Mali’s capital city is Bamako. It lies in southwestern Mali on the Niger River, making it the country’s political, economic, and cultural center.
Bamako grew from a small settlement into an important regional city because of its position along the Niger and its connections to historic West African trade routes. Today, it contains Mali’s government institutions, major markets, universities, and cultural organizations. The city is also the country’s largest urban area by a wide margin.
A common mix-up is confusing Bamako with Timbuktu, the famous historic city farther north. Timbuktu was a major center of Islamic learning and trans-Saharan trade, but it is not Mali’s capital. Another possible source of confusion is Mali’s exports: gold is far more important to the modern economy than uranium. The question’s export clue is therefore outdated or misleading, but the capital-city answer remains unambiguous.