Economical overview
Cultivation and livestock care for housing
needs form the backbone of poor Burkina Faso's economy
and employ the vast majority of Burkinis. Gold was
awarded in 2009 on cotton as Burkina Faso's most
important export product. The industrial sector in
general is small and undeveloped. However, cotton
production is still very important and employs around
three million people.
The country's dependence on external aid and loans
has long been considerable. The largest donors are the
EU, the World Bank, the African Development Bank and
Islamic and Arab institutions. Among individual
countries, the United States and France are the most
important donors. An important source of income is also
the money that foreign-working Burkinians send to their
home country (see also Population and languages).
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Countryaah.com:
Major imports by Burkina Faso, covering a full list of top products imported by the country and trade value for each product category.
Poverty means that the state has a hard time
collecting taxes from citizens. The state budget is
therefore drawn with large deficits. In recent years,
this has only partly been offset by the taxation of gold
mining companies.
Burkina Faso has also received financial support
programs through the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
and the World Bank. During the 1990s, they demanded
market liberal reforms, such as freer trade and the sale
of state-owned companies. Growth increased at the end of
the decade and in the early 2000s the country was
allowed to participate in the debt-relief program for
high-indebted poor countries (HIPC). The money would be
used for school, healthcare and poverty reduction. In
2006, Burkina Faso received further debt write-offs, and
that year the external debt was at a record low level.
Subsequently, new loans have gradually increased the
external debt. In 2014, foreign debt accounted for 20
percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
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Abbreviationfinder.org: Check this abbreviation website to find three letter ISO codes for all countries in the world, including BFA which represents the country of Burkina Faso.
After a shaky 1990s, GDP growth in 2002-2006 averaged
nearly 6 percent per year, thanks to a combination of
good harvests, foreign aid and good financial
management. In 2007 several new gold mines were opened,
and thanks to high gold prices, Burkina Faso managed the
global economic crisis in 2008-2009 relatively well. The
following year, GDP growth reached a peak of over 8
percent.
Despite relatively good economic development with
high growth at the national level during the first half
of the 2010s, the country's many poor residents hardly
notice any standard increase. One reason for this is
Burkina Faso's high Population growth, another reason is
price increases for food and fuel. The latter led to a
series of protest actions from 2011, which prompted the
government to implement tax cuts and promise price cuts.
As a result, the deficits in the state budget increased.
The protests against the high cost of living contributed
to the fall of the Compaoré government in the fall of
2014 (see Current policy).
A quick transition to an interim government that
year, and a democratically elected president the
following year, meant that sanctions from the outside
world could be avoided and international lenders did not
freeze their payments. Despite low gold prices and an
outbreak of virus disease Ebola in the region in 2014,
the Burkina economy showed good growth. The main
obstacles to a more comprehensive economic development,
which also improves the living conditions of the
majority, are poor infrastructure, unfavorable climate
for cultivation (high risk of drought) and lean soil.
Burkina Faso is a member of the West African Economic
and Monetary Union (UEMOA), which includes several
countries in the region. The UEMOA countries have a
single currency, the West African CFA franc, which,
through a special arrangement with France, is linked to
the EU currency euro. The countries also have a common
central bank. The UEMOA states strive to form an
economic union.
FACTS - FINANCE
GDP per person
US $ 731 (2018)
Total GDP
US $ 14,442 million (2018)
GDP growth
6.5 percent (2018)
Agriculture's share of GDP
28.6 percent (2018)
Manufacturing industry's share of GDP
5.2 percent (2018)
The service sector's share of GDP
43.2 percent (2018)
Inflation
1.1 percent (2019)
Government debt's share of GDP
42.9 percent (2018)
External debt
US $ 3,119 million (2017)
Currency
West African Franc
Merchandise exports
US $ 3,242 million (2017)
Imports
US $ 3,248 million (2017)
Current account
- US $ 894 million (2017)
Commodity trade's share of GDP
52 percent (2018)
Main export goods
gold, cotton, shean nuts
Largest trading partner
Ivory Coast, France, China
2008
April
General strike against poorer living conditions
Private and public employees strike in protest
against rising living costs, poor wages and widespread
corruption. The dissatisfaction also triggers violent
clamor.
February
Burkinier protests against high food prices and low
wages
Protest demonstrations are being held in several
parts of the country against rapidly rising food prices
and increased living costs as well as demands for higher
wages.
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