French Sudan, now known as Mali, was a French colony in West Africa that gained independence in 1960. It is now a landlocked country in the Sahel region of West Africa, bordered by Algeria, Niger, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Senegal, and Mauritania. Mali is home to a diverse population of over 18 million people, with a majority of its citizens belonging to various ethnic groups such as the Bambara, Songhai, Tuareg, and Fulani.