|  Burkina
Faso, which means
"The Homeland of the Proud People",
used to be known as Upper
Volta until 1984. The
country is
landlocked
and expands over an area
of 274,200 sq km. It
has a population of: 11,946,065 (July 2000); 13,228,460
(July 2003 est.) with a growth rate of: 2.71%
Its bordering neighbors
are Niger in the North-East over 628 km;
Benin in the South-East over 306 km; Togo
in the South-East over 126 km; Ghana in
the South over 548 km; Ivory Coast
in the South-West over 584 km; and Mali
alongside the western and northern borders over 1,000km.
Independence
from France:August
5, 1960
National
holiday:Anniversary
of the Revolution:August
4, (1983)
Burkina
Faso has a hard working peasantry;
many of whom emigrated as early as the 30-40's to surrounding countries - Ivory
Coast in particular - for lack of arable land - only 13% of the territory;
they played a prominent role in the development of cash
agriculture in said countries.
About 85% of the population is
engaged in subsistence agriculture, which is highly vulnerable to variations in
rainfall. The main productions are:peanuts, shea nuts, sesame, cotton, sorghum,
millet, corn, rice; livestock.
Industrial
production rate is very low - in the range of 4% per year - and deals with cotton
lint, beverages, agricultural processing, soap, cigarettes, textiles, gold.
Burkina's government has
some hope with the development of the zinc
mine of Perkoa which
deposit was discovered in the early 1980's and has been drilled extensively.
In
terms of metal content, this is one of the larger volcanogenic massive sulphide
bodies known, with drill-indicated resources totaling 7 million tons grading 17.6%
zinc (1.2
million tons of zinc metal) at a 10% Zn cutoff.
The lower orebody contains the bulk of the ore resource at a grade in excess of
19% Zn.
The
country is endowed with other natural resources: manganese,
limestone, marble; small deposits of gold, antimony, copper, nickel, bauxite,
lead, phosphates, silver.
Compaore's party - Congress For Democracy
And Progress - lost his overwhelming majority in the national parliament during
the ballot of May 5, 2002. The party seats dwindled from 104 (out of 111) to 57.
The balance of seats is now spread amongst 12 other parties. The "victory"
of the opposition will doubtless makes it more difficult for the ruling party
to quell down the persisting political crisis due to the mishandling of the investigation
into the assassination on December 13, 1998 of a newspaper editor/ investigator
- Norbert ZONGO.
On April 20, 2004, the national assembly votes
for the change to the electoral code by 63 out of 111 members of parliament. Most
of the opposition parties boycotted the vote fearing that it will clear the way
for another term in office for President Blaise Compaore in elections scheduled
for November 2005.
The new electoral code will see the electoral unit
of Burkina Faso changed from the region of which there are 15, to the province,
which number 45. The opposition says that this gives the government an unfair
advantage as it will be impossible for them to field candidates and polling observers
in all of the 45 electoral units.
The next presidential November 2005
polls will be Blaise Compaore's third successive presidential election. Compaore
secured resounding victories in 1991 when he stood unopposed and again in 1998
when he secured 87% of the vote.
The political crisis in Ivory
Coast is exercising a heavy negative impact on Burkina Faso's economy. The
direct railway link from city of Bobo Dioulasso to the port of Abidjan (Cote d'Ivoire)
is idle since the beginning of the crisis
in Ivory Coast on September 19, 2002; and Burkina Faso is obliged to reorganize
its export import route through the ports of Tema (Ghana),
Lome (Togo) and even further to Cotonou (Benin).
Year 2003's national budget showed a deficit nearing FCFA 58 billion due to the
Ivorian crisis. The same gap is estimated for year 2004. Click
here for Currency equivalence.
TOP
|
|
GNP: :
US$ 2.440 billion (2001); 2.544 billion (2002 est.)
GNP-growth
rate: 5 % (2000); 5.7
% (2001); 4.7 %(2003 est.)
GNP-per
capita: US$ 335 (1999);
338 (2000); 340 (2003)
Click
here for the difference between GNP and Parity Purchasing Power
GNP-composition
by sector
-
agriculture:
31%
- industry:
228%
- services:
41% (2000)
Exports:
US$ 225 million (f.o.b.,
2001); 250 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Commodities:
cotton, animal products,
gold
Imports:
US$ 620 million (f.o.b.,
2001); 525 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Commodities:
machinery, food products,
petroleum
Burkina
Faso is rated amongst one of the poorest country in the world; but
has the potential for a sustained growth as there is a hard working, perseverant
core of people ready to perform to the utmost if good guidance is provided.
In addition to the natural resources above mentioned, there are opportunities
for for investment in tourism and agribusiness.
TOP
|
| A
passport - valid for at least 6 months after intended period of stay - and a visa
are required for most nationalities. To get more information contact
| Direction
du Tourisme et de l'Hôtellerie
01 BP 624, Ouagadougou 01,
Burkina Faso
Tel: +(226)
306399
Fax: +(226)
306399 | England
Honorary Consulate of Burkina Faso
5 Cinnamon
Row, Plantation Wharf, London, SW11 3TW
Tel: +(44)
171 7381800
Fax: +(44)
171 7382820 | |
Canada
Embassy of Burkina Faso
48 Range Road, Ottawa,
Ontario K1N 8J4
Tel: +(1)
613 2384796
Fax: +(1)
613 2383812 | USA
Embassy of Burkina Faso
2340 Massachusetts Avenue,
NW, Washington, DC 20008
Tel: +(1)
202 332.5577/6895
Fax: +(1)
202 6671882
Website:
Click here |
|
THE REPUBLIC OF BURKINA-FASO - BRIEFS
