Economic activity is largely confined to the riverine area irrigated by the Niger.
Industrial activity is concentrated on processing farm commodities.
Mali is heavily dependent on foreign aid and vulnerable to fluctuations in world prices for cotton, its main export. Nonetheless the government has successfully implemented an IMF-recommended structural adjustment program that is helping the economy grow, diversify, and attract foreign investment. Several multinational corporations increased gold mining operations in 1996 and the government projects that Mali will become a major Sub-Saharan gold exporter in the next few years.