Burkina Faso (2007) | Montserrat (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | 45 provinces; Bale, Bam, Banwa, Bazega, Bougouriba, Boulgou, Boulkiemde, Comoe, Ganzourgou, Gnagna, Gourma, Houet, Ioba, Kadiogo, Kenedougou, Komondjari, Kompienga, Kossi, Koulpelogo, Kouritenga, Kourweogo, Leraba, Loroum, Mouhoun, Nahouri, Namentenga, Nayala, Noumbiel, Oubritenga, Oudalan, Passore, Poni, Sanguie, Sanmatenga, Seno, Sissili, Soum, Sourou, Tapoa, Tuy, Yagha, Yatenga, Ziro, Zondoma, Zoundweogo | 3 parishes; Saint Anthony, Saint Georges, Saint Peter |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 46.7% (male 3,356,737/female 3,327,058)
15-64 years: 50.9% (male 3,635,152/female 3,650,303) 65 years and over: 2.5% (male 141,554/female 215,399) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 23.4% (male 1,062; female 1,041)
15-64 years: 65.3% (male 2,805; female 3,066) 65 years and over: 11.4% (male 537; female 484) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, peanuts, shea nuts, sesame, sorghum, millet, corn, rice; livestock | cabbages, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, peppers; livestock products |
Airports | 33 (2007) | none; only airport was destroyed by volcanic activity; a helicopter service to Antigua is used (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2007) |
- |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 31
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 17 (2007) |
- |
Area | total: 274,200 sq km
land: 273,800 sq km water: 400 sq km |
total: 102 sq km
land: 102 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Colorado | about 0.6 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta) achieved independence from France in 1960. Repeated military coups during the 1970s and 1980s were followed by multiparty elections in the early 1990s. Current President Blaise COMPAORE came to power in a 1987 military coup and has won every election since then. Burkina Faso's high population density and limited natural resources result in poor economic prospects for the majority of its citizens. Recent unrest in Cote d'Ivoire and northern Ghana has hindered the ability of several hundred thousand seasonal Burkinabe farm workers to find employment in neighboring countries. | Much of this island has been devastated and two-thirds of the population has fled abroad due to the eruption of the Soufriere Hills Volcano that began on 18 July 1995. |
Birth rate | 45.28 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 17.57 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.088 billion
expenditures: $1.36 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues: $31.4 million
expenditures: $31.6 million, including capital expenditures of $8.4 million (1997 est.) |
Capital | name: Ouagadougou
geographic coordinates: 12 22 N, 1 31 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Plymouth (abandoned in 1997 due to volcanic activity; interim government buildings have been built at Brades Estate, in the Carr's Bay/Little Bay vicinity at the northwest end of Montserrat) |
Climate | tropical; warm, dry winters; hot, wet summers | tropical; little daily or seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 40 km |
Constitution | 2 June 1991 approved by referendum, 11 June 1991 formally adopted; last amended January 2002 | present constitution came into force 19 December 1989 |
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 |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Montserrat |
Currency | - | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) |
Death rate | 15.31 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 7.34 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.85 billion (2003) | $8.9 million (1997) |
Dependency status | - | overseas territory of the UK |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Jeanine E. JACKSON
embassy: 602 Avenue Raoul Follereau, Koulouba, Secteur 4 mailing address: 01 B. P. 35, Ouagadougou 01; pouch mail - US Department of State, 2440 Ouagadougou Place, Washington, DC 20521-2440 telephone: [226] 50-30-67-23 FAX: [226] 50-30-38-90, 50-31-23-68 |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
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 (overseas territory of the UK) |
Disputes - international | two villages remain in dispute along the border with Benin; Benin accuses Burkina Faso of moving boundary pillars; in recent years citizens and rogue security forces rob and harass local populations on both sides of the poorly-defined Burkina Faso-Niger border; despite the presence of over 9,000 UN forces (UNOCI) in Cote d'Ivoire since 2004, ethnic conflict continues to spread into neighboring states who can no longer send their migrant workers to work in Ivorian cocoa plantations | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $659.6 million (2005) | Country Policy Plan (2001) is a three-year program for spending $122.8 million in British budgetary assistance |
Economy - overview | One of the poorest countries in the world, landlocked Burkina Faso has few natural resources and a weak industrial base. About 90% of the population is engaged in subsistence agriculture, which is vulnerable to periodic drought. Cotton is the main cash crop and the government has joined with three other cotton producing countries in the region - Mali, Niger, and Chad - to lobby for improved access to Western markets. GDP growth has largely been driven by increases in world cotton prices. Industry remains dominated by unprofitable government-controlled corporations. Following the CFA franc currency devaluation in January 1994, the government updated its development program in conjunction with international agencies; exports and economic growth have increased. The government devolved macroeconomic policy and inflation targeting to the West African regional central bank (BCEAO), but maintains control over fiscal and microeconomic policies, including implementing reforms to encourage private investment. The bitter internal crisis in neighboring Cote d'Ivoire continues to hurt trade and industrial prospects and deepens the need for international assistance. Burkina Faso is eligible for a Millennium Challenge Account grant, which would increase investment in the country's human capital. | Severe volcanic activity, which began in July 1995, has put a damper on this small, open economy. A catastrophic eruption in June 1997 closed the airports and seaports, causing further economic and social dislocation. Two-thirds of the 12,000 inhabitants fled the island. Some began to return in 1998, but lack of housing limited the number. The agriculture sector continued to be affected by the lack of suitable land for farming and the destruction of crops. Prospects for the economy depend largely on developments in relation to the volcano and on public sector construction activity. The UK has launched a three-year $122.8 million aid program to help reconstruct the economy. Half of the island is expected to remain uninhabitable for another decade. |
Electricity - consumption | 480.1 million kWh (2005) | 2.325 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 516.2 million kWh (2005) | 2.5 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Mouhoun (Black Volta) River 200 m
highest point: Tena Kourou 749 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Chances Peak (in the Soufriere Hills volcanic complex) 914 m |
Environment - current issues | recent droughts and desertification severely affecting agricultural activities, population distribution, and the economy; overgrazing; soil degradation; deforestation | land erosion occurs on slopes that have been cleared for cultivation |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
- |
Ethnic groups | Mossi over 40%, other approximately 60% (includes Gurunsi, Senufo, Lobi, Bobo, Mande, and Fulani) | black, white |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002) | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Blaise COMPAORE (since 15 October 1987)
head of government: Prime Minister Tertius ZONGO (since 4 June 2007) 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 (eligible for a second term); election last held 13 November 2005 (next to be held in 2010); in April 2000, the constitution was amended reducing the presidential term from seven to five years, enforceable as of 2005; prime minister appointed by the president with the consent of the legislature election results: Blaise COMPAORE reelected president; percent of popular vote - Blaise COMPAORE 80.3%, Benewende Stanislas SANKARA 4.9% |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor Anthony LONGRIGG (since NA May 2001)
head of government: Chief Minister John OSBORNE (since 5 April 2001) cabinet: Executive Council consists of the governor, the chief minister, three other ministers, the attorney general, and the finance secretary elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party usually becomes chief minister |
Exports | NA bbl/day | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | cotton, livestock, gold | electronic components, plastic bags, apparel, hot peppers, live plants, cattle |
Exports - partners | China 41.9%, Singapore 14.4%, Ghana 5.9%, Thailand 4.9%, Niger 4.4% (2006) | US, Antigua and Barbuda |
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 | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Montserratian coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms features a woman standing beside a yellow harp with her arm around a black cross |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $29 million (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 30%
industry: 19% services: 51% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: 5.4%
industry: 13.6% services: 81% (1996 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $3,400 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6.4% (2006 est.) | -1% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 00 N, 2 00 W | 16 45 N, 62 12 W |
Geography - note | landlocked savanna cut by the three principal rivers of the Black, Red, and White Voltas | the island is entirely volcanic in origin and contains seven active volcanoes |
Highways | - | total: 227 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km note: volcanic eruptions beginning in 1995 destroyed most of the road system (2003) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 32.2% (2003) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe |
Imports | NA bbl/day | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | capital goods, foodstuffs, petroleum | machinery and transportation equipment, foodstuffs, manufactured goods, fuels, lubricants, and related materials |
Imports - partners | Cote d'Ivoire 22.9%, France 20.1%, Zimbabwe 11.4%, Togo 6.3% (2006) | US, UK, Trinidad and Tobago, Japan, Canada |
Independence | 5 August 1960 (from France) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 14% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Industries | cotton lint, beverages, agricultural processing, soap, cigarettes, textiles, gold | tourism, rum, textiles, electronic appliances |
Infant mortality rate | total: 89.79 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 97.55 deaths/1,000 live births female: 81.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 7.77 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 9.05 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.43 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.3% (2006 est.) | 2.6% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OIF, ONUB, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | Caricom, CDB, ECLAC (associate), ICFTU, Interpol (subbureau), OECS |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 17 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 250 sq km (2003) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Appeals Court | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based in Saint Lucia, one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court) |
Labor force | 5 million
note: a large part of the male labor force migrates annually to neighboring countries for seasonal employment (2003) |
4,521 ; note - lowered by flight of people from volcanic activity |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 90%
industry and services: 10% (2000 est.) |
agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
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: 17.66%
permanent crops: 0.22% other: 82.12% (2005) |
arable land: 20%
permanent crops: 0% other: 80% (1998 est.) |
Languages | French (official), native African languages belonging to Sudanic family spoken by 90% of the population | English |
Legal system | based on French civil law system and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | English common law and statutory law |
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 6 May 2007 (next to be held in May 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - CDP 73, RDA-ADF 14, UPR 5, UNIR-MS 4, CFD-B 3, UPS 2, PDP-PS 2, RDB 2, PDS 2, PAREN 1, PAI 1, RPC 1, UDPS 1 |
unicameral Legislative Council (11 seats, 9 popularly elected; members serve five-year terms)
note: expanded in 2001 from 7 to 9 elected members with attorney general and financial secretary sitting as ex-officio members elections: last held NA April 2001 (next to be held by November 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NPLM 7, NPP 2 note: in 2001, the Elections Commission instituted a single constituency/voter-at-large system whereby all eligible voters cast ballots for all nine seats of the Legislative Council |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 49.21 years
male: 47.68 years female: 50.8 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 78.36 years
male: 76.24 years female: 80.59 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 21.8% male: 29.4% female: 15.2% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 97% male: 97% female: 97% (1970 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, north of Ghana | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, southeast of Puerto Rico |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 3 NM |
Merchant marine | - | none (2002 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
Military branches | Army, Air Force of Burkina Faso (Force Aerienne de Burkina Faso, FABF), National Gendarmerie (2006) | no regular indigenous military forces; Police Force |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.2% (2006) | - |
National holiday | Republic Day, 11 December (1958) | Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, second Saturday in June (1926) |
Nationality | noun: Burkinabe (singular and plural)
adjective: Burkinabe |
noun: Montserratian(s)
adjective: Montserratian |
Natural hazards | recurring droughts | severe hurricanes (June to November); volcanic eruptions (Soufriere Hills volcano has erupted continuously since 1996) |
Natural resources | manganese, limestone, marble; small deposits of gold, phosphates, pumice, salt | NEGL |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 34.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | African Democratic Rally-Alliance for Democracy and Federation or ADF-RDA [Gilbert OUEDRAOGO]; Citizen's Popular Rally or RPC; Confederation for Federation and Democracy or CFD [Amadou Diemdioda DICKO]; Congress for Democracy and Progress or CDP [Roch Marc-Christian KABORE]; Convention of the Democratic Forces of Burkina or CFD-B; Movement for Tolerance and Progress or MTP [Nayabtigungou Congo KABORE]; Party for African Independence or PAI [Philippe OUEDRAOGO]; Party for Democracy and Progress/Socialist Party or PDP/PS [Ali LANKOANDE]; Party for Democracy and Socialism or PDS; Party for National Rebirth or PAREN; Rally for the Development of Burkina or RDB; Rally of Ecologists of Burkina Faso or RDEB [Ram OUEDRAGO]; Republican Party for Integration and Solidarity or PARIS [Cyril GOUNGOUNGA]; Union for Democracy and Social Progress or UDPS; Union for Rebirth - Sankarist Movement or UNIR-MS; Union for the Republic or UPR [Toussaint Abel COULIBALY]; Union of Sankarist Parties or UPS | National Progressive Party or NPP [Reuben T. MEADE]; New People's Liberation Movement or NPLM [John A. OSBORNE] |
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 | NA |
Population | 14,326,203
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 2007 est.) |
8,995
note: an estimated 8,000 refugees left the island following the resumption of volcanic activity in July 1995; some have returned (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 46.4% (2003) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.997% (2007 est.) | 4.5% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Plymouth (abandoned), Little Bay (anchorages and ferry landing), Carr's Bay |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 17, shortwave 3 (2001) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Railways | total: 622 km
narrow gauge: 622 km 1.000-m gauge note:: another 660 km of this railway extends into Cote D'Ivoire (2006) |
0 km |
Religions | Muslim 50%, indigenous beliefs 40%, Christian (mainly Roman Catholic) 10% | Anglican, Methodist, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, Seventh-Day Adventist, other Christian denominations |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.009 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.996 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.657 male(s)/female total population: 0.992 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.11 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: services only fair; in 2006 the government sold a 51 percent stake in the national telephone company and ultimately plans to retain only a 23 percent stake in the company; fixed-line connections stand at less than 1 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular usage, fostered by multiple providers, is increasing and stands at about 7 per 100 persons
domestic: microwave radio relay, open-wire, and radiotelephone communication stations international: country code - 226; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2007) |
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: NA |
Telephones - main lines in use | 94,800 (2006) | 4,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.017 million (2006) | 70 (1994) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2002) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly flat to dissected, undulating plains; hills in west and southeast | volcanic island, mostly mountainous, with small coastal lowland |
Total fertility rate | 6.41 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.8 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 6% (1998 est.) |
Waterways | - | none |