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FACTBOX-Burkina Faso, one of the world's poorest countries

03 May 2007 13:03:05 GMT
Source: Reuters

May 3 (Reuters) - Burkina Faso holds legislative elections on Sunday which are expected to give President Blaise Compaore's ruling Congress for Democracy and Progress (CDP) party a reinforced majority in parliament.

Here are some key facts about Burkina Faso:

GEOGRAPHY: A landlocked country in the arid Sahel region south of the Sahara, its area is 273,600 sq km. The country used to be called Upper Volta, taking its name from the three rivers which water the plains -- the black, red and white Volta. In 1984, then-president Thomas Sankara changed the name to Burkina Faso or "Land of Upright Men".

POPULATION: 13.6 million.

ETHNICITY: The Mossis make up over half of the population. There are also Fulani herders and Tamejek, Bellah and Djula minorities.

RELIGION: Islam 50 percent, traditional African religions 40 percent, Christianity (mostly Catholicism) 10 percent.

LANGUAGE: French (official); 71 languages from the Sudanic family are spoken by 90 percent of the population (most common are Mossi, Bobo, Bissa and Gurma).

ECONOMY: Burkina Faso was ranked 174th out of 177 countries in the 2006 U.N. Human Development Index. Almost half of its people live on less than $1 a day. Life expectancy is not quite 48 years. Many of its population are subsistence farmers, with severe food shortages and drought not uncommon. Burkina Faso is sub-Saharan Africa's top cotton producer, after overtaking Benin and Mali.

SOME HISTORY: Burkina Faso became a separate colony under French rule in 1919, acquiring its present borders in 1947. There have been five military coups since independence in 1960.

-- Compaore seized power in a 1987 coup but has widespread popular support. However, neighbouring Ivory Coast has accused him of backing rebels holding the north of the country and he has been named in U.N. reports for supporting insurgents during Sierra Leone's civil war.

-- Compaore, a former army captain, won a landslide victory in the Nov. 2005 presidential polls, taking 80 percent of the vote. A new law from 2005 had prohibited presidents from standing for more than two terms but the Constitutional Court ruled the law could not be applied retroactively, clearing the way for Compaore's re-election.

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Last updated:Thu May 3 13:06:08 2007