Burkina Faso (2001) | Martinique (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | 30 provinces; Bam, Bazega, Bougouriba, Boulgou, Boulkiemde, Ganzourgou, Gnagna, Gourma, Houe, Kadiogo, Kenedougou, Komoe, Kossi, Kouritenga, Mouhoun, Namentenga, Naouri, Oubritenga, Oudalan, Passore, Poni, Sanguie, Sanmatenga, Seno, Sissili, Soum, Sourou, Tapoa, Yatenga, Zoundweogo
note: a new electoral code was approved by the National Assembly in January 1997; the number of administrative provinces was increased from 30 to 45 (Bale, Bam, Banwa, Bazega, Bougouriba, Boulgou, Boulkiemde, Comoe, Ganzourgou, Gnagna, Gourma, Houet, Ioba, Kadiogo, Kenedougou, Komandjari, Kompienga, Kossi, Koupelogo, Kouritenga, Kourweogo, Leraba, Loroum, Mouhoun, Nahouri, Namentenga, Nayala, Naumbiel, Oubritenga, Oudalan, Passore, Poni, Samentenga, Sanguie, Seno, Sissili, Soum, Sourou, Tapoa, Tuy, Yagha, Yatenga, Ziro, Zondomo, Zoundweogo), however, this change has not yet been confirmed by the US Board on Geographic Names |
none (overseas department of France) |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
47.5% (male 2,937,285; female 2,892,107) 15-64 years: 49.59% (male 2,903,153; female 3,183,121) 65 years and over: 2.91% (male 150,688; female 205,935) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 22.6% (male 49,245; female 47,845)
15-64 years: 67% (male 143,893; female 143,963) 65 years and over: 10.4% (male 20,043; female 24,521) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | peanuts, shea nuts, sesame, cotton, sorghum, millet, corn, rice; livestock | pineapples, avocados, bananas, flowers, vegetables, sugarcane |
Airports | 33 (2000 est.) | 2 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
31 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 16 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
274,200 sq km land: 273,800 sq km water: 400 sq km |
total: 1,100 sq km
land: 1,060 sq km water: 40 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Colorado | slightly more than six times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Independence from France came to Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta) in 1960. Governmental instability during the 1970s and 1980s was followed by multiparty elections in the early 1990s. Several hundred thousand farm workers migrate south every year to Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana. | Colonized by France in 1635, the island has subsequently remained a French possession except for three brief periods of foreign occupation. |
Birth rate | 44.79 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 14.56 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$277 million expenditures: $492 million, including capital expenditures of $233 million (1995 est.) |
revenues: $900 million
expenditures: $2.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $140 million (1996) |
Capital | Ouagadougou | Fort-de-France |
Climate | tropical; warm, dry winters; hot, wet summers | tropical; moderated by trade winds; rainy season (June to October); vulnerable to devastating cyclones (hurricanes) every eight years on average; average temperature 17.3 degrees C; humid |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 350 km |
Constitution | 2 June 1991 approved by referendum; 11 June 1991 formally adopted | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Burkina Faso former: Upper Volta, Republic of Upper Volta |
conventional long form: Department of Martinique
conventional short form: Martinique local long form: Departement de la Martinique local short form: Martinique |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States | euro (EUR) |
Death rate | 17.05 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.43 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.3 billion (1997) | $180 million (1994) |
Dependency status | - | overseas department of France |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Jimmy J. KOLKER embassy: 602 Avenue Raoul Follerau, Koulouba, Secteur 4, Ouagadougou mailing address: B. P. 35, Ouagadougou 01 telephone: [226] 306723 FAX: [226] 303890 |
none (overseas department of France) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Bruno ZIDOUEMBA chancery: 2340 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-5577 FAX: [1] (202) 667-1882 |
none (overseas department of France) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $484.1 million (1995) | $NA; note - substantial annual aid from France (1998) |
Economy - overview | One of the poorest countries in the world, landlocked Burkina Faso has a high population density, few natural resources, and a fragile soil. About 90% of the population is engaged in (mainly subsistence) agriculture which is highly vulnerable to variations in rainfall. Industry remains dominated by unprofitable government-controlled corporations. Following the African franc currency devaluation in January 1994 the government updated its development program in conjunction with international agencies, and exports and economic growth have increased. Maintenance of its macroeconomic progress in 2001-02 depends on continued low inflation, reduction in the trade deficit, and reforms designed to encourage private investment. | The economy is based on sugarcane, bananas, tourism, and light industry. Agriculture accounts for about 6% of GDP and the small industrial sector for 11%. Sugar production has declined, with most of the sugarcane now used for the production of rum. Banana exports are increasing, going mostly to France. The bulk of meat, vegetable, and grain requirements must be imported, contributing to a chronic trade deficit that requires large annual transfers of aid from France. Tourism, which employs more than 11,000 people, has become more important than agricultural exports as a source of foreign exchange. |
Electricity - consumption | 265.1 million kWh (1999) | 1.07 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 285 million kWh (1999) | 1.151 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
71.93% hydro: 28.07% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Mouhoun (Black Volta) River 200 m highest point: Tena Kourou 749 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Montagne Pelee 1,397 m |
Environment - current issues | recent droughts and desertification severely affecting agricultural activities, population distribution, and the economy; overgrazing; soil degradation; deforestation | NA |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban |
- |
Ethnic groups | Mossi over 40%, Gurunsi, Senufo, Lobi, Bobo, Mande, Fulani | African and African-white-Indian mixture 90%, white 5%, East Indian, Chinese less than 5% |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 699.21 (January 2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996); note - from 1 January 1999, the XOF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF per euro | euros per US dollar - 0.8860 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.8995 (1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Blaise COMPAORE (since 15 October 1987) head of government: Prime Minister Ernest Paramanga YONLI (since 6 November 2000) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; the president may serve unlimited terms; election last held 15 November 1998 (next to be held NA 2005); prime minister appointed by the president with the consent of the legislature election results: Blaise COMPAORE reelected president with 87.5% percent of the vote, 56% of voter turnout note: President COMPAORE faces an increasingly well-coordinated opposition; recent charges against a former member of his Presidential Guard in the 1998 assassination of a newspaper editor signify an attempt to defuse chronic areas of dissatisfaction |
chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995); Prefect Yves DASSONVILLE (since 14 January 2004); note - took office 8 February 2004
head of government: President of the General Council Claude LISE (since 22 March 1992); President of the Regional Council Alfred MARIE-JEANNE (since NA March 1998) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils |
Exports | $220 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | cotton, animal products, gold | refined petroleum products, bananas, rum, pineapples (2001 est.) |
Exports - partners | Italy 13%, France 10%, Indonesia 8%, Thailand 7% (1999) | France 45%, Guadeloupe 28% (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a yellow five-pointed star in the center; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia | a light blue background is divided into four quadrants by a white cross; in the center of each rectangle is a white snake; the flag of France is used for official occasions |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $12 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6.117 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
26% industry: 27% services: 47% (1998) |
agriculture: 6%
industry: 11% services: 83% (1997 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $14,400 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | NA |
Geographic coordinates | 13 00 N, 2 00 W | 14 40 N, 61 00 W |
Geography - note | landlocked | the island is dominated by Mount Pelee, which on 8 May 1902 erupted and completely destroyed the city of Saint Pierre, killing 30,000 inhabitants |
Highways | total:
12,506 km paved: 2,001 km unpaved: 10,505 km (1996) |
total: 2,105 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
2.2% highest 10%: 39.5% (1994) |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for the US and Europe |
Imports | $610 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, food products, petroleum | petroleum products, crude oil, foodstuffs, construction materials, vehicles, clothing and other consumer goods |
Imports - partners | Cote d'Ivoire 30%, France 28%, Spain 3%, Benelux 3% (1999) | France 62%, Venezuela 6%, Germany 4%, Italy 4%, US 3% (2000) |
Independence | 5 August 1960 (from France) | none (overseas department of France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.2% (1995) | NA |
Industries | cotton lint, beverages, agricultural processing, soap, cigarettes, textiles, gold | construction, rum, cement, oil refining, sugar, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 106.92 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 7.27 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.79 deaths/1,000 live births female: 9.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.5% (2000 est.) | 3.9% (1990) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB, WAEMU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | UPU, WCL, WFTU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 200 sq km (1993 est.) | 30 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Appeals Court | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel |
Labor force | 5 million (1999)
note: a large part of the male labor force migrates annually to neighboring countries for seasonal employment |
165,900 (1998) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 90% (2000 est.) | agriculture 10%, industry 17%, services 73% (1997) |
Land boundaries | total:
3,192 km border countries: Benin 306 km, Cote d'Ivoire 584 km, Ghana 548 km, Mali 1,000 km, Niger 628 km, Togo 126 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
13% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 22% forests and woodland: 50% other: 15% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 10.38%
permanent crops: 9.43% other: 80.19% (2001) |
Languages | French (official), native African languages belonging to Sudanic family spoken by 90% of the population | French, Creole patois |
Legal system | based on French civil law system and customary law | French legal system |
Legislative branch | bicameral; consists of a National Assembly or Assemblee des Deputes Populaires (111 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and the purely consultative Chamber of Representations or Chambre des Representants (178 seats; members are appointed to serve three-year terms)
elections: National Assembly election last held 11 May 1997 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - CDP 101, PDP 6, RDA 2, ADF 2 |
unicameral General Council or Conseil General (45 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Assembly or Conseil Regional (41 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held NA March 2000 (next to be held NA 2006); Regional Assembly - last held on 28 March 2004 (next to be held by March 2010) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - left-wing candidates 13, PPM 11, RPR 6, right-wing candidates 5, PCM 3, UDF 3, PMS 2, independents 2; note - the PPM won a plurality; Regional Assembly (second round) - percent of vote by party - MIM 53.8%, PPM 30.6%; seats by party - MIM 28, PPM 9, other 4 note: Martinique elects 2 seats to the French Senate; elections last held NA September 2001 (next to be held September 2004); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PPM 2; Martinique also elects 4 seats to the French National Assembly; elections last held, first round - 9 June 2002, second round - 16 June 2002 (next to be held not later than June 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP-RPR 1, PS 1, MIM 1, left-wing candidate 1 (candidacy of the left-wing candidate was found invalid by the Constitutional Council; new elections will be called) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
46.41 years male: 45.86 years female: 46.98 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 78.88 years
male: 79.35 years female: 78.4 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 19.2% male: 29.5% female: 9.2% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.7% male: 97.4% female: 98.1% (2003 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, north of Ghana | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | none |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | Army, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Police, People's Militia | no regular military forces; Gendarmerie |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $66 million (FY96) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2% (FY96) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
2,592,974 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
1,329,995 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Republic Day, 11 December (1958) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun:
Burkinabe (singular and plural) adjective: Burkinabe |
noun: Martiniquais (singular and plural)
adjective: Martiniquais |
Natural hazards | recurring droughts | hurricanes, flooding, and volcanic activity (an average of one major natural disaster every five years) |
Natural resources | manganese, limestone, marble; small deposits of gold, antimony, copper, nickel, bauxite, lead, phosphates, zinc, silver | coastal scenery and beaches, cultivable land |
Net migration rate | -0.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -0.05 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | African Democratic Rally-Alliance for Democracy and Federation or RDA-ADF [Herman YAMEOGO]; Congress for Democracy and Progress or CDP [Roch Marc-Christian KABORE]; Movement for Tolerance and Progress or MTP [Noyabtigungu Congo KABORE]; Party for African Independence or PAI [Philippe OUEDRAOGO]; Party for Democracy and Progress or PDP [Joseph KI-ZERBO]; Union of Greens for the Development of Burkina Faso or UVDB [Ram OVEDRAGO] | Martinique Communist Party or PCM [Georges ERICHOT]; Martinique Independence Movement or MIM [Alfred MARIE-JEANNE]; Martinique Progressive Party or PPM [Pierre SUEDILE]; Martinique Socialist Party or PMS [Ernest WAN-AJOUHU]; Movement of Democrats and Ecologists for a Sovereign Martinique or Modemas [Garcin MALSA]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Michel CHARLONE]; Socialist Revolution Group or GRS [Philippe PIERRE-CHARLES]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Jean MAREN] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Burkinabe General Confederation of Labor or CGTB; Burkinabe Movement for Human Rights or HBDHP; Group of 14 February; National Confederation of Burkinabe Workers or CNTB; National Organization of Free Unions or ONSL; watchdog/political action groups throughout the country in both organizations and communities | Caribbean Revolutionary Alliance or ARC; Central Union for Martinique Workers or CSTM [Marc PULVAR]; Frantz Fanon Circle; League of Workers and Peasants; Proletarian Action Group or GAP |
Population | 12,272,289
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.) |
429,510 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
Population growth rate | 2.68% (2001 est.) | 0.81% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Fort-de-France, La Trinite |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 17, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 0, FM 14, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 370,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
622 km (517 km from Ouagadougou to the Cote d'Ivoire border and 105 km from Ouagadougou to Kaya) narrow gauge: 622 km 1.000-m gauge (1995 est.) |
- |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 40%, Muslim 50%, Christian (mainly Roman Catholic) 10% | Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant 10.5%, Muslim 0.5%, Hindu 0.5%, other 3.5% (1997) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
all services only fair domestic: microwave radio relay, open wire, and radiotelephone communication stations international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: domestic facilities are adequate
domestic: NA international: country code - 596; microwave radio relay to Guadeloupe, Dominica, and Saint Lucia; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 36,000 (1997) | 172,000 est (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,503 (1997) | 319,900 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 11 (plus nine repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly flat to dissected, undulating plains; hills in west and southeast | mountainous with indented coastline; dormant volcano |
Total fertility rate | 6.35 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.79 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 27.2% (1998) |
Waterways | none | - |