BASIC INFORMATION
Full Country Name: Burkina Faso
Country Profile: Burkina Faso
Area: 274,190 sq km
Population: 13.2 million (2005 United Nations estimate)
Capital City: Ouagadougou
People: Mossi (50%), and about 60 other ethnic groups
Languages: French is the official language, a large number of local languages are spoken.
Religion: Animist, Islam and Christian
Major political parties: the ruling party is Congres pour las democratie et le Progres (CDP); others are – Parti pour las democratie et le progres Parti socialiste (PDP-PS), Union nationale pour la democratie et le developpement (UNDD), Alliance pour la democratie et la federation-Rassemblement democratique africain (ADF-RDA), Coalition des forces democratiques(CFD), Parti africain de l'independence (PAI), Parti pour las renaissance – Mouvement sankariste (UNIR-MS), Parti pour la democratie et la socialisme (PDS), Convention national des democrates progressistes(CNPD) plus Alternance 2005 (an opposition coalition)
Head of State: President Blaise Compaore
Prime Minister: Tertius Zongo
Membership of main organisations: UN, African Union (AU), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the overlapping Economic and Monetary Union of West Africa (UEMOA), Organisation de la Francophonie (OIF), Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC), Community of Sahel and Saharan States (COMESSA, or CENSAD).
GEOGRAPHY
Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa. It shares borders with six countries – Benin, Togo, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Mali and Niger. Located partly in the Sahel belt, most of the country is arid , the soil is infertile and rivers are seasonal. The climate
ranges from dry Sahel in the north to tropical savannah in the south.
HISTORY
Burkina Faso, originally known as Upper Volta until its name change in 1983, was a French colony, part of French West Africa. It gained its independence from France in August 1960. The post-independence civilian government was authoritarian, and opposition parties were banned. This eventually led to the country's first military coup in 1966. For the following 24 years, there was a succession of military regimes, mostly conservative, but including the shortlived revolutionary regime of Captain Thomas Sankara (August 1983 – October 1987). Assassinated in October 1987, Sankara was succeeded by a fellow junior officer, Captain Blaise Compaore. His takeover was
widely condemned at home and abroad.
POLITICS
Following domestic and international pressure, Compaore, now retired from the Army, instituted a highly controlled process of democratisation in 1990/91. Under a new multi-party constitution, an Executive Presidential system was introduced, with a 107 –member (since increased to 111) National Assembly, elected for five years. Initially, Presidential tenure was limited to two terms of seven years. The tenure limitation was later abolished in 1997, but restored again in 2000 although each term was reduced to five years – this provision to take effect in 2005 at the start of Compaore's current term.
Under the new constitution, the first Presidential elections were held in December 1991, but the opposition boycotted. Compaore won unopposed on a 25% turnout. His party, the CDP, and its allies won the majority of seats to the National Assembly in legislative elections in May 1992, and again in May 1997, but lost their overall majority in the May 2002 legislative elections.
The opposition largely boycotted the Presidential election of December 1998, which Compaore won with 87% of the votes on a 56% turnout. As expected, and in spite of opposition protests, Compaore stood for a third term in Presidential elections held on 13 November 2005. He won with 80.3% of the vote against 11 other candidates. In the legislative elections of May 2007 the ruling CDP won a comfortable majority of 73/111 seats, regaining their grip on the parliament. 2007 saw the 20th anniversary of the assassination of Thomas Sankara and the coming to power of President Compaore. Supporters of the late Sankara, a revered figure for many in West Africa, used the occassion to express discontent with the current regime.
HUMAN RIGHTS
There are many reported human rights concerns in the country. There is a vocal human rights movement, and the Government set up a National Human Rights Commission in 2001. But there are several high level cases which have not been investigated, including the death of Sankara in October 1987 and the murder of Norbert Zongo, an independent journalist, in December 1998. The Trades Unions, the students and other civil society groups play a significant political role, at least in the capital. Strikes and demonstrations are common as a means of putting pressure on the government. These activities are largely tolerated.
Human Rights Annual Report 2006
ECONOMY
GDP: US$6.0 bn (2006 est)
Annual growth: 6.4% (2006 est)
Inflation: 2.3% (2006 est)
Major industries: cotton,livestock, gold
Major trading partner: France, Singapore, China, Cote d'Ivoire, Togo
Exchange rate: Euro 1 = 655.957 FCFA (pegged)
The economy depends overwhelmingly on agriculture, whose performance depends on the vagaries of the weather and world prices. Over 90% of the population live off agriculture and animal husbandry. Large numbers of Burkinabe have traditionally migrated to work on cocoa farms in Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire. Their remittances have been critical to rural families. The return of many thousands of Burkinabe from Cote d'Ivoire since the outbreak of civil war there has put intense pressure on an already weak economy, pushing up unemployment.
Burkina Faso's main export is cotton, contributing 69% of all export earnings in 2004, but its value is subject to fluctuations in world prices. World price fell in 2004-2006, although increased production partly made up for that. Prices have recently picked up. Burkina Faso it remains the world's third cotton producer after Egypt and Mali. The cotton-producing companies have the reputation of being the best-managed in francophone West Africa. Its other mainstay is livestock, which contributes an estimated 12% of export earnings. But damage to pasture from the locust invasion in 2004 has affected the health of the herds. The outbreak of conflict in Cote d'Ivoire has adversely affected transport costs as alternative trade routes have had to be sought.
Burkina is also endowed with a range of minerals. The Canadian company Goldrush Resources was awarded extensive exploration permits in January 2006, and another Canadian company Goldbelt Resources was awarded nine exploration permits in July. Gold production continues to rise and it is expected that gold may displace livestock as the second largest export earner.
DEVELOPMENT
Burkina Faso suffers from very widespread and severe poverty. The World Bank ranked Burkina Faso as the 13th poorest country in the world in 2002. The UNDP's 2005 Human Development Index ranked it at 175 out of 177 countries. Although modest improvements have been recorded in the socio-economic indicators, they remain low. Primary school enrolment improved from 26% in 1990/91 to 35% in 2002/02. (This compares with the average for sub-Saharan Africa of 59%.) But secondary school enrolment is very poor at only 8% in 2001/02. Health indicators are also poor. Life expectancy is 47.5 years.
From independence, Burkina had followed highly centralised statist economic policies. But reforms in the 1990s, including large-scale privatisation of parasatals, have brought sustained IMF support. Burkina Faso's 3 year IMF sponsored Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility was successfully completed in September 2006. A further IMF PRGF was signed in April 2007. Burkina also receives substantial aid flows from other donors. France is the largest bilateral donor. In April 2002, Burkina Faso was the fourth African country to qualify for HIPC status, under the IMF-World Bank heavily indebted initiative. It received some US$930 million debt relief as a result.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Burkina Faso hosts the headquarters of UEMOA (the eight francophone member Economic and Monetary Union of West Africa), and of CILSS (The Interstate Committee for Drought in the Sahel). Burkina Faso has strong links with Libya. There is evidence that Burkina Faso was involved in supporting the RUF rebellion in Sierra Leone (according to Sierra Leone's Truth and Reconciliation Report) and in supplying arms to Charles Taylor in Liberia in contravention of UN sanctions (as documented in various UN reports).
Since 2000, Burkina Faso has been preoccupied with the crisis in Cote d'Ivoire. Relations between the two countries have been troubled amidst claims that Compaore has supported the rebels. However, more recently President Compaore acted as mediator in talks between Ivorian President Gbagbo and rebel leader Guillaume Soro, which resulted in the Ouagadougou Accords of March 2007. These accords were followed up with an agreement in November 2007 to move the process forward, again signed under the sponsorship of President Compaore.
Up to two million Burkinabe nationals have traditionally worked seasonally or have taken up residence in Cote d'Ivoire. Since 2002, a very large number have left Cote d'Ivoire, adding to high unemployment in Burkina Faso. The loss of remittances has had devastating effect on rural areas.
In the international arena, France remains the country's chief ally, aid provider and trading partner.
Burkina Faso's Relations with the UK
UK interests in Burkina Faso are minimal. There is no bilateral assistance programme. British assistance reaches Burkina Faso though multilateral channels, mainly the EU.
British commercial interests are small. Trade flows are modest – in 2006, UK exports in goods to that country amounted to £2.7m down from £4.2m the previous year; while UK imports from Burkina were valued at £0.55m, an almost identical value to the previous year.
Diplomatic representation
UK interests are covered from the British High Commission in Accra.
UK representation in Burkina Faso
Burkinabe representation in the UK
TRAVEL
Travel Advice: Burkina Faso
HEALTH REQUIREMENTS
Last reviewed: 20 December 2007
