]! ^! 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. 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. 
]" ^" Western Africa, north of Ghana ^# 13 00 N, 2 00 W ^$ Africa ^% `! 274,200 sq km `" 273,800 sq km `# 400 sq km ^& slightly larger than Colorado ^' `! 3,193 km `U Benin 306 km, Cote d'Ivoire 584 km, Ghana 549 km, Mali 1,000 km, Niger 628 km, Togo 126 km ^( 0 km (landlocked) ^) none (landlocked) ^* tropical; warm, dry winters; hot, wet summers ^+ mostly flat to dissected, undulating plains; hills in west and southeast ^, `% Mouhoun (Black Volta) River 200 m `& Tena Kourou 749 m ^- manganese, limestone, marble; small deposits of gold, phosphates, pumice, salt ^. `' 14.43% `( 0.19% `) 85.38% (2001) ^/ 250 sq km (1998 est.) ^0 recurring droughts ^1 recent droughts and desertification severely affecting agricultural activities, population distribution, and the economy; overgrazing; soil degradation; deforestation _J `K Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands `L none of the selected agreements ^2 landlocked savanna cut by the three principal rivers of the Black, Red, and White Voltas 
]# ^3 13,925,313 note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2005 est.) ^4 `* 46% (male 3,213,436/female 3,193,253) `+ 51.2% (male 3,487,201/female 3,635,673) `, 2.8% (male 164,418/female 231,332) (2005 est.) ^5 `! 16.82 years `- 16.43 years `. 17.22 years (2005 est.) ^6 2.53% (2005 est.) ^7 44.17 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^8 18.86 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^9 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^: `/ 1.03 male(s)/female `0 1.01 male(s)/female `+ 0.96 male(s)/female `, 0.71 male(s)/female `1 0.97 male(s)/female (2005 est.) ^; `! 97.57 deaths/1,000 live births `- 105.55 deaths/1,000 live births `. 89.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) ^< `1 48.45 years `- 46.96 years `. 49.99 years (2005 est.) ^= 6.23 children born/woman (2005 est.) ^> 4.2% (2003 est.) ^? 300,000 (2003 est.) ^@ 29,000 (2003 est.) __ degree of risk: very high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne disease: malaria is a high risk in some locations water contact disease: schistosomiasis respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis (2004) ^A `2 Burkinabe (singular and plural) `3 Burkinabe ^B Mossi over 40%, Gurunsi, Senufo, Lobi, Bobo, Mande, Fulani ^C indigenous beliefs 40%, Muslim 50%, Christian (mainly Roman Catholic) 10% ^D French (official), native African languages belonging to Sudanic family spoken by 90% of the population ^E `M age 15 and over can read and write `1 26.6% `- 36.9% `. 16.6% (2003 est.) 
]$ ^F `4 none `5 Burkina Faso `X Upper Volta, Republic of Upper Volta ^H parliamentary republic ^I Ouagadougou ^J 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, Namentenga, Nahouri, Nayala, Noumbiel, Oubritenga, Oudalan, Passore, Poni, Sanguie, Sanmatenga, Seno, Sissili, Soum, Sourou, Tapoa, Tuy, Yagha, Yatenga, Ziro, Zondoma, Zoundweogo ^K 5 August 1960 (from France) ^L Republic Day, 11 December (1958) ^M 2 June 1991 approved by referendum, 11 June 1991 formally adopted; amended April 2000 ^N based on French civil law system and customary law ^O universal ^P `6 President Blaise COMPAORE (since 15 October 1987) `7 Prime Minister Ernest Paramanga YONLI (since 6 November 2000) `8 Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister `9 president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 15 November 1998 (next to be held NA 2005); in April 2000, the constitution was amended reducing the presidential term from seven to five years, enforceable as of 2005, and allowing the president to be reelected only once; it is unclear whether this amendment will be applied retroactively or not; prime minister appointed by the president with the consent of the legislature `: Blaise COMPAORE reelected president with 87.5% percent of the vote ^Q unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (111 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) `9 National Assembly election last held 5 May 2002 (next to be held May 2007) `: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - CDP 57, RDA-ADF 17, PDP/PS 10, CFD 5, PAI 5, others 17 ^R Supreme Court; Appeals Court ^S African Democratic Rally-Alliance for Democracy and Federation or RDA-ADF [Herman YAMEOGO]; Confederation for Federation and Democracy or CFD [Amadou Diemdioda DICKO]; Congress for Democracy and Progress or CDP [Roch Marc-Christian KABORE]; Movement for Tolerance and Progress or MTP [Nayabtigungou Congo KABORE]; Party for African Independence or PAI [Philippe OUEDRAOGO]; Party for Democracy and Progress or PDP [Joseph KI-ZERBO]; Socialist Party or PS [leader NA]; Union of Greens for the Development of Burkina Faso or UVDB [Ram OVEDRAGO] ^T Burkinabe General Confederation of Labor or CGTB; Burkinabe Movement for Human Rights or MBDHP; Group of 14 February; National Confederation of Burkinabe Workers or CNTB; National Organization of Free Unions or ONSL; watchdog/political action groups throughout the country in both organizations and communities ^U ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OIC, ONUB, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOCI, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO ^V `N Ambassador Tertius ZONGO `O 2340 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 `P [1] (202) 332-5577 `Q [1] (202) 667-1882 ^W `N Ambassador Anthony HOLMES `Z 602 Avenue Raoul Follereau, Koulouba, Secteur 4 `[ 01 B. P. 35, Ouagadougou 01; pouch mail - U. S. Department of State, 2440 Ouagadougou Place, Washington, DC 20521-2440 `P [226] 306723 `Q [226] 303890 ^X two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a yellow five-pointed star in the center; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia 
]% ^Y One of the poorest countries in the world, landlocked Burkina Faso has few natural resources and a weak industrial base. About 90% of the population is engaged in subsistence agriculture, which is vulnerable to harsh climatic conditions. Cotton is the key crop and the government has joined with other cotton producing countries in the region to lobby for improved access to Western markets. GDP growth has largely been driven by increases in world cotton prices. Industry remains dominated by unprofitable government-controlled corporations. Following the African franc currency devaluation in January 1994 the government updated its development program in conjunction with international agencies; exports and economic growth have increased. The government devolved macroeconomic policy and inflation targeting to the West African regional central bank (BCEAO), but maintains control over microeconomic policies, including reducing the trade deficit and implementing reforms to encourage private investment. The bitter internal crisis in neighboring Cote d'Ivoire continues to hurt trade and industrial prospects and deepens the need for international assistance. ^Z $15.74 billion (2004 est.) ^[ 4.8% (2004 est.) ^\ purchasing power parity - $1,200 (2004 est.) ^] `; 39.5% `< 19.3% `= 41.3% (2004 est.) ^^ 5 million note: a large part of the male labor force migrates annually to neighboring countries for seasonal employment (2003) ^_ agriculture 90% (2000 est.) ^` NA% ^a 45% (2003 est.) _! `> 2% `? 46.8% (1994) _d 48.2 (1994) _" 2.4% (2004 est.) _P 29.1% of GDP (2004 est.) _# `@ $695.2 million `A $876.3 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) _$ cotton, peanuts, shea nuts, sesame, sorghum, millet, corn, rice; livestock _% cotton lint, beverages, agricultural processing, soap, cigarettes, textiles, gold _& 14% (2001 est.) _' 361 million kWh (2002) _( 335.7 million kWh (2002) _) 0 kWh (2002) _* 0 kWh (2002) _+ 0 bbl/day (2001 est.) _, 8,000 bbl/day (2001 est.) _- NA _. NA _X $-471.7 million (2004 est.) _/ $418.6 million f.o.b. (2004 est.) _0 cotton, livestock, gold _1 China 32.1%, Singapore 11.5%, Ghana 4.7%, Bangladesh 4.3% (2004) _2 $866.3 million f.o.b. (2004 est.) _3 capital goods, foodstuffs, petroleum _4 France 29.3%, Cote d'Ivoire 16%, Togo 9.8% (2004) _Y $474.9 million (2004 est.) _5 $1.3 billion (2000) _6 $484.1 million (1995) _7 Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States _8 Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000) _9 calendar year 
]& _: 65,400 (2003) _; 227,000 (2003) _< `B all services only fair `C microwave radio relay, open-wire, and radiotelephone communication stations `D country code - 226; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) _= AM 3, FM 17, shortwave 3 (2002) _> 1 (2002) _? .bf _@ 442 (2003) _A 48,000 (2003) 
]' _e `! 622 km `c 622 km 1.000-m gauge note:: another 660 km of this railway extends into Cote D'Ivoire (2004) _B `! 12,506 km `E 2,001 km `F 10,505 km (1999) _D 33 (2004 est.) _E `! 2 `] 1 `G 1 (2004 est.) _L `! 31 `^ 3 `_ 11 `T 17 (2004 est.) 
]( _F Army, Air Force, National Gendarmerie (2005) _M 18 years of age for compulsory military service; 20 years of age for voluntary military service (2001) _] males age 18-49: 2,664,572 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 1,323,548 (2005 est.) _N $64.2 million (2004) _O 1.3% (2004) 
]) _H two villages are in dispute along the border with Benin; Benin accuses Burkina Faso of moving boundary pillars; Burkina Faso border regions remain a staging area for Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire rebels and an asylum for refugees caught in local fighting; the Ivoirian Government accuses Burkina Faso of sheltering Ivoirian rebels 