The landlocked West African country of Mali experienced rapid economic growth after the 1990s, coupled with a flourishing democracy and relative social stability. Mali is self-sufficient in food and is also one of Africa's major cotton producers, but the economy is highly undiversified, making the country vulnerable to commodity price fluctuations and to the consequences of climate change, which, in addition to having one of the highest population growth rates in the world, have fuelled food insecurity, poverty and instability.