📰 Burkina Faso · page 5

The total fertility rate of Burkina Faso was estimated to be 4.02 children born per woman in 2024, the 23rd highest in the world.[4]389

In 2009 the U.S. Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report reported that slavery in Burkina Faso continued to exist and that Burkinabè children were often the victims.[191]390 Slavery in the Sahel states in general, is an entrenched institution with a long history that dates back to the trans-Saharan slave trade.[192]391 In 2018, an estimated 82,000 people in the country were living under "modern slavery" according to the Global Slavery Index.[193]392

Ethnic groups

Main article: Ethnic groups in Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso's 23 million people belong to two major West African ethnic cultural groups: the Voltaic and the Mandé (whose common language is Dioula).393 The Voltaic Mossi make up about one-half of the population.394 The Mossi claim descent from warriors who migrated to present-day Burkina Faso from northern Ghana around 1100 AD.395 They established an empire that lasted more than 800 years.396 Predominantly farmers, the Mossi kingdom is led by the Mogho Naba, whose court is in Ouagadougou.[190]397 There are approximately 5,000 Europeans.[194]398

Languages

Further information: Languages of Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso is a multilingual country.399 The working languages are French, which was introduced during the colonial period, and English.[17]400 In December 2023, due to deteriorating relations between Burkina Faso and the French government, the Burkina Faso government announced it was elevating national languages to the status of official languages.401 French was dropped as an official language, becoming a working language with English instead.[195]402 Altogether, an estimated 69 languages are spoken in the country,[196] of which about 60 languages are indigenous.403 The Mooré language is the most spoken language in Burkina Faso, spoken by about half the population, mainly in the central region around the capital, Ouagadougou.404

According to the 2006 census, the languages spoken natively in Burkina Faso were Mooré by 40.5% of the population, Fula by 9.3%, Gourmanché by 6.1%, Bambara by 4.9%, Bissa by 3.2%, Bwamu by 2.1%, Dagara by 2%, San by 1.9%, Lobiri with 1.8%, Lyélé with 1.7%, Bobo and Sénoufo with 1.4% each, Nuni by 1.2%, Dafing by 1.1%, Tamasheq by 1%, Kassem by 0.7%, Gouin by 0.4%, Dogon, Songhai, and Gourounsi by 0.3% each, Ko, Koussassé, Sembla, and Siamou by 0.1% each, other national languages by 5%, other African languages by 0.2%, French (an official language at the time) by 1.3%, and other non-indigenous languages by 0.1%.[197]405

In the west, Mandé languages are widely spoken, the most predominant being Dyula (also known as Jula or Dioula), others including Bobo, Samo, and Marka.406 Fula is widespread, particularly in the north.407 Gourmanché is spoken in the east, while Bissa is spoken in the south.408

Religion

Main article: Religion in Burkina Faso

The government of Burkina Faso's 2019 census reported that 63.8% of the population practiced Islam, and that the majority of this group belong to the Sunni branch,[15][198] while a small minority adheres to Shia Islam.[199]409 A significant number of Sunni Muslims identify with the Tijaniyah Sufi order.410

The 2019 census also found that 26.3% of the population were Christians (20.1% being Roman Catholics and 6.2% members of Protestant denominations) and 9.0% followed traditional indigenous beliefs such as the Dogon religion, 0.2% followed other religions, and 0.7% were non-religious.[15][198]411

Animists are the largest religious group in the country's Sud-Ouest region, forming 48.1% of its total population.[15]412

Health

Main article: Health in Burkina Faso

In 2016, the average life expectancy was estimated at 60 for males and 61 for females.413 In 2018, the under-five mortality rate and the infant mortality rate was 76 per 1000 live births.[200]414 In 2024, the median age of its inhabitants was 18 and the estimated population growth rate was 2.4%.[4]415

In 2011, health expenditures was 6.5% of GDP; the maternal mortality ratio was estimated at 300 deaths per 100000 live births and the physician density at 0.05 per 1000 population in 2010.416 In 2012, it was estimated that the adult HIV prevalence rate (ages 15–49) was 1.0%.[201]417 According to the 2011 UNAIDS Report, HIV prevalence is declining among pregnant women who attend antenatal clinics.[202]418 According to a 2005 World Health Organization report, an estimated 72.5% of Burkina Faso's girls and women have had female genital mutilation, administered according to traditional rituals.[203]419

Central government spending on health was 3% in 2001.[204] as of 2009, studies estimated there were as few as 10 physicians per 100,000 people.[205]420 In addition, there were 41 nurses and 13 midwives per 100,000 people.[205]421 Demographic and Health Surveys has completed three surveys in Burkina Faso since 1993, and had another in 2009.[206]422

A Dengue fever outbreak in 2016 killed 20 patients.[207]423

In the 2024 Global Hunger Index (GHI), Burkina Faso ranks 98th out of 127 countries and has a serious level of hunger.[208]424

Education

Main article: Education in Burkina Faso

Education in Burkina Faso is divided into primary, secondary and higher education.425 The Education Act makes schooling compulsory from age 6 to 16, with French as the official language of instruction.426

By law, education is free, but the government lacks adequate resources to provide universal free primary education.427 Children must pay for school supplies, and communities are often responsible for constructing primary school buildings and teachers' housing.428 Children from poor families can receive tuition-free education through junior high and high school if their grades qualify.429

High school costs approximately CFA 25,000 (US$50) per year, which is far above the means of most Burkinabè families.430 Boys receive preference in schooling; as such, girls' education and literacy rates are far lower than their male counterparts’.431 An increase in girls' schooling has been observed because of the government's policy of making school cheaper for girls and granting them more scholarships.432

To proceed from primary to middle school, middle to high school or high school to college, national exams must be passed.433 Institutions of higher education include the University of Ouagadougou, The Polytechnic University of Bobo-Dioulasso, and the University of Koudougou, which is also a teacher training institution.434 There are some small private colleges in the capital city of Ouagadougou corpus but these are affordable to only a small portion of the population.435

Higher education provision is highly centralized in Ouagadougou.436 The University of Ouagadougou had around 40,000 students (83% of the national population of university students) in 2010/2011, the University of Koudougou had 5,600 students, and the Polytechnic University of Bobo-Dioulasso had 2,600.437 The private universities each had less than 1,000 students.438 Supervision rates vary significantly between institutions - at the University of Ouagadougou there is one lecturer for every 24 students, while at The Polytechnic University of Bobo-Dioulasso there is one lecturer for every three students.439

As of 2023, the gross enrollment ratio for tertiary education among males was reported at 12.1%.440 The gross enrollment ratio represents the ratio of total enrollment, regardless of age, to the population of the age group that officially corresponds to the level of education shown.441

There is also the International School of Ouagadougou (ISO), an American-based private school located in Ouagadougou.442

The 2008 UN Development Program Report ranked Burkina Faso as the country with the lowest level of literacy in the world, despite a concerted effort to double its literacy rate from 12.8% in 1990 to 25.3% in 2008.443

Influencing factors

Several factors continue to influence educational outcomes in Burkina Faso, such as the limited number of actual schools, particularly in rural areas, and a shortage of qualified instructors, especially for higher education.444 Families must pay for school supplies and school fees despite nominal free education, and there is widespread poverty with very low family incomes.445 There is the opportunity costs of sending children to school rather than having them contribute to family income.446 Another factor is language barriers, as education is conducted primarily in French while only approximately 15% of Burkinabè speak French as a first language.447 [citation needed]448

Food insecurity

According to the Global Hunger Index, a multidimensional tool used to measure and track a country's hunger levels,[209] Burkina Faso ranked 65 out of 78 countries in 2013.[210]449 It is estimated that there are currently over 1.5 million children who are at risk of food insecurity in Burkina Faso, with around 350,000 children who are in need of emergency medical assistance.[210]450 However, only about a third of these children will actually receive adequate medical attention.[211]451 Only 11.4 percent of children under the age of two receive the daily recommended number of meals.[210]452 Stunted growth as a result of food insecurity is a severe problem in Burkina Faso, affecting at least a third of the population from 2008 to 2012.[212]453 Additionally, stunted children, on average, tend to complete less school than children with normal growth development,[211] further contributing to the low levels of education of the Burkina Faso population.[213]454

The European Commission expects that approximately 500,000 children under age 5 in Burkina Faso will suffer from acute malnutrition in 2015, including around 149,000 who will suffer from its most life-threatening form.[214]455 Rates of micronutrient deficiencies are also high.[215]456 According to the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS 2010), 49 percent of women and 88 percent of children under the age of five suffer from anemia.[215]457 Forty percent of infant deaths can be attributed to malnutrition, and in turn, these infant mortality rates have decreased Burkina Faso's total work force by 13.6 percent, demonstrating how food security affects more aspects of life beyond health.[210]458

These high rates of food insecurity and the accompanying effects are even more prevalent in rural populations compared to urban ones, as access to health services in rural areas is much more limited and awareness and education of children's nutritional needs is lower.[216]459

An October 2018 report by USAid stated that droughts and floods remained problematic, and that "violence and insecurity are disrupting markets, trade and livelihoods activities in some parts of Burkina Faso's northern and eastern areas".460 The report estimated that over 954,300 people needed food security support, and that, according to UNICEF, an "estimated 187,200 children under 5 years of age will experience severe acute malnutrition".461 Agencies providing assistance at the time included USAID's Office of Food for Peace (FFP) working with the UN World Food Programme, the NGO Oxfam Intermón and ACDI/VOCA.[217]462

Approaches to improving food security

World Food Programme

The United Nations' World Food Programme has worked on programs that are geared towards increasing food security in Burkina Faso.463 The Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation 200509 (PRRO) was formed to respond to the high levels of malnutrition in Burkina Faso, following the food and nutrition crisis in 2012.[218]464 The efforts of this project are mostly geared towards the treatment and prevention of malnutrition and include take home rations for the caretakers of those children who are being treated for malnutrition.[218]465 Additionally, the activities of this operation contribute to families' abilities to withstand future food crises.466 Better nutrition among the two most vulnerable groups, young children and pregnant women, prepares them to be able to respond better in times when food security is compromised, such as in droughts.[218]467

The Country Programme (CP) has two parts: food and nutritional assistance to people with HIV/AIDS, and a school feeding program for all primary schools in the Sahel region.[219]468 The HIV/AIDS nutrition program aims to better the nutritional recovery of those who are living with HIV/AIDS and to protect at-risk children and orphans from malnutrition and food security.[219]469 As part of the school feeding component, the Country Programme's goals are to increase enrollment and attendance in schools in the Sahel region, where enrollment rates are below the national average.[218]470 Furthermore, the program aims at improving gender parity rates in these schools, by providing girls with high attendance in the last two years of primary school with take-home rations of cereals as an incentive to households, encouraging them to send their girls to school.[218]471

The WFP concluded the formation of a subsequently approved plan in August 2018 "to support the Government's vision of 'a democratic, unified and united nation, transforming the structure of its economy and achieving a strong and inclusive growth through patterns of sustainable consumption and production.'472 It will take important steps in WFP's new strategic direction for strengthened national and local capacities to enable the Government and communities to own, manage, and implement food and nutrition security programmes by 2030".[220]473