Burkina Faso (2002) | Tokelau (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 (territory of New Zealand) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 47.3% (male 3,007,675; female 2,960,697)
15-64 years: 49.8% (male 3,000,411; female 3,271,594) 65 years and over: 2.9% (male 151,976; female 210,832) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 42%
15-64 years: 53% 65 years and over: 5% (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | peanuts, shea nuts, sesame, cotton, sorghum, millet, corn, rice; livestock | coconuts, copra, breadfruit, papayas, bananas; pigs, poultry, goats |
Airports | 33 (2001) | none; lagoon landings are possible by amphibious aircraft (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
- |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 31
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 17 (2002) |
- |
Area | total: 274,200 sq km
land: 273,800 sq km water: 400 sq km |
total: 10 sq km
land: 10 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Colorado | about 17 times the size of The Mall in 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. | Originally settled by Polynesian emigrants from surrounding island groups, the Tokelau Islands were made a British protectorate in 1889. They were transferred to New Zealand administration in 1925. |
Birth rate | 44.34 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | NA births/1,000 population |
Budget | revenues: $316 million
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001) |
revenues: $430,800
expenditures: $2.8 million, including capital expenditures of $37,300 (1987 est.) |
Capital | Ouagadougou | none; each atoll has its own administrative center |
Climate | tropical; warm, dry winters; hot, wet summers | tropical; moderated by trade winds (April to November) |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 101 km |
Constitution | 2 June 1991 approved by referendum; 11 June 1991 formally adopted | administered under the Tokelau Islands Act of 1948, as amended in 1970 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Burkina Faso former: Upper Volta, Republic of Upper Volta |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Tokelau |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States | New Zealand dollar (NZD) |
Death rate | 17.07 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 population |
Debt - external | $1.5 billion (1999) | $0 |
Dependency status | - | self-administering territory of New Zealand; note - Tokelauans are drafting a constitution and developing institutions and patterns of self-government as Tokelau moves toward free association with New Zealand |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Anthony HOLMES
embassy: 602 Avenue Raoul Follereau, Koulouba, Secteur 4 mailing address: 01 B. P. 35, Ouagadougou 01; pouch mail - U. S. Department of State, 2440 Ouagadougou Place, Washington, DC 20521-2440 telephone: [226] 306723 FAX: [226] 303890 |
none (territory of New Zealand) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Tertius ZONGO
chancery: 2340 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-5577 FAX: [1] (202) 667-1882 |
none (territory of New Zealand) |
Disputes - international | two villages are in dispute with Benin | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $484.1 million (1995) (1995) | from New Zealand about $4 million annually |
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 macroeconomic progress depends on continued low inflation, reduction in the trade deficit, and reforms designed to encourage private investment. | Tokelau's small size (three villages), isolation, and lack of resources greatly restrain economic development and confine agriculture to the subsistence level. The people rely heavily on aid from New Zealand - about $4 million annually - to maintain public services, with annual aid being substantially greater than GDP. The principal sources of revenue come from sales of copra, postage stamps, souvenir coins, and handicrafts. Money is also remitted to families from relatives in New Zealand. |
Electricity - consumption | 262.26 million kWh (2000) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | - |
Electricity - production | 282 million kWh (2000) | NA kWh |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 71%
hydro: 29% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Mouhoun (Black Volta) River 200 m
highest point: Tena Kourou 749 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
Environment - current issues | recent droughts and desertification severely affecting agricultural activities, population distribution, and the economy; overgrazing; soil degradation; deforestation | very limited natural resources and overcrowding are contributing to emigration to New Zealand |
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 | Polynesian |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 742.79 (January 2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997); note - from 1 January 1999, the XOF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF per euro | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 1.7229 (2003), 2.154 (2002), 2.3776 (2001), 2.1863 (2000), 1.8886 (1999) |
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 five-year term; election last held 15 November 1998 (next to be held NA 2005); in April 2000, the constitution was amended reducing the presidential term from seven to five years, enforceable as of 2005, and allowing the president to be reelected only once; it is unclear whether this amendment will be applied retroactively or not; 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 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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and New Zealand are represented by Administrator Neil WALTER (since NA 2002)
head of government: Aliki Faipule Kuresa NASAU (since 2004) note - position rotates annually among members of the cabinet cabinet: the Council of Faipule, consisting of three elected leaders - one from each atoll - functions as a cabinet elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade in New Zealand; the head of government is chosen from the Council of Faipule and serves a one-year term |
Exports | $265 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) | $98,000 f.o.b. (1983) |
Exports - commodities | cotton, animal products, gold | stamps, copra, handicrafts |
Exports - partners | Venezuela 14.7%, Benelux 12.2%, Italy 9.6%, France 7.0% (2000) | New Zealand (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
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 | the flag of New Zealand is used |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $12.8 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1.5 million (1993 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 31%
industry: 28% services: 41% (2000) |
agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,040 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (1993 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.7% (2001 est.) | NA |
Geographic coordinates | 13 00 N, 2 00 W | 9 00 S, 172 00 W |
Geography - note | landlocked savanna cut by the three principal rivers of the Black, Red, and White Voltas | consists of three atolls, each with a lagoon surrounded by a number of reef-bound islets of varying length and rising to over three meters above sea level |
Highways | total: 12,506 km
paved: 2,001 km unpaved: 10,505 km (1999) |
total: NA km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 40% (1994) (1994) |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Imports | $580 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) | $323,000 c.i.f. (1983) |
Imports - commodities | capital goods, food products, petroleum | foodstuffs, building materials, fuel |
Imports - partners | Cote d'Ivoire 25.1%, Venezuela 23.4%, France 17.0% (2000) | New Zealand (2000) |
Independence | 5 August 1960 (from France) | none (territory of New Zealand) |
Industrial production growth rate | 14% (2001 est.) | NA |
Industries | cotton lint, beverages, agricultural processing, soap, cigarettes, textiles, gold | small-scale enterprises for copra production, woodworking, plaited craft goods; stamps, coins; fishing |
Infant mortality rate | 105.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.5% (2001 est.) | NA |
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, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | UNESCO (associate), UPU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2002) | - |
Irrigated land | 250 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Appeals Court | Supreme Court in New Zealand exercises civil and criminal jurisdiction in Tokelau |
Labor force | 5 million (1999)
note: a large part of the male labor force migrates annually to neighboring countries for seasonal employment (1999) |
NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 90% (2000 est.) | - |
Land boundaries | total: 3,193 km
border countries: Benin 306 km, Cote d'Ivoire 584 km, Ghana 549 km, Mali 1,000 km, Niger 628 km, Togo 126 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 12.43%
permanent crops: 0.18% other: 87.39% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 0% (soil is thin and infertile)
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
Languages | French (official), native African languages belonging to Sudanic family spoken by 90% of the population | Tokelauan (a Polynesian language), English |
Legal system | based on French civil law system and customary law | New Zealand and local statutes |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (111 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: National Assembly election last held 5 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - CDP 57, RDA-ADF 17, PDP/PS 10, CFD 5, PAI 5, others 17 |
unicameral General Fono (48 seats; 15 members from each of the three islands elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms and the 3 island village mayors [pulenuku]); note - the Tokelau Amendment Act of 1996 confers limited legislative power on the General Fono |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 46.11 years
male: 45.45 years female: 46.78 years (2002 est.) |
total population: NA years
male: 68 years female: 70 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 36% (2001) male: NA% female: NA% |
NA |
Location | Western Africa, north of Ghana | Oceania, group of three atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand |
Map references | Africa | Oceania |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | none |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand |
Military branches | Army, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Police, People's Militia | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $40.1 million (FY01) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.4% (FY01) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 2,688,072 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 1,379,010 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Republic Day, 11 December (1958) | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) |
Nationality | noun: Burkinabe (singular and plural)
adjective: Burkinabe |
noun: Tokelauan(s)
adjective: Tokelauan |
Natural hazards | recurring droughts | lies in Pacific typhoon belt |
Natural resources | manganese, limestone, marble; small deposits of gold, antimony, copper, nickel, bauxite, lead, phosphates, zinc, silver | NEGL |
Net migration rate | -0.84 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population |
Political parties and leaders | African Democratic Rally-Alliance for Democracy and Federation or RDA-ADF [Herman YAMEOGO]; Confederation for Federation and Democracy or CFD [Amadou Diemdioda DICKO]; 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] | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Burkinabe General Confederation of Labor or CGTB; Burkinabe Movement for Human Rights or MBDHP; 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 | none |
Population | 12,603,185
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 2002 est.) |
1,405 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 45% (2001 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | 2.64% (2002 est.) | -0.01% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | none; offshore anchorage only |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 17, shortwave 3 (2002) | AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA
note: each atoll has a radio broadcast station of unknown type that broadcasts shipping and weather reports (1998) |
Radios | 394,020 (2000) | - |
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% | Congregational Christian Church 70%, Roman Catholic 28%, other 2%
note: on Atafu, all Congregational Christian Church of Samoa; on Nukunonu, all Roman Catholic; on Fakaofo, both denominations, with the Congregational Christian Church predominant |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
NA |
Suffrage | universal | 21 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: adequate
domestic: radiotelephone service between islands international: country code - 690; radiotelephone service to Samoa; government-regulated telephone service (TeleTok), with 3 satellite earth stations, established in 1997 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 53,200 (2000) | 300 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 25,200 (2000) | 0 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2002) | - |
Terrain | mostly flat to dissected, undulating plains; hills in west and southeast | low-lying coral atolls enclosing large lagoons |
Total fertility rate | 6.26 children born/woman (2002 est.) | NA children born/woman |
Unemployment rate | NA% | NA |
Waterways | none | - |