Burkina Faso

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.

• tropical;
• warm, dry winters;
• hot, wet summers

total:

0.8 cu km/yr (13%/1%/86%)

per capita:

60 cu m/yr (2000)

• recent droughts and desertification severely affecting agricultural activities, population distribution, and the economy;
• overgrazing;
• soil degradation;
• deforestation

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

noun:

Burkinabe (singular and plural)

adjective:

Burkinabe

at birth:

1.03 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.62 male(s)/female

total population:

0.99 male(s)/female (2011 est.)

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

name:

Ouagadougou

geographic coordinates:

12 22 N, 1 31 W

time difference:

UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

• approved by referendum 2 June 1991;
• formally adopted 11 June 1991;
• last amended January 2002

chief of state:

President Blaise COMPAORE (since 15 October 1987)

head of government:

Prime Minister Luc-Adolphe TIAO (since 18 April 2011)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister; (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website)

elections:

• president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term);
• election last held on 21 November 2010 (next to be held in 2015);
• prime minister appointed by the president with the consent of the legislature

election results:

Blaise COMPAORE reelected president; percent of popular vote - Blaise COMPAORE 80.2%, Hama Arba DIALLO 8.2%, Benewende Stanislas SANKARA 6.3%, other 5.3%

• Supreme Court of Appeals or Cour de Cassation;
• Council of State or Conseil d'Etat;
• Court of Accounts or la Cour des Comptes;
• Constitutional Council or Conseil Constitutionnel

• 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];
• Democratic and Popular Rally or RDP [Nana THIBAUT];
• Movement for Tolerance and Progress or MTP [Nayabtigungou Congo KABORE];
• Party for African Independence or PAI [Soumane TOURE];
• Party for Democracy and Progress-Socialist Party or PDP-PS [Ali LANKOANDE];
• Party for Democracy and Socialism/Metba or PDS/Metba [Hama Arba DIALLO];
• Party for National Rebirth or PAREN [Jeanne TRAORE];
• 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;
• Union for Democracy and Social Progress or UDPS [Fidele HIEN];
• Union for Progress and Reform;
• 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]

• 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]

other:

watchdog/political action groups throughout the country in both organizations and communities

chief of mission:

Ambassador Seydou BOUDA

chancery:

2340 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 332-5577

FAX:

[1] (202) 667-1882

chief of mission:

Ambassador Thomas DOUGHERTY

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

• two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a yellow five-pointed star in the center;
• red recalls the country's struggle for independence, green is for hope and abundance, and yellow represents the country's mineral wealth

note: uses the popular Pan-African colors of Ethiopia

name:

"Le Ditanye" (Anthem of Victory)

lyrics/music:

Thomas SANKARA

note: adopted 1974; also known as "Une Seule Nuit" (One Single Night), Burkina Faso's anthem was written by the country's president, an avid guitar player

agriculture:

90%

industry and services:

10% (2000 est.)

lowest 10%:

2.9%

highest 10%:

32.2% (2009 est.)

general assessment:

• system includes microwave radio relay, open-wire, and radiotelephone communication stations;
• 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

domestic:

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

international:

country code - 226; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2011)

• 2 TV stations - 1 state-owned and 1 privately-owned;
• state-owned radio runs a national and regional network;
• substantial number of privately-owned radio stations;
• transmissions of several international broadcasters available in Ouagadougou (2007)

total:

622 km

country comparison to the world: 106

narrow gauge:

622 km 1.000-m gauge

note: another 660 km of this railway extends into Cote d'Ivoire (2008)

males age 16-49:

2,366,168

females age 16-49:

2,367,673 (2010 est.)

male:

193,905

female:

191,662 (2010 est.)

• adding to illicit cross-border activities, Burkina Faso has issues concerning unresolved boundary alignments with its neighbors;
• demarcation is currently underway with Mali, the dispute with Niger was referred to the ICJ in 2010, and a dispute over several villages with Benin persists;
• Benin retains a border dispute with Burkina Faso around the town of Koualou

current situation:

• Burkina Faso is a country of origin, transit, and destination for women and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking;
• children are forced to work as farm hands, gold panners and washers, street vendors, domestic servents, and beggars;
• girls are exploited in the commercial sex trade;
• women from Burkina Faso are recruited for legitimate jobs in Europe and are subsequently forced into prostitution;
• West African women are lured to Burkina Faso for legal work and are forced into domestic servitude, prostitution, or forced labor

tier rating:

• Tier 2 - Burkina Faso does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking;
• however, it is making significant efforts to do so;
• the government recognizes that sex trafficking and forced labor are problems and continued efforts to identify child victims;
• steps have not been taken to identify adult victims among vulnerable populations;
• the government sustained anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts but struggled to compile complete data on these efforts (2012)