Burkina Faso (formally Upper Volta) declared independence from France on August 5, 1960. Repeated military coups during the 1970s and 1980s were followed by multiparty elections in the early 1990s during which the current president Blaise Compaore was elected (CIA, 2012). The country is located in West Africa and bordered on the North and West by Mali, on the East by Niger and on the south by Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo and Benin. Burkina Faso is a poor, landlocked country that relies heavily on cotton and gold exports for revenue. With a land area of 274, 200 km2, the population of Burkina Faso is estimated at 16.7 million people in 2012.
Context
About 90% of the population live in rural area and is engaged in subsistence agriculture on small family plots or land. Maize, sorghum and millet make up 85-90 percent of the staple diet in Burkina Faso, and cotton is the main cash crop. Agriculture accounts for 34.1 percent of the GDP, and the economy has heavily relied on Gold that has become the main source of revenue since 2010 (CIA, 2012). Burkina Faso's high population density and limited natural resources result in poor economic prospects for the majority of its citizens. In addition, the poverty of the soil and erratic rainfall constrain households in many parts of the country to earn part of their living off the farm. Migration has been one of the solutions to these problems since the colonial era.
Statistical Indicators
Burkina Faso Year |
||
Agricultural land (sq km) |
123,600 |
2008 |
Agricultural land (% of land area) |
45.2 |
2008 |
Arable land (hectares) |
6,300,000 |
2008 |
Arable land (% of land area) |
23.03 |
2008 |
Arable land (hectares per person) |
0.41 |
2008 |
Fertilizer consumption (per ha of arable land) |
4 |
2008 |
Agriculture, value added (% of GDP) |
- |
2009 |
Food production index (1999-2001 = 100) |
136 |
2009 |
Food exports (% of merchandise exports) |
26.8 |
2009 |
Food imports (% of merchandise imports) |
15.7 |
2009 |
GNI per capita, Atlas method (current US$) |
510 |
2009 |
Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above)* |
28.7 |
2007 |
Literacy rate, youth female (% of females ages 15-24) |
33.1 |
2007 |
Ratio of young literate females to males (% ages 15-24) |
71 |
2007 |
Ratio of female to male secondary enrollment (%) |
74 |
2009 |
Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) |
10.9 |
2007 |
16.8 |
2008 |
|
20.9 |
2009 |
|
Internet users (per 100 people) |
0.7 |
2007 |
0.9 |
2008 |
|
1.1 |
2009 |
|
Population, total |
15,756,927 |
2009 |
Population density (people per sq. km of land area) |
57.6 |
200 |
Rural population |
12,608,693 |
2009 |
Rural population (% of total population) |
80 |
2009 |
Agricultural population* |
14,028 |
2008 |
Agricultural population (% of total population)* |
92 |
2008 |
Total economically active population in Agriculture* |
6,351,000 |
2008 |
Total economically active population in Agriculture (in % of total economically active population)* |
92 |
2008 |
Female economically active population in Agriculture (% of total active in agriculture)* |
48 |
2008 |
Source: The World Bank, *Food and Agriculture Organization FAO
Acknowledgments
Persons responsible for this report: Andre M. Nnoung, Burt E. Swanson and Andrea B. Bohn