In this page: Economic Indicators | Foreign Trade in Figures | Sources of General Economic Information | Political Outline | COVID-19 Country Response
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In recent years, Burkina Faso experienced strong economic growth, driven by gold and cotton production. However, the coronavirus crisis and then political and security issues negatively impacted this dynamic. After recovering from the pandemic in 2021 (reaching 6.9%), GDP growth slowed down to 2.5% in 2022 due to political uncertainty and deteriorating security conditions (IMF revised estimates). A rebound is expected in 2023 (4.8%) and 2024 (5.2%) with the opening of new mines and efforts to improve security conditions (IMF).
In 2022, the economic recovery was interrupted by two military coups, justified by its perpetrators by the government's inability to contain the jihadist insurgency. In addition, rising food prices as a result of the war in Ukraine worsened the food crisis and weighed on the budget. Inflation increased from 3.9% in 2021 to 14.2% in 2022, and it is expected to fall to 1.5% in 2023 and 1% in 2024 due to declining global oil and food prices (IMF). High current transfers and investment in security-related equipment have contributed to the widening of the fiscal deficit from 7.5% GDP in 2021 to 10.3% GDP in 2022 (IMF). Overall fiscal deficit is expected to remain large in 2023 (around 8% GDP), due to elevated security spending and subsidies (IMF). The deficit will be financed by bilateral and multilateral loans, international grants and recourse to the regional bond market (Coface). Public debt increased from 52.4% GDP in 2021 to 59.6% GDP in 2022, and is expected to decrease marginally to 59.3% GDP in 2023 and 58.5% GDP in 2024 (IMF). The 2023 budget is mainly focused on strengthening security, through the deployment of 3,000 additional soldiers and the purchase of new military equipment (Coface) ; and addressing the substantial social needs related to the humanitarian crisis. In February 2023, IMF staff and the Burkinabé authorities have reached a staff-level agreement for about USD 80 million in emergency financing through the IMF’s Food Shock Window of the Rapid Credit Facility. This agreement will help support measures to provide urgent assistance to households in acute food insecurity conditions (IMF). Besides, the National plan for economic and social development is channelling public investments in road infrastructures and construction. Burkina Faso's economy is hampered by its faulty infrastructure, including electrical infrastructure. The country is also vulnerable to the volatility of oil import prices as well as gold and cotton prices. In the medium term, the country will have to modernize its public affairs management, readjust public finances, reform the financial system and improve the business climate. Burkina Faso is considered to have a high risk of over-indebtedness, as it is extremely dependent on foreign aid.
According to the World Bank, more than 40% of the population still lives below the poverty line of USD 1.25 a day. In recent years, the country has made considerable progress in the area of education. Nevertheless, insecurity and terrorism are taking a heavy toll in several regions of the country, negatively affecting the education sector. More than 1.5 million persons have been internally displaced, 2.6 million people are in acute food insecurity and by May 2022, more than 16% of educational institutions were closed because of the insecure environment (World Bank, IMF). In 2021, the unemployment rate in the country was at 5.2% (ILO estimate).
Main Indicators | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 (E) | 2023 (E) | 2024 (E) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
GDP (billions USD) | 17.96 | 19.75 | 19.57 | 21.08 | 22.65 |
GDP (Constant Prices, Annual % Change) | 1.9 | 6.9 | 2.5 | 4.9 | 5.9 |
GDP per Capita (USD) | 834 | 892 | 860 | 900 | 941 |
General Government Gross Debt (in % of GDP) | 44.9 | 48.2 | 54.3 | 58.0 | 60.2 |
Inflation Rate (%) | 1.9 | 3.9 | 14.1 | 1.5 | 2.3 |
Current Account (billions USD) | 0.74 | -0.08 | -1.01 | -0.76 | -0.62 |
Current Account (in % of GDP) | 4.1 | -0.4 | -5.2 | -3.6 | -2.7 |
Source: IMF – World Economic Outlook Database , Latest available data
Note: (e) Estimated Data
The economy of Burkina Faso is mainly based on agriculture, but the country is Africa's 5th largest producer of gold. The agricultural sector accounted for an estimated 17.5% of Burkina Faso’s GDP in 2021. About 26% of the population is engaged in subsistence farming and cotton is the main cash crop (World Bank). Other cash crops are groundnuts, shea nuts and sesame. Staple crops are pearl millet, sorghum, maize, and rice.
The industrial sector is dominated by State-owned corporations, and contributed to 32% of GDP in 2021. It employs 25% of the total workforce of the country (World Bank). Gold accounts for 77% of the country’s total exports (Comtrade), thus making Burkina Faso really sensitive to the fluctuations in the price of this commodity.
The services sector accounted 42.1% of the GDP in 2021, and employed 49% of the total workforce - almost 30% of these jobs were generated in the financial system. The banking sector – which is very dense, with the three largest banks holding almost 60% of total financial sector assets, is one of the economy’s pillars.
Breakdown of Economic Activity By Sector | Agriculture | Industry | Services |
---|---|---|---|
Employment By Sector (in % of Total Employment) | 26.2 | 25.2 | 48.6 |
Value Added (in % of GDP) | 17.5 | 32.0 | 42.1 |
Value Added (Annual % Change) | -5.8 | 8.7 | 10.6 |
Source: World Bank - Latest available data.
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Monetary Indicators | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
CFA Franc BCEAO (XOF) - Average Annual Exchange Rate For 1 MUR | 16.68 | 16.88 | 16.38 | 16.50 | 14.63 |
Source: World Bank - Latest available data.
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The Economic freedom index measure ten components of economic freedom, grouped into four broad categories or pillars of economic freedom: Rule of Law (property rights, freedom from corruption); Limited Government (fiscal freedom, government spending); Regulatory Efficiency (business freedom, labour freedom, monetary freedom); and Open Markets (trade freedom, investment freedom, financial freedom). Each of the freedoms within these four broad categories is individually scored on a scale of 0 to 100. A country’s overall economic freedom score is a simple average of its scores on the 10 individual freedoms.
Economic freedom in the world (interactive map)
Source: Index of Economic Freedom, Heritage Foundation
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Burkina Faso is open to foreign trade which represents 59% of the country’s GDP (World bank, latest available data). As part of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), Burkina Faso has regulated its tariff structure. Goods produced in the Union are exempt from import tax. While customs duties (apart from oil) have been reduced from 200% to 43.8% (WTO), they continue to account for around 13% of total tax revenue (World Bank). However, internal and external crisis (in neighboring Mali), as well as the actions of radical groups in the Sahel, have had a negative impact on trade and the industrial outlook. The future railway linking Burkina Faso and Ghana is expected to strengthen trade between the two countries.
Gold is the greatest export (77.4% of its total exports). Burkina Faso is one of the largest exporters of cotton in West Africa, and its production of cotton has quadrupled in the past ten years. However, the commodity has seen its share in the exports decrease from 15.8% of total exports in 2016 to 9% in 2021 (Comtrade). The country’s main imports are petroleum oils (22.8%), vehicles (4.4%), drugs (4.2%), cement (4%), electrical energy (3.1%), and petroleum gas (2.5%). Burkina Faso mainly exports to Switzerland (72.7%), India (9.6%), Singapore (3.8%), Ivory Coast (3.6%), and Mali (1.6%); while imports come chiefly from China (13.9%), Ivory Coast (8.5%), France (7.8%), the USA (6.9%) and Ghana (5.9%) (Comtrade).
Burkina Faso’s trade balance is structurally negative, but trade deficit has been decreasing gradually over the past years due to increased gold and cotton exports and lower imports. The balance of trade turned positive during the pandemic due to reduced imports. According to WTO data, in 2021 exports of goods rose to USD 5.04 billion, while imports of goods increased to USD 4.61 billion. Services exports generated USD 573 million while services imports cost the country USD 1.51 billion (WTO). In 2022, trade deficit amounted to FCFA 640.4 billion (INSD).
Foreign Trade Indicators | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Imports of Goods (million USD) | 3,895 | 4,301 | 4,284 | 4,117 | 4,614 |
Exports of Goods (million USD) | 2,875 | 3,254 | 3,239 | 4,372 | 5,043 |
Imports of Services (million USD) | 1,354 | 1,497 | 1,455 | 1,572 | 1,508 |
Exports of Services (million USD) | 456 | 507 | 491 | 413 | 573 |
Imports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) | 10.1 | 8.5 | 8.6 | n/a | n/a |
Exports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) | 8.5 | 15.2 | -1.9 | n/a | n/a |
Imports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) | 32.8 | 32.5 | 31.0 | n/a | n/a |
Exports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) | 26.5 | 28.1 | 27.6 | n/a | n/a |
Trade Balance (million USD) | -5 | 290 | 366 | 1,330 | n/a |
Trade Balance (Including Service) (million USD) | -898 | -656 | -555 | 577 | n/a |
Foreign Trade (in % of GDP) | 59.3 | 60.6 | 58.7 | n/a | n/a |
Source: WTO – World Trade Organisation ; World Bank , Latest Available Data
Main Customers (% of Exports) |
2021 |
---|---|
Switzerland | 72.7% |
India | 9.6% |
Singapore | 3.8% |
Ivory Coast | 3.6% |
Mali | 1.6% |
See More Countries | 8.7% |
Main Suppliers (% of Imports) |
2021 |
---|---|
China | 13.9% |
Ivory Coast | 8.5% |
France | 7.8% |
United States | 6.9% |
Ghana | 5.9% |
See More Countries | 57.1% |
Source: Comtrade, Latest Available Data
Source: Comtrade, Latest Available Data
To go further, check out our service Import Export Flows.
0.6 bn USD of services exported in 2018 | |
---|---|
21.79% | |
Personal travelPersonal travel | 13.19% |
Business travelBusiness travel | 8.60% |
20.57% | |
16.30% | |
14.38% | |
10.57% | |
9.02% | |
5.76% | |
1.44% | |
0.15% | |
0.01% |
1.4 bn USD of services imported in 2018 | |
---|---|
49.50% | |
10.06% | |
9.81% | |
8.37% | |
Personal travelPersonal travel | 5.08% |
Business travelBusiness travel | 3.29% |
7.79% | |
7.05% | |
5.18% | |
1.79% | |
0.42% | |
0.03% |
Source: United Nations Statistics Division, Latest Available Data
The world rankings, published annually, measures violations of press freedom worldwide. It reflects the degree of freedom enjoyed by journalists, the media and digital citizens of each country and the means used by states to respect and uphold this freedom. Finally, a note and a position are assigned to each country. To compile this index, Reporters Without Borders (RWB) prepared a questionnaire incorporating the main criteria (44 in total) to assess the situation of press freedom in a given country. This questionnaire was sent to partner organisations,150 RWB correspondents, journalists, researchers, jurists and human rights activists. It includes every kind of direct attacks against journalists and digital citizens (murders, imprisonment, assault, threats, etc.) or against the media (censorship, confiscation, searches and harassment etc.).
The Indicator of Political Freedom provides an annual evaluation of the state of freedom in a country as experienced by individuals. The survey measures freedom according to two broad categories: political rights and civil liberties. The ratings process is based on a checklist of 10 political rights questions (on Electoral Process, Political Pluralism and Participation, Functioning of Government) and 15 civil liberties questions (on Freedom of Expression, Belief, Associational and Organizational Rights, Rule of Law, Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights). Scores are awarded to each of these questions on a scale of 0 to 4, where a score of 0 represents the smallest degree and 4 the greatest degree of rights or liberties present. The total score awarded to the political rights and civil liberties checklist determines the political rights and civil liberties rating. Each rating of 1 through 7, with 1 representing the highest and 7 the lowest level of freedom, corresponds to a range of total scores.
Political freedom in the world (interactive map)
Source: Freedom in the World Report, Freedom House
Regularly updated travel information for all countries with regards to Covid-19 related entry regulations, flight bans, test requirements and quarantine is available on TravelDoc Infopage.
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You can also consult the World Bank's Map of SME-Support Measures in Response to COVID-19.
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Latest Update: September 2023