Most of the population is located in the center and south. Nearly one-third of the population lives in cities. The capital and largest city is Ouagadougou (Ouaga), with a population of 1.8 million

Urbanization
Urban population: 31.2% of total population (2021)
Rate of urbanization: 4.75% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 2.915 million OUAGADOUGOU (capital), 1.020 million Bobo-Dioulasso (2021)

Environment
Current issues: recent droughts and desertification severely affecting agricultural activities, population distribution, and the economy; overgrazing; soil degradation; deforestation (2019)
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
International agreements signed but not ratified: Nuclear Test Ban

Air pollutants
Particulate matter emissions: 36.78 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions: 3.42 megatons (2016 est.)
Methane emissions: 12.85 megatons (2020 est.)

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 0.87 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.76 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2020 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth: 19.4 years (2010 est.)
Note: median age at first birth among women 25-29

Maternal mortality ratio: 320 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 50.71 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 55.05 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 46.24 deaths/1000 live births (2021 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 63.06 years
Male: 61.28 years
Female: 64.89 years (2021 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.39 children born/woman (2021 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 30.1% (2020)

Drinking water source
Improved urban: 94.9% of population
Improved rural: 67.9% of population
Improved total: 75.6% of population
Unimproved urban: 4.5% of population
Unimproved rural: 32.1% of population
Unimproved total: 24.4% of population (2017 est.)

Current health expenditure: 5.6% (2018)

Physicians density: 0.09 physicians/1000 population (2017)

Hospital bed density: 0.4 beds/1000 population

Sanitation facility access
Improved urban: 88.2% of population
Improved rural: 30.2% of population
Improved total: 46.9% of population
Unimproved urban: 11.8% of population
Unimproved rural: 69.8% of population
Unimproved total: 53.1% of population (2017 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.7% (2020 est.)
People living with hivaids: 97,000 (2020 est.)
Deaths: 3,300 (2020 est.)

Major infectious diseases
Degree of risk: very high (2020)
Food or water borne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
Vector borne diseases: dengue fever and malaria
Watercontactdiseases: schistosomiasis
Animalcontactdiseases: rabies
Respiratorydiseases: meningococcal meningitis

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 5.6% (2016)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 16.4% (2019)

Education expenditures: 5.8% of GDP (2019)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 39.3%
Male: 49.2%
Female: 31% (2018)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 9 years
Male: 9 years
Female: 9 years (2020)

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15-24 total: 8.6%
Rate ages 15-24 male: 8.9%
Rate ages 15-24 female: 8.4% (2019)

Country name
Conventional long form: none
Conventional short form: Burkina Faso
Local long form: none
Local short form: Burkina Faso
Former: Upper Volta, Republic of Upper Volta
Etymology: name translates as 'Land of the Honest (Incorruptible) Men'

Government type: presidential republic

Capital
Name: Ouagadougou
Geographic coordinates: 12 22 N, 1 31 W
Time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Etymology: Ouagadougou is a Francophone spelling of the native name 'Wogodogo,' meaning 'where people get honor and respect'

Administrative divisions: 13 regions; Boucle du Mouhoun, Cascades, Centre, Centre-Est, Centre-Nord, Centre-Ouest, Centre-Sud, Est, Hauts-Bassins, Nord, Plateau-Central, Sahel, Sud-Ouest

Independence: 5 August 1960 (from France)

National holiday: Republic Day, 11 December (1958); note - commemorates the day that Upper Volta became an autonomous republic in the French Community

Constitution
History: several previous; latest approved by referendum 2 June 1991, adopted 11 June 1991, temporarily suspended late October to mid-November 2014; initial draft of a new constitution to usher in the new republic was completed in January 2017 and a final draft was submitted to the government in December 2017; a constitutional referendum originally scheduled for adoption in March 2019 has been postponed
Amendments: proposed by the president, by a majority of National Assembly membership, or by petition of at least 30,000 eligible voters submitted to the Assembly; passage requires at least three-fourths majority vote in the Assembly; failure to meet that threshold requires majority voter approval in a referendum; constitutional provisions on the form of government, the multiparty system, and national sovereignty cannot be amended; amended several times, last in 2012

Legal system: civil law based on the French model and customary law; in mid-2019, the National Assembly amended the penal code

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descentonly: at least one parent must be a citizen of Burkina Faso
Dual citizenship recognized: yes
Residency requirement for naturalization: 10 years

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Roch Marc Christian KABORE (since 29 December 2015; reelected 22 November 2020)
Head of government: Prime Minister Lassina ZERBO (since 10 December 2021); note - on 8 December 2021, President KABORE accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Christophe DABIRE; on 10 December 2021 Kaboré named ZERBO prime minister. (2021)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister
Elections and appointments: president elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second); last held on 22 November 2020 (next to be held in November 2025); prime minister appointed by the president with consent of the National Assembly
Election results: Roch Marc Christian KABORE reelected president in first round; percent of vote - Roch Marc Christian KABORE (MPP) 57.9%, Eddie KOMBOIGO (CDP) 15.5%, Zephirin DIABRE (UPC)12.5%, other 14.1%

Legislative branch
Description: unicameral National Assembly (127 seats; 111 members directly elected in 13 multi-seat constituencies by party-list proportional representation vote and 26 members elected in a nationwide constituency by proportional representation vote; all member serve 5-year terms)
Elections: last held on 22 November 2020 (next to be held in November 2025)
Election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party (preliminary results) - MPP 56, CDP 20, NTD 13, UPC 12

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Supreme Court of Appeals or Cour de Cassation (consists of NA judges); Council of State (consists of NA judges); Constitutional Council or Conseil Constitutionnel (consists of the council president and 9 members)
Judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judge appointments mostly controlled by the president of Burkina Faso; judges have no term limits; Council of State judge appointment and tenure NA; Constitutional Council judges appointed by the president of Burkina Faso upon the proposal of the minister of justice and the president of the National Assembly; judges appointed for 9-year terms with one-third of membership renewed every 3 years
Subordinate courts: Appeals Court; High Court; first instance tribunals; district courts; specialized courts relating to issues of labor, children, and juveniles; village (customary) courts

Political parties and leaders: African Democratic Rally/Alliance for Democracy and Federation or ADF/RDA [Gilbert Noel OUEDRAOGO]
African People’s Movement or MAP [Victorien TOUGOUMA]
Congress for Democracy and Progress or CDP [Eddie KOMBOIGO]
Le Faso Autrement [Ablasse OUEDRAOGO]
New Alliance of the Faso or NAFA [Mahamoudou DICKO]
New Time for Democracy or NTD [Vincent DABILGOU]
Organization for Democracy and Work or ODT [Anatole BONKOUNGOU]
Party for Development and Change or PDC [Aziz SEREME]
Party for Democracy and Progress-Socialist Party or PDP-PS [Drabo TORO]
Party for Democracy and Socialism/Metba or PDS/Metba [Philippe OUEDRAOGO]
Party for National Renaissance or PAREN [Michel BERE]
People's Movement for Progress or MPP [Simon COMPAORE]
Rally for Democracy and Socialism or RDS [Francois OUEDRAOGO]
Rally for the Development of Burkina or RDB [Celestin Saidou COMPAORE]
Rally of Ecologists of Burkina Faso or RDEB [Adama SERE]
Soleil d’Avenir [Abdoulaye SOMA]
Union for a New Burkina or UBN [Diemdioda DICKO]
Union for Progress and Change or UPC [Zephirin DIABRE]
Union for Rebirth - Sankarist Party or UNIR-MS [Benewende Stanislas SANKARA]
Union for the Republic or UPR [Toussaint Abel COULIBALY]
Youth Alliance for the Republic and Independence or AJIR [Adama KANAZOE]

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, AU, CD, ECOWAS, EITI (compliant country), Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINUSMA, MONUSCO, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNISFA, UNITAR, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Seydou KABORE (since 18 January 2017)
In the us chancery: 2,340 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 332-5,577
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 667-1882
In the us email address and website:
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Sandra E. CLARK (since 25 September 2020)
From the us embassy: Secteur 15, Ouaga 2000, Avenue Sembene Ousmane, Rue 15.873, Ouagadougou
From the us mailing address: 2,440 Ouagadougou Place, Washington, DC  20,521-2,440
From the us telephone: (226) 25-49-53-00
From the us fax: (226) 25-49-56-23
From the us email address and website:

Flag description: two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a yellow five-pointed star in the center; red recalls the country's struggle for independence, green is for hope and abundance, and yellow represents the country's mineral wealth
Note: uses the popular Pan-African colors of Ethiopia

National symbols: white stallion; national colors: red, yellow, green

National anthem
Name: 'Le Ditanye' (Anthem of Victory)
Lyrics and music: Thomas SANKARA
Note: adopted 1974; also known as 'Une Seule Nuit' (One Single Night); written by the country's former president, an avid guitar player

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Note: data are in 2010 dollars

Real gdp growth rate: 6.4% (2017 est.)

5.9% (2016 est.)

3.9% (2015 est.)

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2010 dollars

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 56.5% (2017 est.)
Government consumption: 23.9% (2017 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 24.6% (2017 est.)
Investment in inventories: 1% (2017 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 28.4% (2017 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -34.4% (2017 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 31% (2017 est.)
Industry: 23.9% (2017 est.)
Services: 44.9% (2017 est.)

Agriculture products: sorghum, maize, millet, cotton, cow peas, sugar cane, groundnuts, rice, sesame seed, vegetables

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

Industrial production growth rate: 10.4% (2017 est.)

Labor force: 8.501 million (2016 est.)
Note: a large part of the male labor force migrates annually to neighboring countries for seasonal employment
By occupation agriculture: 90%
By occupation industry and services: 10% (2000 est.)

Unemployment rate: 77% (2004)

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15-24 total: 8.6%
Rate ages 15-24 male: 8.9%
Rate ages 15-24 female: 8.4% (2019)

Population below poverty line: 41.4% (2018 est.)

Gini index
Coefficient distribution of family income: 35.3 (2014 est.)

48.2 (1994)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 2.9%
Highest 10: 32.2% (2009 est.)

Budget
Revenues: $2.666 billion (2017 est.)
Expenditures: $3.655 billion (2017 est.)
Surplus or deficit: $-7.9% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Taxes and other revenues: 21.2% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Public debt: 38.1% of GDP (2017 est.)

38.3% of GDP (2016 est.)

Revenue
From forest resources forest revenues: 4.54% of GDP (2018 est.)
From coal coal revenues: 0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: -3.2% (2019 est.)

1.9% (2018 est.)

1.4% (2017 est.)

Current account balance: -$1.019 billion (2017 est.)

-$820 million (2016 est.)

Exports: $4.47 billion note: data are in current year dollars (2019 est.)

$4.51 billion note: data are in current year dollars (2018 est.)
Partners: Switzerland 59%, India 21% (2019)
Commodities: gold, cotton, zinc, cashews, sesame seeds (2019)

Imports: $5.02 billion note: data are in current year dollars (2019 est.)

$5.17 billion note: data are in current year dollars (2018 est.)

$5.3 billion (2017 est.)
Partners: Cote d'Ivoire 15%, China 9%, Ghana 8%, France 8%, India 6%, United States 5% (2019)
Commodities: refined petroleum, delivery trucks, packaged medicines, electricity, aircraft (2019)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $49 million (31 December 2017 est.)

$50.9 million (31 December 2016 est.)

Debt external: $3.056 billion (31 December 2017 est.)

$2.88 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Access electrification total population: 22% (2019)
Access electrification urban areas: 69% (2019)
Access electrification rural areas: 2% (2019)
Production: 990 million kWh (2016 est.)
Consumption: 1.551 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Exports: 0 kWh (2016 est.)
Imports: 630 million kWh (2016 est.)
Installed generating capacity: 342,400 kW (2016 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels: 80% of total installed capacity (2016 est.)
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 9% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources: 12% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil imports: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves: 0 bbl (1 January 2018 est.)

Refined petroleum
Products production: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products consumption: 23,000 bbl/day (2016 est.)
Products exports: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products imports: 23,580 bbl/day (2015 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2017 est.)
Consumption: 0 m³ (2017 est.)
Exports: 0 m³ (2017 est.)
Imports: 0 m³ (2017 est.)
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2014 est.)

Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 75,039 (2020)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: less than 1 (2020 est.)
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 22,117,218 (2020)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 105.8 (2020 est.)

Broadcast media: since the official inauguration of Terrestrial Digital Television (TNT) in December 2017, Burkina Faso now has 14 digital TV channels among which 2 are state-owned; there are more than 140 radio stations (commercial, religious, community) available throughout the country including a national and regional state-owned network; the state-owned Radio Burkina and the private Radio Omega are among the most widespread stations and both include broadcasts in French and local languages (2019)

Internet
Country code: .bf
Users total: 5.46 million (2021 est.)
Users percent of population: 16% (2019 est.)

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 13,979 (2020)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: less than 1 (2020 est.)

Military expenditures: 2.5% of GDP (2020 est.)

2.4% of GDP (2019)

2.1% of GDP (2018)

1.4% of GDP (2017)

1.2% of GDP (2016)

Military and security forces: Armed Forces of Burkina Faso (FABF): Army of Burkina Faso (L’Armee de Terre, LAT), Air Force of Burkina Faso (Force Aerienne de Burkina Faso, FABF), National Gendarmerie; Volunteers for the Defense of the Fatherland (a civilian defense force established in 2019 to act as auxiliaries to the military in the fight against militants) (2021)

note - the National Gendarmerie officially reports to the Ministry of Defense, but usually operates in support of the Ministry of Security and the Ministry of Justice; Gendarmerie troops are typically integrated with Army forces in anti-terrorism operations; for example, Gendarmerie, Army, and police forces were combined to form a 1,500-member task force known as the Groupement des Forces Anti-Terroristes (GFAT) to address terrorist activities along the country's northern border in 2013

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription; women may serve in supporting roles (2021)

Terrorist groups: Ansarul Islam; Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham in the Greater Sahara; al-Mulathamun Battalion (al-Mourabitoun); Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin
Note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in Appendix T

National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 1 (2020)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 3
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 151,531 (2018)
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 100,000 mt-km (2018)

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: XT

Airports
Total: 23 (2013)
With paved runways total: 2
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 1 (2019)
With unpaved runways total: 21
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 3
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 13
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 5 (2013)

Railways
Total: 622 km (2014)
Narrowgauge: 622 km 1.000-m gauge (2014)
Note: another 660 km of this railway extends into Cote d'Ivoire

Roadways
Total: 15,304 km (2014)
Paved: 3,642 km (2014)
Unpaved: 11,662 km (2014)

Disputes international: adding to illicit cross-border activities, Burkina Faso has issues concerning unresolved boundary alignments with its neighbors; demarcation is currently underway with Mali; the dispute with Niger was referred to the ICJ in 2010, and a dispute over several villages with Benin persists; Benin retains a border dispute with Burkina Faso around the town of Koualou

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees country of origin: 24,538 (Mali) (2021)
IDPs: 1,407,685 (2021)