Economy Overview
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. Two new mining projects were launched in 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. Burkina Faso experienced a severe drought in 2011, which decimated grazing land and decreased harvests, creating food insecurity and damaging the country's agricultural base.
Agriculture Products
cotton, peanuts, shea nuts, sesame, sorghum, millet, corn, rice, livestock
Industries
cotton lint, beverages, agricultural processing, soap, cigarettes, textiles, gold
Industrial Production Growth Rate
6.5% (2012 est.)country comparison to the world: 37
Labor Force
6.668 millioncountry comparison to the world: 64 note: a large part of the male labor force migrates annually to neighboring countries for seasonal employment (2007)
Unemployment Rate
77% (2004)country comparison to the world: 199
Population Below Poverty Line
46.7% (2009 est.)
Household Income or Consumption by Percentage Share
Lowest 10%: 2.9%
Highest 10%: 32.2% (2009 est.)
Distribution of Family Income Gini Index
39.5 (2007)country comparison to the world: 63 48.2 (1994)
Budget
Revenues: $2.5 billion
Expenditures: $2.846 billion (2012 est.)
Central Bank Discount Rate
4.25% (31 December 2010 est.)country comparison to the world: 86 4.25% (31 December 2009 est.)
Commercial Bank Prime Lending Rate
Stock of Narrow Money
$1.845 billion (31 December 2012 est.)country comparison to the world: 127 $1.56 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Stock of Broad Money
$3.91 billion (31 December 2012 est.)country comparison to the world: 134 $2.805 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Stock of Domestic Credit
$2.123 billion (31 December 2012 est.)country comparison to the world: 130 $1.705 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Market Value of Publicly Traded Shares
$NA
Reserves of Foreign Exchange and Gold
$1.025 billion (31 December 2012 est.)country comparison to the world: 132 $957 million (31 December 2011 est.)
Debt External
$2.607 billion (31 December 2012 est.)country comparison to the world: 139 $2.42 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Stock of Direct Foreign Investment at Home
Stock of Direct Foreign Investment Abroad
Exchange Rates
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar -510.53 (2012 est.) 471.87 (2011 est.) 495.28 (2010 est.) 472.19 (2009) 447.81 (2008)
