Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso
Typical street scene in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Shows the well-known Place des Nations Unies (United Nations Square). Source: Helge Fahrnberger/Wikimedia Commons
Burkina Faso is a landlocked nation of seventeen million people in western Africa, north of Ghana.
The country is mostly savanna cut by the three principal rivers of the Black, Red, and White Voltas.
Major environmental issues include:
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Source: NASA/The Map Library |
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recent droughts and desertification population distribution are severely affecting agricultural activities, population distribution, and the economy;
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soil degradation; and,
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.
Recent unrest in Cote d'Ivoire and northern Ghana has hindered the ability of several hundred thousand seasonal Burkinabe farm workers to find employment in neighboring countries.
Despite the limited natural resources in this arid savannah, the nation experienced a 200 percent increase in urban population between 1975 and 2000.
Much of that growth occurred in the capital city of Ouagadougou, where unplanned settlements sprang up along the city’s perimeter. Between 1960 and 1993, Ouagadougou experienced a 14-fold increase in area.
Geography
Location: Western Africa, north of Ghana
Geographic Coordinates: 13 00 N, 2 00 W
Area: 274,200 km2 (273,800 km2 land and 400 km2 water)
arable land: 17.66%
permanent crops: 0.22%
other: 82.12% (2005)
Land Boundaries: 3,193 km. Border countries: Benin 306 km, Cote d'Ivoire 584 km, Ghana 549 km, Mali 1,000 km, Niger 628 km, Togo 126 km
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.
Natural Hazards: recurring droughts
Terrain: Mostly flat to dissected, undulating plains; hills in west and southeast. Its' lowest point is Mouhan (Black Volta) River (200 metres) and its' highest point is Tena Kourou (749 metres).
Climate: Tropical; warm, dry winters; hot, wet summers
Topography of Burkina Faso. Source: Wikimedia Commons
Ecology and Biodiversity
Except for the northern most portion of the country, Burkina Faco ic covered by West Sudanian savanna, an ecoregion which stretches in a band across West Africa south of the Sahel, from Senegal and Gambia to the eastern border of Nigeria. It lies between the Guinean Forest-Savanna Mosaic to the south, and the Sahelian Acacia Savanna to the north (which covers the remaining part of Burkina Faso).
Source: WWF
The ecoregion is mainly flat and lies between 200 and 400 meters (m) in elevation with very few prominent topographical features.
The human population density is high over much of the ecoregion. Land use varies from permanent agricultural settlements to shifting agriculture and pastoral nomadism.
The West Sudanian Savanna possesses relatively few endemic animals, with strictly endemic species restricted to two small mammals (a white-toothed shrew (Crocidura cinderella) and a zebra mouse (Lemniscomys linulus)), eight reptiles, and three amphibians. Three bird species are considered near-endemic: Dorst's cisticola (Cisticola dorsti, DD), white-crowned robin-chat (Cossypha albicapilla) and Mali firefinch (Lagonosticta virata). The last of these is mainly associated with the Inner Niger Delta swamps.
There has been significant loss and fragmentation of the original wooded savanna habitat, especially in areas of high human population density such as Nigeria. The remaining blocks of habitat are found mainly in protected areas, which have been established in most of the countries of the ecoregion.The total area of protected lands is over 90,000 km2. This is a relatively large area, but only represents 6.7% of this huge ecoregion. There are also damaging activities occurring in many of these protected sites, which are resulting in further declines in large animal populations. Protected areas in this ecoregion include the transboundary ‘W’ National Parks in Niger, Burkina Faso, and Benin.
Government
Government Type: parliamentary republic
Capital: Ouagadougou - 1.777 million (2009)
Administrative Divisions: 45 provinces; Bale, Bam, Banwa, Bazega, Bougouriba, Boulgou, Boulkiemde, Comoe, Ganzourgou, Gnagna, Gourma, Houet, Ioba, Kadiogo, Kenedougou, Komondjari, Kompienga, Kossi, Koulpelogo, Kouritenga, Kourweogo, Leraba, Loroum, Mouhoun, Nahouri, Namentenga, Nayala, Noumbiel, Oubritenga, Oudalan, Passore, Poni, Sanguie, Sanmatenga, Seno, Sissili, Soum, Sourou, Tapoa, Tuy, Yagha, Yatenga, Ziro, Zondoma, Zoundweogo
Independence Date: 5 August 1960 (from France)
Legal System: based on French civil law system and customary law. Burkina Faso has not submitted an International Court of Justice (ICJ) jurisdiction declaration; but accepts International Criminal Court (ICCt) jurisdiction
2006
1986
Over the years, NASA’s Landsat satellites have observed the increase in Ouagadougou’s extent. The Landsat 7 satellite captured the top image on October 16, 2006, and the Landsat 5 satellite acquired the bottom image on November 18, 1986. In these false-color images, vegetation appears bright green, bare or sparsely vegetated ground ranges in color from beige to gray-green, and water ranges in color from navy to electric blue. Paved surfaces and buildings appear pink-purple.
The 2006 image shows how urbanization radiated out from the city center, filling nearly the entire frame. Urbanization has increased especially in the east and south; in the 1986 image, random shapes of green and brown fill the area; in the 2006 image, that area is predominantly pinkish purple. Likewise, a crooked line of vegetation that is visible north of Bois de Boulogne in 1986 has all but disappeared in 2006.
In both images, the Ouagadougou airport appears as a conspicuous diagonal line near the center of the image. In 1986, the airport lies fairly close to the city’s outskirts. In 2006, continued urbanization has surrounded the airport with cityscape. Southwest of the airport, the beginnings of urbanization appear in 1986, and that urbanization is more pronounced in 2006.
Lakes and rivers near the top and right edges of the image show different colors between 1986 and 2006; the color change likely results from differences in sediment or organic matter suspended in the water.
In 2008, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) published Africa: Atlas of Our Changing Environment highlighting changes detected by remote sensing, and providing overviews of each nation’s progress toward environmental sustainability in the late twentieth and early twenty-first century. UNEP found that, in the 1980s, Ouagadougou’s growth resulted predominantly from rural-to-urban migration. After that time, the population increased primarily from natural growth—birth rates exceeding death rates. The growth led to an explosion of unplanned settlements. Unplanned settlements may conflict with sustainable development goals, and they make it harder for the government to provide basic services, such as drinking water.
Despite growing urbanization, however, UNEP found that Burkina Faso made progress in some key areas of environmental sustainability. Protected areas increased slightly from 1990 to 2005, and per capita carbon dioxide emissions dropped slightly over roughly the same period. Meanwhile, access to better sources of drinking water and sanitation increased from 1990 to 2004, and the proportion of urban dwellers living in slums decreased slightly from 1990 to 2001. Nevertheless, water scarcity, desertification, and deforestation all threatened the country’s future health.
Source: NASA. Credit: NASA image created by Jesse Allen, using Landsat data provided by the United States Geological Survey. Caption by Michon Scott.
International Environmnetal Agreements
Burkina Faso is party to international agreements on Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, and Wetlands.
People and Society
Population: 16,751,455 (July 2011 est.)
Ethnic groups: Mossi over 40%, other approximately 60% (includes Gurunsi, Senufo, Lobi, Bobo, Mande, and Fulani)
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| A massive dust storm in Burkina Faso (bottom center), has created an opaque, sandy shroud for the land locked West African country. The storm seems to be extending north into Mali and east into southwestern Niger. This image was acquired by MODIS on April 10, 2002. Source: NASA. Credit: Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC |
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| Sahel savanna in SW Burkina Faso, near Gbomblora on the road from Gaoua to Batié. Source: Stefan Dressler/Wikimedia Commons |
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| View of the Arli river in the Arli National Park (Burkina Faso) near the rangers' station. (2002). Source: Marco Schmidt/Wikimedia commons |
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| Savanna west of Ouagadougou. Source: Wikimedia Commons |
Age Structure:
0-14 years: 45.8% (male 3,849,350/female 3,828,483)
15-64 years: 51.7% (male 4,320,779/female 4,334,197)
65 years and over: 2.5% (male 162,157/female 256,489) (2011 est.)
Population Growth Rate: 3.085% (2011 est.)
Birthrate: 43.59 births/1,000 population (2011 est.)
Death Rate: 12.74 deaths/1,000 population (July 2011 est.)
Net Migration Rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2011 est.)
Life Expectancy at Birth: 53.7 years (2011 est.)
Total Fertility Rate: 6.14 children born/woman (2011 est.)
Languages: French (official), native African languages belonging to Sudanic family spoken by 90% of the population
Literacy: 21.8% (male: 29.4% - female: 15.2% [2003 est.])
Urbanization: 26% of total population (2010) growing at an annual rate of change of 6.2% (2010-15 est.)
Water
Total Renewable Water Resources: 17.5 cu km (2001)
Freshwater Withdrawal: Total: 0.8 cu km/yr (13% domestic, 1% industrial, 86% agricultural).
Per capita Freshwater Withdrawal:: 60 cu m/yr (2000)
Access to improved sources of drinking water: 76% of population
Access to improved sanitation facilities: 11% of population
Agriculture
Agricultural Products: cotton, peanuts, shea nuts, sesame, sorghum, millet, corn, rice; livestock
Irrigated Lands: 250 sq km (2003)
Resources
Natural Resources: manganese, limestone, marble; small deposits of gold, phosphates, pumice, salt.
Economy
Burkina Faso is a poor, landlocked country that relies heavily on cotton and gold exports for revenue.
The country 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.
Since 1998, Burkina Faso has embarked upon a gradual privatization of state-owned enterprises and in 2004 revised its investment code to attract foreign investment.
As a result of this new code and other legislation favoring the mining sector, the country has seen an upswing in gold exploration and production. By 2010, gold had become the main source of export revenue. Gold mining production doubled between 2009 and 2010 and two new mining projects were launched the third quarter of 2011.
Local community conflict persists in the mining and cotton sectors, but the Prime Minister has made efforts to defuse some of the economic cause of public discontent, including announcing income tax reductions, reparations for looting victims, and subsidies for basic food items and fertilizer.
An IMF mission to Burkina Faso in October 2011 expressed general satisfaction with the measures.
The risk of a mass exodus of the 3 to 4 million Burinabe who live and work in Cote D'Ivoire has dissipated and trade, power, and transport links are being restored.
GDP (Purchasing Power Parity): $21.83 billion (2011 est.)
GDP (Official Exchange Rate): $10.1 billion (2011 est.)
GDP-per capita (PPP): $1,500 (2011 est.)
GDP-composition by sector:
agriculture: 34.1%
industry: 23.2%
services: 42.8% (2011 est.)
Population Below Poverty Line: 46.4% (2004)
Industries: cotton lint, beverages, agricultural processing, soap, cigarettes, textiles, gold
Exports: cotton, livestock, gold
Imports: capital goods, foodstuffs, petroleum
Currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF);
Energy
| Production | Consumption | Exports | Imports | Reserves | |
| Electricity |
516.2 million kWh (2005) |
480.1 million kWh (2005) |
0 kWh (2005) |
0 kWh (2005) |
|
| Oil |
0 bbl/day (2005) |
8,300 bbl/day (2005 est.) |
0 bbl/day (2004) |
8,158 bbl/day (2004) |
0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.) |
| Natural Gas |
0 cu m (2005 est.) |
0 cu m (2005 est.) |
0 cu m (2005 est.) |
0 cu m (2005 est.) |
0 cu m (2005 est.) |
| Source: CIA Factbook | |||||
Citation
Central Intelligence Agency, National Aeronautics and Space Administra, World Wildlife Fund (Lead Author);CIA World Factbook (Content Source);Lakhdar Boukerrou (Topic Editor) "Burkina Faso". In: Encyclopedia of Earth. Eds. Cutler J. Cleveland (Washington, D.C.: Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the Environment). [First published in the Encyclopedia of Earth May 30, 2009; Last revised Date February 4, 2012; Retrieved February 9, 2012 <http://www.eoearth.org/article/Burkina_Faso>
The Authors
The Central Intelligence Agency was created in 1947 with the signing of the National Security Act by President Harry S. Truman. The act also created a Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) to serve as head of the United States intelligence community; act as the principal adviser to the President for intelligence matters related to the national security; and serve as head of the Central Intelligence Agency. The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 amended the National Securit ... (Full Bio)
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