An Introduction to Burkina Faso
Formerly known as the Republic of Upper Volta, the country was renamed Burkina Faso - meaning 'the land of the upright people' in 1984 by President Thomas Sankara. What is now central Burkina Faso was principally composed of Mossi kingdoms until these became a French protectorate in 1896. Independence in 1960 was followed by many governmental changes until arriving at its current form, a semi-presidential republic. See full country profile.Latest Research News from Africa
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GOVERNMENT: parliamentary republic
AREA: 274,200 sq km
POPULATION: 16,751,455 (July 2011 est.)
MAJOR LANGUAGE: Official Language: French; Recognised Regional Languages: Morã Dioula
Some business and general info
The Market Research Industry
Trade and Industry in Burkina Faso
One of the King's horsemen helped Yennenga to escape disguised as a man. During the escape her companion was killed and, left alone, she continued to ride north. Exhausted after a river crossing one night, her stallion took her in to a forest where she met a solitary elephant hunter called Riale. He saw through her disguise and soon they fell in love. They had a son named Ouedraogo, which means 'Stallion' and is even now a popular name in Burkina Faso.
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Formerly known as the Republic of Upper Volta, the country was renamed Burkina Faso - meaning 'the land of the upright people' in 1984 by President Thomas Sankara. What is now central Burkina Faso was principally composed of Mossi kingdoms until these became a French protectorate in 1896. Independence in 1960 was followed by many governmental changes until arriving at its current form, a semi-presidential republic.
On 15 October 1987 Sankara was killed in a coup d'ãtat organised by his former colleague, Blaise Compaorã, who blamed him for deteriorating relations with neighbouring countries and with France and reversed many of his major policies. Compaorã is now entering his 23rd year in power and is said to be 'immensely wealthy' while landlocked Burkina Faso ranks as the third least developed country in the world.
GDP: $19.99 billion (2010 est.) - $1,200 per capita (2010 est.)
Religions Muslim 60.5%, Catholic 19%, animist 15.3%, Protestant 4.2%, other 0.6%, none 0.4%
Currency: West African Franc (XOF) - $1 = 752 XOF
Telephone Code: +226
Research Industry
The West Africa Region (Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Cameroon, Ghana, Benin, Togo and Mali) had an MR industry turnover of $US 51m in 2010, up 10.8% on 2009.Agriculture, with livestock prominent, represents 32% of gross domestic product and occupies 80% of the working population. Other activity includes mining of copper, iron, manganese and gold. A large part of the economic activity of the country is funded by international aid. While services remain underdeveloped, the country has seen notable success in getting water to its people, led by state-owned utility ONEA.
China accounted for over 20% of export business in 2010, with other major partners including Singapore, Belgium, Ghana, Denmark, Niger and Thailand. Total value was $1.27bn and key commodities were cotton, livestock and gold. Imports - including capital goods, foodstuffs and petroleum - came mainly from Ivory Coast, France and Togo, and were worth $1.58bn.
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