Burkina Faso (2008) | Guadeloupe (2006) | |
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) |
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: 23.6% (male 54,725/female 52,348)
15-64 years: 67.1% (male 150,934/female 153,094) 65 years and over: 9.2% (male 17,353/female 24,322) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, peanuts, shea nuts, sesame, sorghum, millet, corn, rice; livestock | bananas, sugarcane, tropical fruits and vegetables; cattle, pigs, goats |
Airports | 33 (2007) | 9 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 8
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 5 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 31
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 17 (2007) |
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
Area | total: 274,200 sq km
land: 273,800 sq km water: 400 sq km |
total: 1,780 sq km
land: 1,706 sq km water: 74 sq km note: Guadeloupe is an archipelago of nine inhabited islands, including Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Desirade, Iles des Saintes (2), Saint-Barthelemy, Iles de la Petite Terre, and Saint-Martin (French part of the island of Saint Martin) |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Colorado | 10 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. | Guadeloupe has been a French possession since 1635. The island of Saint Martin is shared with the Netherlands; its southern portion is named Sint Maarten and is part of the Netherlands Antilles and its northern portion is named Saint-Martin and is part of Guadeloupe |
Birth rate | 45.28 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 15.05 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.311 billion
expenditures: $1.764 billion (2007 est.) |
revenues: $637.7 million
expenditures: $680.1 million; including capital expenditures of $112.5 million (2002) |
Capital | name: Ouagadougou
geographic coordinates: 12 22 N, 1 31 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
name: Basse-Terre
geographic coordinates: 16 00 N, 61 44 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical; warm, dry winters; hot, wet summers | subtropical tempered by trade winds; moderately high humidity |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 306 km |
Constitution | 2 June 1991 approved by referendum, 11 June 1991 formally adopted; last amended January 2002 | 4 October 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 Guadeloupe
conventional short form: Guadeloupe local long form: Departement de la Guadeloupe local short form: Guadeloupe |
Death rate | 15.31 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 6.09 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.33 billion (2007) | $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 Paramanga Ernest YONLI (since 14 January 2008)
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 French subsidies (2004) |
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 in the World Trade Organization for fewer subsidies to producers in other competing countries. Since 1998, Burkina Faso has embarked upon a gradual but successful privatization of state-owned enterprises. Having revised its investment code in 2004, Burkina Faso hopes to attract foreign investors. Thanks to this new code and other legislation favoring the mining sector, the country has seen an upswing in gold exploration and production. While the bitter internal crisis in neighboring Cote d'Ivoire is beginning to be resolved, it is still having a negative effect on Burkina Faso's trade and employment. In 2007 higher costs for energy and imported foodstuffs, as well as low cotton prices, dampened a GDP growth rate that had averaged 6% in the last 10 years. Burkina Faso received a Millennium Challenge Account threshold grant to improve girls' education at the primary school level, and appears likely to receive a grant in the areas of infrastructure, agriculture, and land reform. | This Caribbean economy depends on agriculture, tourism, light industry, and services. It also depends on France for large subsidies and imports. Tourism is a key industry, with most tourists from the US; an increasingly large number of cruise ships visit the islands. The traditional sugarcane crop is slowly being replaced by other crops, such as bananas (which now supply about 50% of export earnings), eggplant, and flowers. Other vegetables and root crops are cultivated for local consumption, although Guadeloupe is still dependent on imported food, mainly from France. Light industry features sugar and rum production. Most manufactured goods and fuel are imported. Unemployment is especially high among the young. Hurricanes periodically devastate the economy. |
Electricity - consumption | 480.1 million kWh (2005) | 1.084 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 516.2 million kWh (2005) | 1.165 billion kWh (2003) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Mouhoun (Black Volta) River 200 m
highest point: Tena Kourou 749 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Soufriere 1,484 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) | black or mulatto 90%, white 5%, East Indian, Lebanese, Chinese less than 5% |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 493.51 (2007), 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003) | euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 j(2001) |
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 Jean-Jacques BROT (since 12 June 2006)
head of government: President of the General Council Jacques GILLOT (since 26 March 2001); President of the Regional Council Victorin LUREL (since 2 April 2004) 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 election results: NA |
Exports | 0 bbl/day (2004) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | cotton, livestock, gold | bananas, sugar, rum, melons, spring water |
Exports - partners | China 41.9%, Singapore 14.4%, Ghana 5.9%, Thailand 4.9%, Niger 4.4% (2006) | France 60%, Martinique 18%, US 4% (2004) |
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
note: uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
unofficial, local flag based upon the arms of the city of Pointe-a-Pitre; the field is divided horizontally with a narrow, blue stripe along the top edge charged with three gold fleurs-de-lis; the wider, lower portion of the field is black and charged with green sugar cane leaves - representing one of Guadeloupe's main crops - surmounted by a gold radiant sun representing the tropical climate; the only official flag is the national flag of France |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 29.4%
industry: 19% services: 51.7% (2007 est.) |
agriculture: 15%
industry: 17% services: 68% (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.2% (2007) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 13 00 N, 2 00 W | 16 15 N, 61 35 W |
Geography - note | landlocked savanna cut by the three principal rivers of the Black, Red, and White Voltas | a narrow channel, the Riviere Salee, divides Guadeloupe proper into two islands: the larger, western Basse-Terre and the smaller, eastern Grande-Terre |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 32.2% (2004) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | 8,158 bbl/day (2004) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | capital goods, foodstuffs, petroleum | foodstuffs, fuels, vehicles, clothing and other consumer goods, construction materials |
Imports - partners | Cote d'Ivoire 25.9%, France 22.8%, Togo 7.2% (2006) | France 63%, Germany 4%, US 3%, Japan 2%, Netherlands Antilles 2% (2004) |
Independence | 5 August 1960 (from France) | none (overseas department of France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 5.2% (2007 est.) | NA% |
Industries | cotton lint, beverages, agricultural processing, soap, cigarettes, textiles, gold | construction, cement, rum, sugar, tourism |
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: 8.41 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 9.59 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 0.7% (2007 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, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, PCA, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | UPU, WCL, WFTU |
Irrigated land | 250 sq km (2003) | 60 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Appeals Court | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel with jurisdiction over Guadeloupe, French Guiana, and Martinique |
Labor force | 5 million
note: a large part of the male labor force migrates annually to neighboring countries for seasonal employment (2003) |
191,400 (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 90%
industry and services: 10% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 15%
industry: 20% services: 65% (2002) |
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 |
total: 15 km
border countries: Netherlands Antilles (Sint Maarten) 15 km |
Land use | arable land: 17.66%
permanent crops: 0.22% other: 82.12% (2005) |
arable land: 11.7%
permanent crops: 2.92% other: 85.38% (2005) |
Languages | French (official), native African languages belonging to Sudanic family spoken by 90% of the population | French (official) 99%, Creole patois |
Legal system | based on French civil law system and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | French legal system |
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, ADF-RDA 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 or Conseil General (42 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and the unicameral Regional Council or Conseil Regional (41 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held March 2004 (next to be held by in 2010); Regional Council - last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held in March 2008 to elect half of the body) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - left-wing candidates 11, PS 8, RPR 8, PPDG 6, right-wing candidates 5, PCG 3, UDF 1; Regional Council (second round) - percent of vote by party - PS 58.4%, UMP 41.6%; seats by party - PS 29, UMP 12 note: Guadeloupe elects two representatives to the French Senate; elections last held September 2004 (next to be held September 2013); percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA, Guadeloupe elects four representatives to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held June 2007); percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RPR 2, PS 1, different right parties 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 49.21 years
male: 47.68 years female: 50.8 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 78.06 years
male: 74.91 years female: 81.37 years (2006 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: 90% male: 90% female: 90% (1982 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, north of Ghana | Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Puerto Rico |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 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 military forces |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.2% (2006) | - |
National holiday | Republic Day, 11 December (1958) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun: Burkinabe (singular and plural)
adjective: Burkinabe |
noun: Guadeloupian(s)
adjective: Guadeloupe |
Natural hazards | recurring droughts | hurricanes (June to October); Soufriere de Guadeloupe is an active volcano |
Natural resources | manganese, limestone, marble; small deposits of gold, phosphates, pumice, salt | cultivable land, beaches and climate that foster tourism |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -0.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | African Democratic Rally-Alliance for Democracy and Federation or ADF-RDA [Gilbert OUEDRAOGO]; Citizen's Popular Rally or RPC [Antoine QUARE]; Coalition of Democratic Forces of Burkina or CFD-B [Amadou Diemdioda DICKO]; Congress for Democracy and Progress or CDP [Roch Marc-Christian KABORE]; 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 [Felix SOUBEIGA]; Party for National Rebirth or PAREN [Oumar DJIGUIMDE]; Rally for the Development of Burkina or RDB [Antoine KARGOUGOU]; 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 [Fidele HIEN]; Union for Rebirth - Sankarist Movement or UNIR-MS [Benewende STANISLAS]; Union for the Republic or UPR [Toussaint Abel COULIBALY]; Union of Sankarist Parties or UPS [Ernest Nongma OUEDRAOGO] | Communist Party of Guadeloupe or PCG [Mona CADOCE]; FGPS [Dominique LARIFLA]; Left Radical Party or PRG [Flavien FERRANT]; Progressive Democratic Party or PPDG [Henri BANGOU]; Socialist Party or PS [Jules OTTO]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Claudine LACAVE]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP (including Rassemblement pour la Republique or RPR) [Gabrielle LOUIS-CARABIN] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Burkinabe General Confederation of Labor or CGTB [Tole SAGNON]; Burkinabe Movement for Human Rights or MBDHP [Chrysigone ZOUGMORE]; Group of 14 February [Benewende STANISLAS]; National Confederation of Burkinabe Workers or CNTB [Laurent OUEDRAOGO]; National Organization of Free Unions or ONSL [Paul KABORE]; watchdog/political action groups throughout the country in both organizations and communities | Christian Movement for the Liberation of Guadeloupe or KLPG; General Federation of Guadeloupe Workers or CGT-G; General Union of Guadeloupe Workers or UGTG; Movement for Independent Guadeloupe or MPGI; The Socialist Renewal Movement |
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.) |
452,776 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 46.4% (2004) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.997% (2007 est.) | 0.88% (2006 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 26, shortwave 3 | AM 1, FM 17, 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) |
- |
Religions | Muslim 50%, indigenous beliefs 40%, Christian (mainly Roman Catholic) 10% | Roman Catholic 95%, Hindu and pagan African 4%, Protestant 1% |
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: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2006 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 rapidly from a low base
domestic: microwave radio relay, open-wire, and radiotelephone communication stations international: country code - 226; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2007) |
general assessment: domestic facilities inadequate
domestic: NA international: country code - 590; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); microwave radio relay to Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, and Martinique |
Telephones - main lines in use | 94,800 (2006) | 210,000 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.017 million (2006) | 314,700 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (1 national, 2 private) | 5 (plus several low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly flat to dissected, undulating plains; hills in west and southeast | Basse-Terre is volcanic in origin with interior mountains; Grande-Terre is low limestone formation; most of the seven other islands are volcanic in origin |
Total fertility rate | 6.41 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.9 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 77% | 26.9% (2003) |