Mali is a WATRA member state with a population of 19.66 million.
There are two major mobile telephone operators in the country, Orange Mali (formerly known as Ikatel) and Malitel (a subsidiary of SOTELMA, the state owned telecommunications company). Malitel had a total of 7.1 million subscribers (2017) while Orange mali had 14.8 million subscribers (2017).
The Malian telecommunications sub-sector increased its contribution to GDP from 39.2 per cent in 2003 to 40.2 per cent in 2004. The development of the mobile phone and GSM networks run by Malitel and Ikatel should be particularly noted.
With a population of more than 19 million individuals, Mail has 40.6% of its citizens living in rural areas and 33% of people being literate. The population of Mali is largely young with more than half being literate.
According to a 2015 UNESCO report, 10% of the population has access to the internet with 6.5% using it in their household. With a standard literacy rate, Mail has potential capabilities to access the digital world. However, it faces many challenges like, Security issues in the north of Mali, Low level of Internet penetration rates for adult and young people, low development of e-business and e-government (project are not implemented) etc.
