#Upper volta once free#

The Congress for Democracy and Progress (CDP), the governing party, won overwhelming majorities in all the elections until the 2002 legislative election, where the CDP won with a small majority of the 111 seats.

#Upper volta once free#

Balloting was considered largely free and fair in all elections.

The legislature and judiciary are nominally independent but remain susceptible to executive influence.īurkina held multiparty municipal elections in 19 and legislative elections in 19. The government of the Fourth Republic includes a strong presidency, a prime minister, a Council of Ministers presided over by the president, a unicameral National Assembly, and the judiciary. The opposition did participate in the following year's legislative elections, in which the ruling party won a majority of seats. In December 1991, Compaore was elected President, running unopposed after the opposition boycotted the election. With Compaore alone at the helm, a democratic constitution was approved by referendum in 1991.

Work force: Agriculture-90% industry-2.1% commerce, services, and government-5.5%.

Languages: French (official), Moore, Dioula, others.

Religions: Traditional beliefs 20%, Muslim 55%, Christian 25%.

Ethnic groups: 63 ethnic groups among which are Mossi (almost half of the total population), Bobo, Mande, Lobi, Fulani, Gourounsi, and Senufo.

The Polytechnical University in Bobo-Dioulasso was opened in 1995.

The University of Ouagadougou, founded in 1974, was the country's first institution of higher education.

Schooling is in theory free and compulsory until the age of 16, but only about 44% of Burkina's primary school-age children are enrolled in primary school due to actual costs of school supplies and school fees and to opportunity costs of sending a child who could earn money for the family to school. Workers and civil servants generally have the right to organize unions, engage in collective bargaining, and strike for better pay and working conditions. Christians, both Roman Catholics and Protestants, comprise about 25% of the population, with their largest concentration in urban areas.įemale genital mutilation, child labor, child trafficking, and social exclusion of accused sorcerers remain serious problems, although the government has taken steps in recent years to combat these phenomena. The introduction of Islam to Burkina Faso was initially resisted by the Mossi rulers. A plurality of Burkinabe are Muslim, but most also adhere to traditional African religions. These flows of workers are obviously affected by external events the September 2002 coup attempt in Côte d'Ivoire and the ensuing fighting there have meant that hundreds of thousands of Burkinabe returned to Burkina Faso. This population density, high for Africa, causes migrations of hundreds of thousands of Burkinabe to Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, many for seasonal agricultural work. Most of Burkina's people are concentrated in the south and center of the country, sometimes exceeding 48 per square kilometer (125/sq. Predominantly farmers, the Mossi kingdom is still led by the Mogho Naba, whose court is in Ouagadougou.īurkina Faso is an ethnically integrated, secular state. The Mossi claim descent from warriors who migrated to present-day Burkina Faso from Ghana and established an empire that lasted more than 800 years. The Voltaic Mossi make up about one-half of the population. In July–September, the rains bring a 3-month cooler and greener humid season.īurkina Faso's 13.9 million people belong to two major West African cultural groups-the Voltaic and the Mande (whose common language is Dioula). The cooler season, November to February, is pleasantly warm and dry (but dusty), with cool evenings. Annual average rainfall varies from about 100 centimeters (40 in.) in the south to less than 25 centimeters (10 in.) in the north and northeast, where hot desert winds accentuate the dryness of the region. Infrastructure and tourism are, however, not well developed. Game preserves also are home to lions, hippos, monkeys, warthogs, and antelope. Burkina Faso has West Africa's largest elephant population. The largest river is the Mouhoun (Black Volta), which is partially navigable by small craft. 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. Burkina Faso is a landlocked country located in the middle of West Africa's 'hump.' It is geographically in the Sahel-the agricultural region between the Sahara Desert and the coastal rain forests.