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Burkina Faso

Republic of Burkina Faso
In 1897 France conquered the area of today’s state. After the 1st World War the colony Upper Volta was founded and then became independent in 1960. In 1984 the country was named Burkina Faso.

Nature
Burkina Faso is situated on a plateau from which numerous monadnocks protrude. This is where the three springs of the Volta originate from. The largest part consists primarily of a dry savanna with only a few trees which is, however, increasingly being converted into agricultural land and made arable for food production and for the cultivation of cotton. In the southwest the vegetation becomes much denser in the transition zone to the wet savanna. That is why this region is an immigration area, especially by environmental refugees from the Central Plateau.

Climate
The climate is tropical and seasonally humid with a rainy and a dry period. During the dry period from November to April, the country is troubled by the Harmattan, a wind that transports lots of dry dust and sand causing droughts.

Burkina Faso is situated in West Africa

Burkina Faso is 274.000 km²
with a population of
13,5 million inhabitants.
The capital city is Ouagadougou.

The duration of the rain period and the frequency and amount of rain decreases from south to north: in the southwest from 1.000 to 1.300 mm, in the center 500 to 1.000 mm and in the northeast only very little rainfall.

Especially in the Northeast the amount of rain varies considerably. Cultivating farmland becomes more difficult and even without droughts food shortages are possible.

State and population
As a centralized state the Republic is divided into 13 regions that consist of 45 provinces to which districts and villages are assigned as administrative units. The country is in a process of decentralization.

The population consists of 60 ethnical groups, the largest group being the Mossi with nearly 50%. The majority of the population is made up of subsistence farmers, i.e. the harvested crops are mostly for consumption by the farmers themselves. They basically grow millet and sorghum. More than 60% of the population have to live on less than 1 USD per day.

Development chances
The population has grown rapidly with an annual growth rate of 2,6%. Young people constitute a large part of the total population (basically because of the low life expectancy and the high birth rate). The majority of the population is extremely poor: the annual income per person amounts to 230 USD (tendency decreasing). Only one quarter of the population can read and write. Many people die of illnesses such as malaria, aids and tuberculosis. Droughts, desertification and migration from the country determine the survival of especially the rural population.

With these preconditions the country only has little chance of developing. Burkina Faso is a stagnating LIC (Low Income Country) and will in the long run be stuck in the poverty trap – strong population growth and destruction of natural resources.

Economic growth at the expense of an environment essentially necessary for survival
The current economic growth of more than 4% consists mainly of the booming cotton cultivation. But since the cultivation methods applied accelerate desertification, the costs for the environment will by far exceed the use for society – especially for future generations.

Only little chances for the young people
Due to mass media young people can compare their situation with the way of life in the rich world.

Especially in towns the group of unsatisfied people is increasing and is easily susceptible to simple explanations, concepts of someone or something that evokes feelings of hatred and fear, hatred and violence. Young people (males) without any perspectives are the ideal basis for violence and fights that can even result in a civil war (see Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast).

Ouagadougou is still a peaceful and pulsating city, but the extremely high unemployment rate amongst young people is a huge problem.

International Cooperation
A large part of the government budget of Burkina Faso is financed by development aid. In 2005 the country was granted aid of about 380 million EUR (44% of the state’s expenses).

Apart from the bilateral donors (amongst others France, Holland, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland), the European Union and the World Bank are to biggest individual donors.
 

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