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Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso is situated in West Africa. The landlocked nation is bordered by Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the south east, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the south west. The country was formerly known as Upper Volta, which was renamed as Burkina Faso in 1984 by President Thomas Sankara. Ouagadougou (12 22 N, 1 31 W) is the capital. The country is one of the poorest countries in the world and has a very poor literacy rate. Boys are given priority in education. The military of Burkina Faso has 5 branches: Army, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Police, People's Militia.

HISTORY:- Burkina Faso was earliest inhabited by a hunting community. The Bobo, Lobi, and Gurunsi peoples were the original dwellers of the region. The Mossi and Gurma peoples immigrated in the country in the 14th century. In the 19th century, British and French conflict began to control the region. The empire of Mossi became a French protectorate in 1896. In 1903, French subdued all the ethnic groups in the region. In 1919, after the World War I, the territory was granted as a separate colony with a new name Upper Volta, with a first Governor François Charles Alexis Édouard Hesling. In 1932, the colony was withdrawn and the territory was distributed among Niger, the Sudan, and Côte d'Ivoire. In 1947, Upper Volta regained its pre-partition territory under the French Union following the World War II. In 1958, 11th December, the land became free and turned up as the Republic of Upper Volta. In 1960, Upper Volta gained full autonomy. 1966 military coup brought civilian rule in 1978. 1983 coup introduced a great leader Thomas Sankara. In 1984, the country’s name was changed into the present name- Burkina Faso.

GEOGRAPHY:- Burkina Faso is located at 13 00 N, 2 00 W in the Western Africa. The landlocked country captures total 273,800 sq km land area and 400 sq km water area. The lowest point is Mouhoun (Black Volta) River (200 m) and the highest point is Tena Kourou (749 m). The larger part of the country is formed of undulating plains with some isolated hilly areas. The southwestern region of the country is largely formed of sandstone massif. The Black, Red, and White Voltas cross the land.

CLIMATE:- The climate is mostly tropical with warm, dry winters and hot, rainy summers.

GOVERNMENT:- Burkina Faso is a Semi-presidential republican country. The constitution was approved on 2nd June 1991 and imposed on 11th June 1991. The legal system is based on the French civil law system and customary law. The government has distributed the responsibilities among three major branches:

Executive branch comprises the President (chief of state), the prime minister (head of government), cabinet. The council of ministers is recommended by the Prime minister and appointed by the President.

Legislative branch comprises the unicameral National Assembly (111 seats).

Judicial branch comprises the Supreme Court; Appeals Court.

Political parties include larger parties like Congress for Democracy and Progress, Alliance for Democracy Federation/ African Democratic Assembly, Party for Democracy and Progress/Socialist Party, National Union for Democracy and Development; with relatively smaller opposition parties. Suffrage is universal.

ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS:- Burkina Faso is divided into 13 regions:

Boucle du Mouhoun

Cascades

Centre

Centre-Est

Centre-Nord

Centre-Ouest

Centre-Sud

Est

Hauts-Bassins

Nord

Plateau-Central

Sahel

Sud-Ouest

These regions are subdivided into 45 provinces and 301 departments.

CULTURE:- The earliest influence of the hunter people still persists in the masks and dancing. These two are the key features of the culture of Burkina Faso. Jacques Prosper Bazié, Angèle Bassolé-Ouédraogo, François Djobi Bassolet, Nazi Boni, Sarah Bouyain, Simporé Simone Compaore, Augustin-Sondé Coulibaly, Bernadette Sanou Dao, Zarra Guiro are some of the famous writers of the country. Burkina Faso has a rich collection of various folk music genres.

ECONOMY:- Burkina Faso is one of the poorest nations of the world, ranks 127th. It has the lowest GDP incomes ($1,200) in the world. 90% inhabitants depend on agriculture. Cotton and cotton products are the source of majority income for the country.

GDP/PPP (2006 est.): $17.87 billion; per capita $1,200.

Real growth rate: 5.2%.

Inflation: 4%.

Unemployment: n.a.

Arable land: 14%.

Agriculture: cotton, peanuts, shea nuts, sesame, sorghum, millet, corn, rice; livestock.

Labor force: 5 million; agriculture 90%, industry and services 10% (2000 est.).

Industries: cotton lint, beverages, agricultural processing, soap, cigarettes, textiles, gold.

Natural resources: manganese, limestone, marble; small deposits of gold, phosphates, pumice, salt.

Budget:

Revenues: $1.49 billion

Expenditures: $1.95 billion (2007 est.)

Debt - external: $1.33 billion (2007)

Exports - partners: China 41.9%, Singapore 14.4%, Ghana 5.9%, Thailand 4.9%, Niger 4.4% (2006)

Exports: $543.5 million f.o.b. (2006 est.): cotton, livestock, gold.

Imports - partners: Cote d'Ivoire 25.9%, France 22.8%, Togo 7.2% (2006)

Imports: $1.016 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.): capital goods, food products, petroleum.

Major trading partners: China, Singapore, Ghana, Bangladesh, France, Côte d'Ivoire, Togo (2004).

Monetary unit: CFA Franc

LANGUAGE:- French is the official language. But 90% of the population speaks in native African languages originating from Sudanic family.

CITIES:- The largest city is capital Ouagadougou. Other large cities are Bobo-Dioulasso, Koudougou.

POPULATION:- The estimated population of the country is 14,326,203 with a growth rate of 3.0%.

Density per sq mi: 136

Literacy rate: 21.8% (2003 est.)

RACE:-

Mossi (over 40%).

Rest 60% includes Gurunsi, Senufo, Lobi, Bobo, Mande, Fulani.

RELIGION:-

Muslim 50%

Indigenous beliefs 40%

Christian (mainly Roman Catholic) 10%

HEALTH:-

Birth rate: 44.68 births/ 1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate: 13.59 deaths/ 1,000 population (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 86.02 deaths/ 1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 52.55 years

Total fertility rate: 6.34 children born/ woman (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: 29,000 (2003 est.)

Total expenditure on health per capita (Intl $, 2005): 86

UNICEF:- Polio vaccination coverage is almost accomplished in the country with no polio report in 2005 and 2006. Guinea threat is lessened by 50%. UNICEF and its partners help in birth registration of over 200,000 newborns. To fight against human trafficking, UNICEF has marked 5 human trafficking networks and 13 networks are already banned. 555 children are returned to their houses. 50 children labours in the mine field are identified and enrolled in informal education programme. Efforts are making to improve sanitation in the most impoverished areas. Ministry of women is set up by the government to establish women rights.

TRANSPORTATION:-

Railways: total: 622 km (2004).

Highways: total: 15,272 km km; paved: 4,766 km; unpaved: 10,506 km (2004).

Ports and harbors: none.

Airports: 34 (2006 est.).