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Overview
Burkina Faso shares the same highly prospective Birimian geology that underlies Ghana, Mali, Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire, Senegal and Niger in West Africa. Particularly, Ghana, Mali and Guinea have all delivered several world class deposits. The levels of exploration seen early on in the aforementioned countries is only now being achieved, primarily due to the adoption of more investor friendly legislation and fiscal incentives that facilitated the successful discovery of world class deposits.
This exploration effort has led to several projects being developed in the country. These include Iamgold's Essakane mine, High River Gold's Taparko-Boroum complex, Semafo's Mana mine, Etruscan's Youga mine, Avocet's Inata mine, Cluff Gold's Kalsaka mine and AIM Resources' Perkoa zinc mine.
These aforementioned developments have attracted equipment suppliers and service providers to expand their operations from Ghana and Mali, expanding the capacity to support mining projects in the country. Burkina Faso is renowned in francophone West Africa for the quality of the mining professionals that have initially trained in Ouagadougou before obtaining higher qualifications in Europe and North Africa.
Burkina Faso has a stable democratic government and despite facing tough economic challenges, it enjoys significant infrastructure improvements, economic growth, security and stability. The mining industry has the real opportunity to contribute to and enhance sustained economic growth, potentially overtaking traditional agricultural exports like cotton in earning foreign exchange.
Quick Facts
| Surface: |
274,200 sq. km; about the size of Colorado |
| Population: |
16.8 million (July 2011 est.) |
| Population density: |
61 inhabitants per sq. km |
| Constitution: |
multiparty republic with one legislative body |
| Head of State: |
The President, HE Blaise Compaore since December 1987 |
| Official language: |
French |
| Other languages: |
Moore, Dioula, others |
| Currency: |
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFA) valued at XOF 480 = US$1 (2011) |
| GDP: |
US$20.06 billion (2010 est.) |
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Location
Burkina Faso is surrounded by Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, Niger and Togo. Ouagadougou is the capital.
Geography
A landlocked country located in the middle of West Africa, Burkina Faso is geographically placed in the Sahel - the agricultural region between the Sahara Desert and the coastal rain forests. Most of central Burkina Faso lies on a savanna plateau, 200 meters-300 meters (650 ft.-1,000 ft.) above sea level, with fields, brush, and scattered trees. The largest river is the Mouhoun (formerly Black Volta)
Climate
Annual average rainfall varies from about 100 centimeters in the south to less than 25 centimeters in the north and northeast, where hot desert winds accentuate the dryness of the region. The cooler season, November to February, is pleasantly warm, dry and dusty, with cool evenings. March-June can be very hot. In July-September, the rains bring a three-month cooler and greener humid season.
Population
Islam makes up the largest religious denomination at over 55%, followed by Christianity at 25% and by traditional religions at 20%. 63 ethnic groups exists, among which are Mossi (almost half of the total population), Bobo, Mande, Lobi, Fulani, Gourounsi, and Senufo.
Economy
Burkina Faso's natural resources are comprised of manganese, gold, limestone, marble, phosphate. Agriculture is focused on cotton, millet, sorghum, rice, livestock, peanuts and maize, with industry focused on mining, agricultural processing, brewing, bottling and light industry. Cotton is the main cash crop and the government has joined with three other cotton producing countries in the region - Mali, Niger, and Chad - to lobby for improved access to Western markets.
Important Cities & their population
| Ouagadougou: |
1,777,000 (the capital) |
| Bobo-Dioulasso: |
460,000 |
| Koudougou: |
91,400 |
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Transportation
| Road: |
about 92,000 km of road, 3,800 of which are paved |
| Rail: |
622 km |
| Air: |
Ouagadougou international airport, served by Air Burkina, Aeroflot, Air Algerie, Air France, SN Brussels, Air Ivoire, Air Senegal and Ethiopian Airlines amongst others. |
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