Burkina Faso
By Taylor and Megan
History
- Gained independence in 1960 and went through 5 military coups until 1984, when its name changed from Upper Volta, to Burkina Faso
- A new constitution was introduced in 1991
- The president, Compaore, resigned in 2014 and a new president will be elected this year.
- Burkina Faso means "Land of Incorruptile People"
- Mossi people make up over half of the population. 8% is Fulani
- French is the official language of the country; also local languages such as Moore and Dioula more in the country side
- Known as the African capital of cinema
- Music and playing instrument is very popular
Location
274,200 sq. kilometers
Surrounded by Mali, Niger, Benin, Togo, Ghana and Ivory Coast.
Geography
- Located on the southern fringes of the Sahara Desert
- Mostly wide, flat plain with hillier land in the west and far southeast
- Highest point is 2,451 ft. Lowest is 656 ft.
- Two rivers flow year round-black Volta and Komoe
- Also has lakes and ponds
- Tropical, warm. Dry winters, wet summers
Life
- Iife expectancy at birth is 56.34%
- Infant mortality rate (per 1000 children) 66
- Under 5 years old mortality rate (per 1000 children) 102
- Adult mortality (1000 female) 236 (1000 male) 298
Education
- Mean years of schooling; 1.25
- Adult literacy rate (Ages 15 and up) 28.7%
- Pupil to teacher ratio; 48
- Education is divided by primary, secondary and higher education
- Secondary costs approx CFA 80,000 ($166 USD) a year which is too expensive for the majority of families
Boys receive preference over girls in schooling, so they tend to have a higher literacy rate than girls
Higher education such as the University of Ouagadougou
- GDP-$30.08 billion in 2014
- $711.00 per capita
- HDI .3888
- Leading cotton producers
- increased importance of gold
- Implementation of structural reforms
- economy highly exposed to climatic vagaries
- Landlocked country
- Vulnerability to chances in cotton and gold prices
♫ Burkina Faso National Anthem ♫
The country program (CP) helps feed school children in the region. It also is a nutritional and food assistance to undernourished people living with HIV in Burkina Faso. Protracted relief and recovery operation was designed to the chronically high levels of malnutrition. Regional emergency operation has provided refugees with a monthly ration. Many other programs were put in place to help Burkina Faso.