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Sub Saharan Africa

Burkina Faso

 Flag of Burkina Faso

Last reviewed: 25 February 2009

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TRADE AND INVESTMENT

Development

Burkina Faso suffers from very widespread and severe poverty. The World Bank ranked Burkina Faso as the 13th poorest country in the world in 2002. The UNDP's 2005 Human Development Index ranked it at 175 out of 177 countries. Although modest improvements have been recorded in the socio-economic indicators, they remain low. Primary school enrolment improved from 26% in 1990/91 to 35% in 2002/02. (This compares with the average for sub-Saharan Africa of 59%.) But secondary school enrolment is very poor at only 8% in 2001/02. Health indicators are also poor. Life expectancy is 47.5 years.

From independence, Burkina had followed highly centralised statist economic policies. But reforms in the 1990s, including large-scale privatisation of parasatals, have brought sustained IMF support. Burkina Faso's 3-year IMF-sponsored Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility was successfully completed in September 2006. A further IMF PRGF was signed in April 2007. Burkina also receives substantial aid flows from other donors. France is the largest bilateral donor. In April 2002, Burkina Faso was the fourth African country to qualify for HIPC status, under the IMF-World Bank heavily indebted initiative. It received some US$930 million debt relief as a result.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)

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Contacts

Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou, British Honorary Consulate

Address:

Mr Patrick de La lande
Honorary Consulate of UK in Burkina Faso
01 BP 6490 Ouagadougou 01 BURKINA FASO

Based at ICI, Initiatives Conseil International
Impasse Thévenoud, 330
Secteur 01 of Ouagadougou

Telephone:

(226) 50 30 88 60

Fax:

(226) 50 31 25 43

Email: consulat-uk@fasonet.bf

Office hours:

 

Burkina Faso