Tag: Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso covers an area of 274.4 thousand km² in the center of West Africa and has no access to the ocean. The main part of the country is located in the savannahs of the Sudanese zone, which in the north passes into the Sahel, adjacent to the Sahara, and in the south – into…

According to indexdotcom, the ruins of the approximately 1000 year old fortifications are located in the south of Burkina Faso. They are testimony to the centuries-old Trans-Saharan gold trade. The stone walls at Loropéni are part of a group of ten fortifications that have not all been explored. Loropéni Ruins: Facts Official title: Loropéni ruins…

A regional program of the Civil Peace Service (CPS) deals with conflicts over the use of natural resources in the course of cross-border transhumance. The following programs and projects are currently running: Rural development Food security and strengthening resilience Protection against erosion, reclamation and valorisation of degraded areas Agricultural development Sustainable infrastructure Support for the…

Foreign trade The volume of foreign trade more than doubled between 2010 and 2017. The trade balance is chronically deficient. Due to the low inflow of private capital, Burkina Faso closes the funding gap mainly through bilateral and multilateral grants and loans. The main trading partner for exports is Switzerland by a large margin ahead…

Since 1991 Burkina Faso has followed several macroeconomic programs developed with the IMF. The financial system has therefore been subject to the “Plan de renforcement de la gestion budgétaire” (PRGB) for the past 15 years, a strict reform package whose implementation is generally viewed as positive. In 2003/04 the program was revised and in 2007…

Industrial production The share of the secondary sector in GDP is 19%. This sector is still largely characterized by state enterprises (electricity and water) and the construction sector. The telecommunications company ONATEL was 49% privatized in 2006. Food processing, assembly of mopeds and beverage manufacturing are other industries. In addition, the informal area, which is…

Communication The post In the capital there is at least one post office in every centrally located district. Stamps are also available in hotels. There are post offices in all major cities. Mail is not delivered by postman; it is sent to mailboxes rented by the recipient. In rural areas where there is no post…

According to eningbo, Burkina Faso is an agricultural country. More than 80% of the population live and work in rural areas. Overall, the primary sector (agriculture, livestock, fisheries and forestry) contributes 30 to 35% of GDP. It is the main source of income in the country. The agricultural sector has potential, the exploitation of which…

Sports The province of Sourou is the stronghold of the ” Lutte traditionnelle “, a centuries-old wrestling match that is widespread in West Africa. Competitions are held annually in Tougan and Toma. National heavyweight champion (over 100 kg) was, for example, on May 4th 2014 Alfred Zan Bani, who is also called “the thunder of…

With extremely unfavorable economic conditions, Burkina Faso remains in the very bottom place in all country comparisons. A rudimentary agriculture and a lack of industry leave the population in poverty. The government is betting on economic growth and trying to make progress in the fight against poverty through acceleration programs. GDP: US $ 15.75 billion (2019)…

In addition to hosting FESPACO as the largest African film festival, Burkina Faso itself has produced internationally renowned filmmakers. Among other things, the films “Wend Kuuni” and “Buud Yam” by the film pioneer Gaston Kaboré as well as “Tilai” by Idrissa Ouedraogo († 18.02.2018) received several great awards, also in Cannes. The films mostly deal…

According to naturegnosis, Burkina Faso is a member of all major regional organizations such as ECOWAS, UEMOA, CEN-SAD and AU (African Union) and has repeatedly hosted international summits. Ouagadougou is the seat of UEMOA and CILSS. Diplomatic relations The reliance on France, good relations with western donor countries of the EU and loyalty to the…

Music as an aesthetic sound experience has only been known in Burkina Faso since the 20th century. Music traditionally has its seat in cultic or sacred life. Stories were sung by griots. The balafon, tuned in pentatonic, with up to 21 bars is widespread in the west of Burkina Faso, especially among the Senufo (immatricial…

Human rights The Burkinabe human rights movement MBDHP (Mouvement burkinabè des droits de l’homme et des peuples) regularly publishes reports on human rights in Burkina Faso. Here MBDHP draws attention to the brutal procedures inside the walls of police stations and the illegal situation of prisoners and complains about extrajudicial executions. The report points to…

FESPACO The most famous and globally recognized major cultural event in Burkina Faso are the film festival “Festival Panafricain du Cinéma et de la Télévision de Ouagadougou”, the FESPACO. These have taken place in Ouagadougou every two years since 1969. They are seen as the “showcase” of African cinema. The 25th edition of FESPACO took…

Print and online media Over 30 newspapers appear in Burkina Faso, around half of which can also be read online. The media language is French. There are also magazines in local languages. Daily press: L’Observateur Paalga (up to 10,000 copies) Le Pays (liberal, 3,000 copies) Sidwaya (state, 3,000 copies) L’Express du Faso (Bobo-Dioulasso, 1,500 copies)…

Marriage law and women’s rights From the perspective of modern living standards, the traditional rural life of a woman in Burkina Faso is unimaginably hard. Not only poverty and ignorance but also constraints imposed by tradition prevent women from creating relief for themselves and standing up for their rights. Often they stand in their own…

Elections and Political Participation The constitution guarantees all citizens the appointment of representatives of the people through direct, general, equal and free elections. Active and passive voting rights are guaranteed. Political and civil society groups can form freely. Elections are organized and carried out in Burkina Faso by the Commission électorale nationale indépendante (CENI). The…

Ethnic groups The population of Burkina Faso is made up of around 60 different ethnic groups. In terms of numbers, the Mossi dominate with a share of over 40%. Other important groups are the Peul (Fulbe), Lobi, Bobo, Senufo, Gurunsi, Gourmantché, Bissa, Sanan, Kurumba. Mooré (the language of the Mossi), Dioula in the west and…

Form of government, constitution and separation of powers Burkina Faso is, according to the 1991 constitution, from October 31. – 15.11.2014 was overruled by a military government, a secular presidential republic with a multi-party system. The president is directly elected as head of state every five years and has far-reaching powers. The president appoints the…

According to homosociety, Burkina Faso has a very colorful civil society landscape, which even during the Compaoré regime flourished largely free from the influence of the president and the ruling unity party and which contributed to a large extent to the overthrow of Blaise Compaoré. The numerous active organizations have so far been able to…

Elections on November 29th, 2015 – Roch Marc Christian Kaboré elected President Because of the attempted coup in September 2015 and the turbulent events that followed it, a new date for the presidential and parliamentary elections had to be set. The Constitutional Council put the elections on November 29, 2015. The list of 14 candidates…

The coup During a Council of Ministers meeting on September 16, 2015, President Kafando, Prime Minister Zida and two ministers from the former Presidential Guard (RSP) were taken hostage. On 17.09. the putschists set up a ” National Council for Democracy “. The leader of this military junta was General Gilbert Diendéré, formerly one of…

Government under President Roch Kaboré On 29.12.2015 was Roch Marc Christian Kaboré as the new president of Burkina Faso in his office introduced. One day later, Salif Diallo († August 19, 2017) was elected President of Parliament. Paul Kaba Thieba has been appointed new Prime Minister by the President. The new cabinet was composed of…

The colonial rule of France led to degrading exploitation, but also created the structural conditions for today’s Burkina Faso as a modern state. In the past 55 years, military governments, democratic constitutions and a revolutionary council under Thomas Sankara have replaced each other. According to extrareference, a popular uprising was able to overcome the corrupt…

According to ethnicityology, Burkina Faso itself produced one of the greatest historians in Africa, Prof. Joseph Ki-Zerbo (1922-2006). He was not only a professor of African history in Ouagadougou, Orléans, Dakar and Paris, but also a pioneer of independence and a leading opposition politician until his death. His main work, the “History of Black Africa”,…

System stability The foundations of stability that Compaoré guaranteed seemed doubtful to the critical observers, since it was not a question of institutional stability, that is, based on the intra- and inter-organizational stability of democratic institutions. They had recognized that the state of Burkina Faso was not based on a division and balance of the…

1987 – 2014 The reign of Blaise Compaoré Blaise Compaoré came to the head of the state in a bloody coup on October 15, 1987 and remained head of state of the “Front Populaire” for four years. After the establishment of a new democratic constitution in 1991, Compaoré was elected president four times (1991, 1998,…

1960-1966: the first republic Maurice Yaméogo became the first president of the independent state of Upper Volta, which became a member of the United Nations on September 22, 1960. Besides the current president, he is the only non-military president elected who did not come to power through a military coup. According to ehealthfacts, Yaméogo was…

1958 – 1960 independence After the Second World War, the returnees, the ” Anciens Combattants “, became figures of transition. They owed their position, reputation and monthly pension to no traditional system, but to the colonial power of France, of which they were subjects. They were very disappointed not to be recognized as equal citizens…