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Although handicapped by an extremely resource-deprived domestic economy, Burkina remains committed to the structural adjustment program it launched in 1991. It has largely recovered from the devaluation of the CFA in January 1994, with a 1996 growth rate of 5.9%.
Many Burkinabe migrate to neighbouring countries for work, and their remittances provide a substantial contribution to the balance of payments. Burkina is attempting to improve the economy by developing its mineral resources, improving its infrastructure, making its agricultural and livestock sectors more productive and competitive, and stabilizing the supplies and prices of cereals.
The agricultural economy remains highly vulnerable to fluctuations in rainfall. The Mossi Plateau in north central Burkina faces encroachment from the Sahara. The resultant southward migration means heightened competition for control of very limited water resources south of the Mossi Plateau. Most of the population ekes out a living as subsistence farmersSubsistence farming is a mode of agriculture in which a plot of land produces only enough food to feed the family working it. Depending on climate, soil conditions, agricultural practices and the crop grown, it generally requires between 1,000 and 40,000, living with problems of climate, soil erosionErosion is the displacement of solids ( soil, mud, rock, and so forth) by the agents of wind, water, ice, or movement in response to gravity. Although the processes may be simultaneous, erosion is to be distinguished from weathering, which is the decompos, and rudimentary technology. The staple crops are milletFor the Ottoman system of ethno-religious divisions see Millet Millet is the collective name of a group of genera of the Grass family Gramineae/Paniceae widely grown around the world for food or animal feed. Pearl millet Pennesetum glaucum (L. americanum, sorghumSorghum Sorghum plant Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Liliopsida Order: Poales Family: Poaceae Genus Sorghum Species Sorghum × almum ''Sorghum almum ''Sorghum bicolor ''Sorghum caudatum ''Sorghum × drummondii ''So, maizeMaize Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Liliopsida Order: Poales Family: Poaceae Genus Zea Species Zea diploperennis ''Zea luxurians ''Zea mays ssp. huehuetenangensis ''Zea mays ssp. mays ''Zea mays ssp. mexicana '', and riceRice Rice fields on Java Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Liliopsida Order: Poales Family: Poaceae Genus: Oryza Species Oryza barthii ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza latifolia ''Oryza longistaminata ''Oryza punctata ''O. The cash crops are cottonCotton is a soft fibre that grows around the seeds of the cotton plant. The fibre is most often spun into thread and used to make a soft, breathable textile. Cotton is a valuable crop because only about 10% of the raw weight is lost in processing. Once tr, groundnutsThe Peanut is the edible seed of the plant, Arachis hypogaea''. Although called a nut the peanut is a member of the pea family Fabaceae, and the fruit is not a nut, but a legume or pod. Peanuts develop underground in a woody pod, usually with two seeds to, karite (shea nuts) , and sesame. Livestock, once a major export, has declined.
Industry, still in an embryonic stage, is located primarily in Bobo-Dioulasso, Ouagadougou, Banfora , and Koudougou. Manufacturing is limited to food processing, textiles, and other import substitution heavily protected by tariffs. Some factories are privately owned, and others are set to be privatized. Burkina's exploitable natural resources are limited, although a manganese ore deposit is located in the remote northeast. Gold mining has increased greatly since the mid-1980s and, along with cotton, is a leading export moneyearner.
Summary: One of the poorest countries in the world, landlocked Burkina Faso has a high population density, few natural resources, and a fragile soil. Approximately 90% of the population is engaged in (mainly subsistence) agriculture which is highly vulnerable to variations in rainfall. Industry remains dominated by unprofitable government-controlled corporations. Following the African franc currency devaluation in January 1994 the government updated its development program in conjunction with international agencies, and exports and economic growth have increased. Maintenance of its macroeconomic progress depends on continued low inflation, reduction in the trade deficit, and reforms designed to encourage private investment.
GDP- Purchasing power parity - $12.4 billion (1999 est.)
GDP - Real growth rate: 5.5% (1999 est.)
GDP purchasing power parity per capita: $1,100 (1999 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 35%
industry: 17%
services: 48% ( 2001)
Population below poverty line: 45%
Labor force: 4.679 million (persons 10 years old and over, according to a sample survey taken in 1991)
Note:
A large part of the male labor force migrates annually to neighboring countries for seasonal employment.
Unemployment rate: NA
Budget:
revenues: $277 million
expenditures: $492 million, including capital expenditures of $233 million. (1995 est.)
Industries: Cotton lint, beverages, agricultural processing, soap, cigarettes, textiles, gold.
Electricity production: 225 GWh ( 1998)
Agricultural products: peanuts, shea nut s, sesame, cotton, sorghum, millet, maize, rice; livestock.
Exports: $311 million (f.o.b., 1998 est.)
Export commodities: cotton, animal products, gold.
Exports - main partners: Côte d'Ivoire, Taiwan, France, Colombia, Italy, Mali.
Imports: $572 million (f.o.b., 1998 est.)
Import commodities: machinery, food products, petroleum.
Import partners: Côte d'Ivoire, France, Senegal, Togo, Nigeria, United States.
External debt: $1.3 billion ( 2000)
Economic aid received: $484.1 million ( 1995)
Currency: 1 Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: US$1 = 696.99 Communaute Financiere Africaine francs ( CFAF) ( 2002)
Note: Since 1 January 1999, the CFA franc is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 CFA francs per euro.
Fiscal year: Calendar year.
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