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BURKINA FASO |
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Area |
274.000 Kmq |
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Capital
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Ouagadougou | ||
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Language
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Franch | ||
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Currency
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Franc CFA | ||
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Religion
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Traditional cults | ||
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Population
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11.946.065 | ||
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Population
annual growth
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2,7% | ||
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Urban
population
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16,4% | ||
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Life
expentancy at birth
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46 years | ||
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Mortalità infantile |
108 per1.000 |
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Age
group enrolment %
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Primary 39%, Secondary 12%, Tertiary 1% | ||
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Dailies
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Radio
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28 per 1.000 ab. | ||
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Televisions
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10 per 1.000 ab. | ||
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GNP
per capita
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$ 240 | ||
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Exports
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$ 311 millions | ||
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Imports
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$ 572 millions | ||
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(Fonts - population,
annual growth, life expectancy, infant mortality, imports and exports:
The World Factbook 2000, www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook - GNP
per capita: UNDP, Human Development Report 2000, Oxford 2000 - other
infos: Instituto del Tercer Mundo, Guya del mondo 1999/2000, Montevideo
1999) www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook
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HISTORY The history of Upper Volta (the name of Burkina Faso until 1984) has always been conditioned by the colonial strategies of France, which occupied it militarily at the beginning of the last century. In 1960 it became an independent territory: from then on, for about thirty years, elections and coups d'état followed one another in rapid succession, with the coup d'état led by the revolutionary T. Sankara standing out. He took power in 1982 and initiated a process to improve health and fight illiteracy. Assassinated a few years later, he was replaced by B. Campaoré, who opened up the country to private initiative and foreign capital and began a process of democratization which led to the new constitution of 1991, inaugurating the division of power and a multi-party system. However, these institutional innovations have never corresponded with adequate technological and economic growth, in one of the poorest countries in the world: in Burkina Faso, there are practically no savings, the population uses kerosene for lighting and wood as a source of domestic energy, a need which obviously does not fight the progressive desertification of the territory. The main resources remain farming and livestock raising, whilst the mineral resources remain the prerogative of foreign interests. The high population density and desertification have as their sole outlet emigration, which enriches the labour force in neighbouring countries. About half of the population consists of the ancient ethnic group of the Mossi, a socially compact group with a clan structure; the rest of the county is divided into other ethnic groups with a nomad culture. Unlike other African countries, Burkina Faso has always maintained a sort of harmony amongst the various ethnic groups; this corresponds to a substantial cultural homogeneity and homogeneous animist traditional religions. |
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BIBLIOGRAPHY DECALO S., Burkina Faso, Oxford : Clio press 1994 COSTADONI, Verso il Golfo di Guinea: Ghana, Togo, Benin, Burkina, Bergamo: Cesvi 1996 NEWTON A., Niger e Mali, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Torino : EDT 1996 AIME M., Le radici nella sabbia : viaggio in Mali e Burkina Faso, Torino : EDT 1999 A la découverte de Burkina Faso Burkina Faso culture,tourism, activities and Forum discussions
MUSIC |
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ITALIAN NGO IN BURKINA FASO CICSENE, MANI TESE, VISBA, RETE, CISV, CIC, MSP, ISCOS, UVISP ASSISI, LVIA, CELIM BG, CVCS |
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