Burkina Faso
Type of Government: Parliamentary Republic
Independence: 1960 from France
Head of State: President Blaise Compaore (since October 15, 1987)
2007/2008 UN Development Index ranking (out of 177 countries): 176
2007 TI Corruption Perception Index (out of 179): 105
Political Development: Repeated military coups during the 1970s and 1980s were followed by multiparty elections in the early 1990s. The current president came to power in a 1987 military coup and has won every election since then. He has also been questioned in the deaths of some of his leading political and journalistic opponents.
Adult HIV Rate: 4.2%
Life Expectancy: 49.21
GDP: $5.886 billion
Inflation: 2.3%
Poverty: 46.4%
Petroleum: N/A
Leading Export Partner: China (41.9%)
Economic Note: About 90% of the population is engaged in subsistence agriculture. The main cash crop is cotton and the country’s economic success is usually tied to the price of cotton on the world market. The government has joined with other cotton producing countries in the region – Mali, Niger, and Chad – to lobby for improved access to Western markets.
