According to the 2024 Human Development Index ranking prepared by the United Nations Development Programme, it ranks 186 out of 193 countries.

Some indicative development data for Burkina Faso:

• Per capita income is estimated at 755€
• Under-5 child mortality rate: 8%
• The percentage of children between 3 and 5 years old in school: 6%
• Adult literacy rate: approximately 41%
• Life expectancy at birth: 62 years

An old French colony, Burkina Faso became independent in 1960. Captain Ibrahim Traore has been the president since September 2022, after a coup d’État, with which he overthrew Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, who presided for 8 months, after his own coup d’État in January 2022. Previously, Roch Marc Christian Kabore presided the country for 6 years (2015 – 2021), suceeding Blaise Compaore who presided for 27 years (1987 – 2014).

In September 2023, Burkina Faso joined Mali and Niger to form the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), which in July 2024 evolved into the Confederation of Sahel States. The main objectives of this new entity are: (i) to strengthen security and joint self-defense among its members, (ii) to promote economic integration and sustainable development in the region, and (iii) to guarantee the sovereignty, independence, and self-determination of the member states.

French is the official language and is used in administration and education, but most of the population communicates primarily in their more than 60 native languages, reflecting the country’s great cultural and linguistic diversity.

Religion: 60,5% Muslim; 19% Catholic; 15,3% Animist; 4.2% Protestant and the rest other traditional African religions.

(Source “National Institute of Statistics and Demography”)