Mali on Verge of Becoming a Failing State

Following a government coup and a terrorist-led insurrection in the North, the central African nation of Mali is on the verge of becoming a failed state.  Mali, which suffers from chronic hunger and malnutrition, has endured three droughts in the past ten years. A good rainy season might ease its suffering, but water scarcity in Mali is a chronic problem, as are malaria, childhood diseases, maternal mortality, and severe poverty.  In 2011 Mali was ranked 186 out of 187 countries by UNDP’s Human Development Index. Yet its population is one of the fastest-growing in the world. Unless fertility rates fall faster than expected, or death rates start to rise, Mali could tripe its population in the next 40 years. The Population Reference Bureau projects that its population, currently 16 million, will rise to 45 million by 2050. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-walker/mali-population-growth_b_2567119.html