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The Economy of Burkina Faso

Burkinabe Economy

Burkina Faso's map

Economy - overview: One of the poorest countries in the world, landlocked Burkina Faso has few natural resources and a weak industrial base. About 90% of the population is engaged in subsistence agriculture, which is vulnerable to periodic drought. Cotton is the main cash crop and the government has joined with three other cotton producing countries in the region - Mali, Niger, and Chad - to lobby in the World Trade Organization for fewer subsidies to producers in other competing countries. Since 1998, Burkina Faso has embarked upon a gradual but successful privatization of state-owned enterprises. Having revised its investment code in 2004, Burkina Faso hopes to attract foreign investors. Thanks to this new code and other legislation favoring the mining sector, the country has seen an upswing in gold exploration and production. While the bitter internal crisis in neighboring Cote d'Ivoire is beginning to be resolved, it is still having a negative effect on Burkina Faso's trade and employment. Burkina Faso received a Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) threshold grant to improve girls' education at the primary school level, and signed an MCC compact that focuses on the areas of infrastructure, agriculture, and land reform in July, 2008.

GDP:

GDP - real growth rate: 4.5% (2008 est.) 3.6% (2007 est.) 5.5% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita:

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 29.1% industry: 19.9% services: 51% (2008 est.)

Population below poverty line:

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.8% highest 10%: 32.2% (2004)

Distribution of family income - Gini index: 39.5 (2007)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

Labor force: 5 million note: a large part of the male labor force migrates annually to neighboring countries for seasonal employment (2003)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 90% industry and services: 10% (2000 est.)

Unemployment rate: 77% (2004)

Budget: revenues: $1.799 billion expenditures: $2.337 billion (2008 est.)

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

Industrial production growth rate: 4.5% (2008 est.)

Electricity - production: 611.6 million kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - production by source:

Electricity - consumption: 509.3 million kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2007 est.)

Oil - production: 0 bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - consumption: 8,470 bbl/day (2006 est.)

Oil - exports: 0 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - imports: 8,446 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - proved reserves: 0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)

Natural gas - production: 0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - consumption: 0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - imports: 0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves: 0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

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

Exports: $809 million f.o.b. (2008 est.)

Exports - commodities: cotton, livestock, gold

Exports - partners: China 29.6%, Singapore 15.7%, Thailand 7.2%, Ghana 6.4%, Niger 4.8% (2007)

Imports: $1.665 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)

Imports - commodities: capital goods, foodstuffs, petroleum

Imports - partners: Cote d'Ivoire 25.8%, France 20.6%, Togo 7.1% (2007)

Debt - external: $1.33 billion (2007)

Economic aid - recipient:

Currency:

Currency code:

Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 447.81 (2008 est.), 493.51 (2007), 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004) note: since 1 January 1999, the West African CFA franc (XOF) has been pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 CFA francs per euro; West African CFA franc (XOF) coins and banknotes are not accepted in countries using Central African CFA francs (XAF), and vice versa, even though the two currencies trade at par

Fiscal year: