimate, mali has a population of approximately 14,000,000 people. mali has a total area of . most of the people live in the southern part of the country. mali's capital and most populated city is bamako.