Map of Burkina Faso | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide19891990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023 | More stats

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Background: Independence from France came to Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta) in 1960. Governmental instability causes several hundred thousand farm workers migrate south every year to Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana.


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Location: Western Africa, between Ghana and Mali

Geographic coordinates

Map reference: Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World

Area
Total: 274,200 km²
Land: 273,800 km²

Land boundaries: total 3,192 km, Benin 306 km, Ghana 548 km, Cote d'Ivoire 584 km, Mali 1,000 km, Niger 628 km, Togo 126 km

Coastline

Maritime claims: none; landlocked

Climate: tropical; warm, dry winters; hot, wet summers

Terrain: mostly flat to dissected, undulating plains; hills in west and southeast

Elevation

Natural resources: manganese, limestone, marble; small deposits of gold, antimony, copper, nickel, bauxite, lead, phosphates, zinc, silver

Land use
Arable land: 10%
Permanent crops: 0%
Meadows and pastures: 37%
Forest and woodland: 26%
Other: 27%

Irrigated land: 160 km² (1989 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

Geography


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Population: 9,852,529 (July 1993 est.)
Growth rate: 2.83% (1993 est.)

Nationality

Ethnic groups:

Languages: French (official), tribal languages belong to Sudanic family, spoken by 90% of the population

Religions:

Demographic profile

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 2.83% (1993 est.)

Birth rate: 48.8 births/1000 population (1993 est.)

Death rate: 18.19 deaths/1000 population (1993 est.)

Net migration rate: -2.28 migrant(s)/1000 population (1993 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: recent droughts and desertification severely affecting marginal agricultural activities, population distribution, economy; overgrazing; deforestation
Current issues note: landlocked

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 119.8 deaths/1000 live births (1993 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 47.47 years
Male: 46.66 years
Female: 48.3 years (1993 est.)

Total fertility rate: 7 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Noun: Burkinabe (singular and plural)
Adjective: Burkinabe

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990)
Total population: 18%
Male: 28%
Female: 9%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: Burkina Faso
Conventional short form: Burkina
Former: Upper Volta

Government type: parliamentary

Capital: Ouagadougou

Administrative divisions:

Dependent areas

Independence: 5 August 1960 (from France)

National holiday:

Constitution: June 1991

Legal system: based on French civil law system and customary law

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: none

Executive branch: president, Council of Ministers

Legislative branch: Assembly of People's Deputies

Judicial branch: Appeals Court

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation:

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: (vacant)
In the us chancery: 2,340 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: (202) 332-5,577 or 6,895
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Edward P. BYRNN
From the us embassy: Avenue Raoul Follerau, Ouagadougou
From the us mailing address: 01 B. P. 35, Ouagadougou
From the us telephone: 226 30-67- 23 through 25
From the us fax:

Flag description

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: One of the poorest countries in the world, Burkina has a high population density, few natural resources, and relatively infertile soil. Economic development is hindered by a poor communications network within a landlocked country. Agriculture provides about 40% of GDP and is entirely of a subsistence nature. Industry, dominated by unprofitable government-controlled corporations, accounts for about 15% of GDP.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 1.3% (1990 est.)

Real gdp per capita ppp

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: accounts for about 30% of GDP; cash crops - peanuts, shea nuts, sesame, cotton; food crops - sorghum, millet, corn, rice; livestock; not self-sufficient in food grains

Industries: cotton lint, beverages, agricultural processing, soap, cigarettes, textiles, gold mining and extraction

Industrial production growth rate: growth rate 5.7% (1990 est.), accounts for about 23% of GDP (1989)

Labor force: 3.3 million residents; 30,000 are wage earners
By occupation agriculture: 82%
By occupation industry: 13%
By occupation commerce services and government: 5%
Note:

Unemployment rate: NA%

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget: revenues $495 million; expenditures $786 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1991)

Public debt

Taxes and other revenues

Revenue

Fiscal year

Current account balance

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $304.8 million (f.o.b., 1990)
Commodoties: cotton, gold, animal products
Partners: EC 45%, Taiwan 15%, Cote d'Ivoire 15% (1987)

Imports: $593 million (f.o.b., 1990)
Commodoties: machinery, food products, petroleum
Partners: EC 51%, Africa 25%, US 6% (1987)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: CFA francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 274.06 (January 1993), 264.69 (1992), 282.11 (1991), 272.26 (1990), 319.01 (1989), 297.85 (1988)


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Electricity access

Electricity production: 120,000 kW capacity; 320 million kWh produced, 40 kWh per capita (1991)

Electricity consumption

Electricity exports

Electricity imports

Electricity installed generating capacity

Electricity transmission distribution losses

Electricity generation sources

Petroleum

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones fixed lines

Telephones mobile cellular

Telephone system

Broadcast media

Internet country code

Internet users

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Percent of gdp: exchange rate conversion - $NA, NA% of GDP

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 48
Usable: 38
With permanentsurface runways: 2
With runways over 3659 m: 0
With runways 2440-3659 m: 2
With runways 1220-2439 m: 8

Airports with paved runways

Airports with unpaved runways

Heliports

Pipelines

Railways

Roadways

Waterways

Merchant marine

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international:

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs