BURKINA FASO

General information: Burkina Faso (Upper Volta until 1984) means “the land of honest people” in local languages.

The Republic of Upper Volta was established in 1958 as a self-governing colony within the French Community. It attained full independence from France on August 5, 1960 and became a UN member state on September 20, 1960.

Area: 274,200 square kilometres, borders on Benin, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, Niger and Togo. The capital city is Ouagadougou, with a population of some 2.5 million (including the suburbs).

Population: Around 19.1 million (annual increment 3.04 per cent). The average life expectancy is 59 years. Mossi is the largest of the nearly 60 ethnic groups (accounting for about 50 per cent of the population). Urban residents comprise one third of the population. The largest cities are Bobo-Dioulasso (population 600,000), Koudougou (116,000) and Banfora (96,000).

Climate: Tropical, divided into two seasons. During the rainy season, which lasts from July to October, the country receives between 300 and 1,200 mm of rainfall, while in the dry season, from November to June, the harmattan – a hot dry wind from the Sahara – brings heat and sandstorms. The average annual temperature in Ouagadougou is +34°С with relative air humidity between 12 and 16 per cent.

Administrative division: Burkina Faso is divided into 13 administrative regions, which are subdivided into 45 administrative provinces.

National holiday: Proclamation of the Republic has been celebrated on December 11 since 1993.

Currency: CFA Franc (as of November 2017, $1 equalled some 570 CFA Francs. The Euro rate has been fixed at 656 CFA Francs per Euro).

Religions: Over 50 per cent of Burkinabe are Muslims; the majority of them are Sunni Muslims, although the number of Shiite Muslims is growing.

Christians (mostly Catholics) make up around 20 per cent of population, and another 30 per cent have traditional indigenous beliefs. The majority of those living in the northern, eastern and western provinces are Muslims. Christians live mainly in the central part of the country.

Political system: Roch Marc Christian Kabore, the leader and founder of the opposition party called the People’s Movement for Progress, won the 2015 presidential election with 53.5 per cent of the vote.

Legislative authority: The National Assembly, a unicameral parliament with 127 seats. Following the 2015 election, the presidential People’s Movement for Progress (MPP) holds 55 seats, Union for Progress and Reform/Change (UPC) 33 seats (13 deputies withdrew from the UPC group in parliament in October 2017 to create a new group, UPC-Renouveau democratique), Congress for Democracy and Progress (CDP) 18 seats, Union for Rebirth / Sankarist Party (UNIR/PS) 5 seats, Alliance for Democracy and Federation - African Democratic Rally (ADF-RDA) 3 seats, New Era for Democracy (NTD) 3 seats, New Alliance of Faso (NAFA) 2 seats, as well as National Rebirth Party (PAREN) 2 seats. The parties Organisation for Democracy and Work (ODT), Union for a New Burkina (UBN), Movement for Democracy in Africa (MDA), Alternative Faso, Party for Democracy and Socialism-Builders’ Party (PDS/METBA) and Rally for Democracy and Socialism (RDS) each hold one seat.

President of the National Assembly: Alassane Bala Sakande (since September 2017 when he replaced Salif Diallo, who died in August 2017).

Prime Minister: Paul Kaba Thieba. Minister of State for Internal Security: Simon Compaore, the second most influential member of government. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Burkinabe Abroad: Alpha Barry. Minister of Defence and Veterans’ Affairs: Jean Claude Bouda.

Political parties: The 1991 Constitution formalised the multiparty system. The Congress for Democracy and Progress (CDP) was the most powerful political group in the country until 2014, when party leader President Blaise Compaore resigned following an uprising. The most influential parties are the People’s Movement for Progress (MPP), the Union for Progress and Reform/Change (UPC) and CDP.

Media: The Conseil Superieur de la Communication (CSC), the government’s Supreme Council on Information, is charged with overseeing the media.

The state-sponsored combined television and radio service, Radiodiffusion-Television Burkina (RTB), has the biggest radio and television audience. The leading private television channels include BF1, Canal 3 and Omega. The most popular private radio stations are Radio Pulsar, Horizon FM and Omega FM. The most widely-used online news resource is http://www.aouaga.com/">www.aouaga.com.

The main newspapers are the pro-government daily Sidwaya (online version at http://www.sidwaya.bf/">www.sidwaya.bf) and private newspapers Le Pays, L’Observateur Paalga and L’Independent.

Culture: Ouagadougou hosts the annual Ouagadougou International Arts and Crafts Fair (Salon International de l’Artisanat de Ouagadougou or SIAO) and the biennial Pan-African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO).

The biennial National Culture Week takes place in Bobo-Dioulasso.

Sports: The annual 10-day Tour du Faso road bicycle race is the African analogue of Tour de France.

Education: School attendance is estimated at 41 per cent (for primary schools, 84 per cent). The literacy rate is only 39 per cent.

The country’s main institutions of higher education – the University of Ouagadougou, the Polytechnic University of Bobo-Dioulasso and the University of Koudougou – enrol some 8,000 students annually. France is supporting the development of university education in Burkina Faso. The government launched a 10-Year Basic Education Development Plan in 2020 and intends to make schooling compulsory between the ages of 6 and 16.

Healthcare: There are 13 general hospitals and 64 health centres (including 44 with surgical departments), and 1,718 health units and medical social centres. However, medical staff are inadequately trained, hospitals are short of medicines, the infant mortality rate is 70 per 1,000, and 6.5 per cent of the population are infected with HIV. The prevalence of AIDS is gradually decreasing. However, despite the preventative measures taken, there has been no decrease in meningitis, yellow fever and cholera.

Armed forces: The Army consists of some 10,500 military personnel, the Air Force, 600, National Gendarmerie, 8,000, and a paramilitary fire brigade, 900 people. Armed forces personnel are trained at local military schools, as well as in France, Germany and Morocco.

Chief of the General Staff: Brigadier General Oumarou Sadou.

Internal politics: There is a growing threat of terrorism in the northern regions; the authorities appear unable to effectively resist terror attacks in the capital or in the countryside.

The inability of national security forces to combat terrorism was highlighted by the terrorist attacks in Ouagadougou on January 15, 2016 and August 13, 2017, which together killed 49 people, including the citizens of France, Canada, Ukraine, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Turkey, Senegal, Nigeria and Kuwait.

Jihadists enter the northeast regions of Burkina Faso from Mali to attack military and police personnel. Their goal is to create a caliphate led by local Islamic leader Amadou Kouffa.

The trial of former Burkinabe President Blaise Compaore continues, as do investigations into the case of his former chief of staff and head of the elite Regiment of Presidential Security, General Gilbert Diendere, who led the military junta that briefly seized power in Burkina Faso in the September 2015 coup d’etat.

The country is regularly shaken by social conflicts and strikes demanding higher wages and increased social benefit payments. The military and police are dissatisfied with their financial position, as well as their inability to combat the increasing terrorist activity of the local Islamic extremists.

Socioeconomic situation: President Kabore has been trying to stabilise the economy by implementing the National Economic and Social Development Plan (PNDES) for 2016-2020. The focus is on attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) to mining, solar energy, water management, the construction of motorways, agribusiness (in particular, cotton growing), mobile services (nationwide coverage is only 66 per cent), as well as amenities.

In December 2016, Burkina Faso’s development partners met at a donor conference held in Paris by the World Bank, where they pledged to invest $11.7 billion in socioeconomic projects within the framework of the above plan.

In 2016, FDI totalled $167 million.

Economic development indicators: According to the World Bank, Burkina Faso is a low-income economy. The IMF has reported that the country’s GDP increased 5.2 per cent to $12 billion in 2016 and projected a 6 per cent growth for 2017. GDP per capita is $652 (39th in Africa), and inflation was 1.8 per cent in 2016.

FDI stock is estimated at $309 million. The balance of payments deficit is 6 per cent of GDP. National debt is 36 per cent of GDP. The country’s budget is directly dependent on multilateral and bilateral assistance to development.

Agriculture accounts for 43 per cent of GDP and 30 per cent of export earnings, and employs 86 per cent of the economically active population. The total area of farmland is approximately 10 million hectares. Arable land occupies 3.27 million hectares, including 15,000 hectares of irrigated land. The main crops are cotton, grain crops (sorghum, millet, corn and rice), cashew nuts, peanuts and sugar cane. During the 2016-2017 agricultural season, the country harvested 700,000 tonnes of cotton, 4.7 million tonnes of grain and 250,000 tonnes of sugar cane.

The country has a developed livestock breeding, with 7.3 million cattle, some 15 million small ruminants and 610,000 pigs. The poultry sector is on the upswing, with over 33 million chickens.

Industry accounts for 27.5 per cent of GDP and employs 5.4 per cent of the economically active population. Most of them work in mining, food and light industry.

Mining accounts for 15 per cent of GDP and 35 per cent of export revenue. The growing production of gold (in 2016, the country’s eight mines produced 33.5 tonnes of gold) and zinc concentrate (137,300 tonnes in 2015) earn the country some $280 million annually. Burkina Faso has large deposits of gold, manganese, zinc, nickel, copper, lead and bauxites.

The handicraft and artisan industry plays a major role in the national economy.

Energy: Access to electricity is very low at 20 per cent. The installed capacity of power plants is 200 MW.

Solar power stations, with a total capacity of 100 MW, are under construction with investment from the EU, Canada, Taiwan and the Islamic Development Bank. Of particular note is a 33 MW solar power plant, under development since 2016. Burkina Faso imports electricity, petrochemicals and gas from Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana.

Transport: The bulk of goods (87 per cent) is transported by road. The road network spans more than 15,200 kilometres, but only some 3,400 kilometres are paved.

The international airports in Ouagadougou and Bob-Dioulasso can accommodate medium-sized planes. Air Burkina (14 per cent state-owned) provides transport to neighbouring countries. Air France and other foreign companies offer flights to Europe. There are plans to build a new international airport in Ouagadougou with foreign funds, as well as to renovate the Abidjan- Ouagadougou-Kaya railway line and to extend it towards Tambao, a large manganese deposit in the northeast.

Foreign trade: Gold accounts for a large part of export earnings, but agricultural products constitute the bulk of the country’s exports in physical terms. The main export commodity is cotton (in 2016, exports were $2 billion). Livestock products (live cattle, meat and leather) account for 11 per cent of export revenue.

Burkina Faso is the world’s leading exporter of shea butter.

Imports include consumer goods, foods, petrochemicals, machinery and equipment, cement, metals, fertilisers, chemicals and medicines.

The country’s main trading partners are France, Germany, Italy, Singapore, Japan, Taiwan and Cote d’Ivoire. The country’s balance of trade remained negative in 2016.

Foreign policy: Burkina Faso’s political leadership is focused on the security of external borders and economic diplomacy aimed at obtaining financial assistance from leading Western countries and Taiwan, and attracting FDI from its traditional partners so as to cover its own lack of funds and chronic budget deficit.

One of its priorities is to strengthen ties with neighbouring countries. Burkina Faso is a member of the African Union (AU), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA). It supports their policy on promoting regional integration.

Burkina Faso maintains relations with all EU countries and seeks to expand its links with countries in the Middle East and Asia.

Particular attention is paid to France, as Burkina Faso’s former parent state. Some 700,000 French armed forces, who take part in the anti-insurgent Operation Barkhane, are deployed in the country. French companies feature prominently on the Burkinabe market.

Burkina Faso adjusts its international positions to those of the African Union and regional organisations. Ouagadougou supports the idea of a multipolar democratic system of international relations and backs the leading role of the UN in maintaining peace and security in Africa.

Burkina Faso is a member of the Group of Five for the Sahel (G5 Sahel), which also includes Mauritania, Mali, Niger and Chad. The group was established to fight terrorism in Sub-Saharan Africa. Its members are creating a 5,000-strong force known as the G5 Sahel Force (FC-G5S) to fight armed groups and transnational crime.

Burkinabe military and police personnel are involved in UN and AU peacekeeping operations on Haiti and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali, Sudan’s Darfur and the Central African Republic, as well as in the ECOWAS operation in Guinea Bissau.

Relations between Russia and Burkina Faso have always been friendly.

On February 18, 2017, the foreign ministers of Russia and Burkina Faso exchanged greetings marking the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and Upper Volta.

Burkina Faso and Russia are promoting their political dialogue and their cooperation in international organisations. In 2000, the parties signed an intergovernmental agreement on visa-free travel for those with diplomatic and service passports. In 2003, the governments of Russia and Burkina Faso signed an agreement under which Russia wrote off Burkina Faso’s debts.

In 2006, the parties signed an intergovernmental agreement on military-technical cooperation. Rosoboronexport is currently negotiating the delivery of Russian weapons and military equipment to Burkina Faso.

In 2017, the Russian Ministry of Education and Science and the Burkina Faso Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in higher education.

During a recent visit by Burkina Faso’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Burkinabe Abroad Alpha Barry to Moscow, between February 19-20, 2017, a memorandum was signed on political consultations between the foreign ministries of both countries.

The deputies of Burkina Faso’s National Assembly have created a Friendship Group with Russia, which currently has 28 members.

Between October 14-18, 2017, President of the National Assembly Alassane Bala Sakandé attended the 137th Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly in St Petersburg

Russian companies are involved in developing gold mines in Burkina Faso, with their investment assessed at $713 million. Nord Gold, a Severstal subsidiary, is operating several mines in Burkina Faso, including Taparko (since 2007, $163 million in investment, some 650 jobs), Bissa (since 2015, $410 million in investment, around 600 jobs), and Bouly (since 2016, $140 million in investment, about 700 jobs).

In 2017, Russia approved three government scholarships for Burkina Faso citizens (one of them remains vacant).

Some 3,500 Burkina Faso citizens have graduated from Soviet/Russian universities. Around 300 of them have united to create the association of Burkina Faso alumni of former Soviet universities, which, in 2004, signed an agreement with the Peoples Friendship University of Russia (PFUR) Friends Association.

Russian is taught at Lycée Provincial Mollo Sanou (Bobo-Dioulasso).

The country has the Raduga (Rainbow) Association of Russian Women in Burkina Faso.

Vladimir Baikov, the Russian Ambassador to Cote d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso, presented his credentials on November 18, 2016.

The Honorary Consul of Russia in Burkina Faso, Anna Rachina-Coulibaly, received her consular patent on June 9, 2005.

Burkina Faso Ambassador to Russia Antoine Somdah presented his credentials on June 27, 2014.