Burkina Faso (2007) | Reunion (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 | none (overseas department of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 4 arrondissements, 24 communes, and 47 cantons |
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: 31.3% (male 121,119; female 115,501)
15-64 years: 62.8% (male 233,607; female 240,502) 65 years and over: 5.9% (male 18,036; female 26,406) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, peanuts, shea nuts, sesame, sorghum, millet, corn, rice; livestock | sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn |
Airports | 33 (2007) | 2 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 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 (2007) |
- |
Area | total: 274,200 sq km
land: 273,800 sq km water: 400 sq km |
total: 2,517 sq km
land: 2,507 sq km water: 10 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Colorado | slightly smaller than Rhode Island |
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. | The Portuguese discovered the uninhabited island in 1513. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French immigration, supplemented by influxes of Africans, Chinese, Malays, and Malabar Indians, gave the island its ethnic mix. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cost the island its importance as a stopover on the East Indies trade route. |
Birth rate | 45.28 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 20.17 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.088 billion
expenditures: $1.36 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues: $1.26 billion
expenditures: $2.62 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998) |
Capital | name: Ouagadougou
geographic coordinates: 12 22 N, 1 31 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Saint-Denis |
Climate | tropical; warm, dry winters; hot, wet summers | tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry from May to November, hot and rainy from November to April |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 207 km |
Constitution | 2 June 1991 approved by referendum, 11 June 1991 formally adopted; last amended January 2002 | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) |
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: Department of Reunion
conventional short form: Reunion local long form: none local short form: Ile de la Reunion former: Bourbon Island |
Currency | - | euro (EUR) |
Death rate | 15.31 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 5.49 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.85 billion (2003) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | overseas department of France |
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 department of France) |
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 department of France) |
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) | $NA; note - substantial annual subsidies from France |
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. | The economy has traditionally been based on agriculture, but services now dominate. Sugarcane has been the primary crop for more than a century, and in some years it accounts for 85% of exports. The government has been pushing the development of a tourist industry to relieve high unemployment, which amounts to one-third of the labor force. The gap in Reunion between the well-off and the poor is extraordinary and accounts for the persistent social tensions. The white and Indian communities are substantially better off than other segments of the population, often approaching European standards, whereas minority groups suffer the poverty and unemployment typical of the poorer nations of the African continent. The outbreak of severe rioting in February 1991 illustrates the seriousness of socioeconomic tensions. The economic well-being of Reunion depends heavily on continued financial assistance from France. |
Electricity - consumption | 480.1 million kWh (2005) | 1.005 billion 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) | 1.08 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 55.5%
hydro: 44.5% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Mouhoun (Black Volta) River 200 m
highest point: Tena Kourou 749 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 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, 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) | French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian |
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) | euros per US dollar - 1.06 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 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: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Gonthier FRIEDERICI (since NA)
head of government: President of the General Council Jean-Luc POUDROUX (since NA March 1998) and President of the Regional Council Paul VERGES (since NA March 1993) 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 the Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils |
Exports | NA bbl/day | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | cotton, livestock, gold | sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3%, (1993) |
Exports - partners | China 41.9%, Singapore 14.4%, Ghana 5.9%, Thailand 4.9%, Niger 4.4% (2006) | France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (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 | the flag of France is used |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $4.174 billion (1999 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 30%
industry: 19% services: 51% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: 8%
industry: 19% services: 73% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $5,600 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6.4% (2006 est.) | 2.5% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 00 N, 2 00 W | 21 06 S, 55 36 E |
Geography - note | landlocked savanna cut by the three principal rivers of the Black, Red, and White Voltas | this mountainous, volcanic island has an active volcano, Piton de la Fournaise; there is a tropical cyclone center at Saint-Denis, which is the monitoring station for the whole of the Indian Ocean |
Highways | - | total: 2,724 km
paved: 1,300 km (including 73 km of four-lane road) unpaved: 1,424 km (1994) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 32.2% (2003) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | NA bbl/day | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | capital goods, foodstuffs, petroleum | manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products |
Imports - partners | Cote d'Ivoire 22.9%, France 20.1%, Zimbabwe 11.4%, Togo 6.3% (2006) | France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (2000) |
Independence | 5 August 1960 (from France) | none (overseas department of France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 14% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Industries | cotton lint, beverages, agricultural processing, soap, cigarettes, textiles, gold | sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction |
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: 8.13 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.89 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.3% (2006 est.) | NA% |
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 | FZ, InOC, WFTU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 250 sq km (2003) | 120 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Appeals Court | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel |
Labor force | 5 million
note: a large part of the male labor force migrates annually to neighboring countries for seasonal employment (2003) |
309,900 (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 90%
industry and services: 10% (2000 est.) |
agriculture 13%, industry 12%, services 75% (2000) |
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: 13.2%
permanent crops: 2% other: 84.8% (1998 est.) |
Languages | French (official), native African languages belonging to Sudanic family spoken by 90% of the population | French (official), Creole widely used |
Legal system | based on French civil law system and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | French 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 General Council (49 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council (45 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held 15 and 22 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004); Regional Council - last held 15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - various right-wing candidates 13, PCR 10, PS 10, UDF 8, RPR 6, other left-wing candidates 2; Regional Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PCR 19, UDF 9, RPR 8, various right-wing candidates 4, various left-wing candidates 5 note: Reunion elects three representatives to the French Senate; elections last held NA 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Reunion also elects five deputies to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP-RPR 1, UMP 1, PCR 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 49.21 years
male: 47.68 years female: 50.8 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 73.43 years
male: 70.03 years female: 77 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 can read and write
total population: 88.9% male: 87% female: 90.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, north of Ghana | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar |
Map references | Africa | World |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | Army, Air Force of Burkina Faso (Force Aerienne de Burkina Faso, FABF), National Gendarmerie (2006) | no regular indigenous military forces; French forces (including Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.2% (2006) | - |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 198,341 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 101,116 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 6,795 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Republic Day, 11 December (1958) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun: Burkinabe (singular and plural)
adjective: Burkinabe |
noun: Reunionese (singular and plural)
adjective: Reunionese |
Natural hazards | recurring droughts | periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano |
Natural resources | manganese, limestone, marble; small deposits of gold, phosphates, pumice, salt | fish, arable land, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0 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 | Communist Party of Reunion or PCR [Paul VERGES]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Andre Maurice PIHOUEE]; Socialist Party or PS [Jean-Claude FRUTEAU]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Gilbert GERARD] |
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.) |
755,171 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 46.4% (2003) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.997% (2007 est.) | 1.47% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Le Port, Pointe des Galets |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 17, shortwave 3 (2001) | AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (2001) |
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% | Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995) |
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: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 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: adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denis
domestic: modern open-wire and microwave radio relay network international: radiotelephone communication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 94,800 (2006) | 268,500 (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.017 million (2006) | 197,000 (September 2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2002) | 35 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | mostly flat to dissected, undulating plains; hills in west and southeast | mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast |
Total fertility rate | 6.41 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 2.53 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 36% (1999 est.) |
Waterways | - | none |