Burkina Faso

With few natural resources and one of the highest population densities in Africa, Burkina Faso is the second poorest country in the world (United Nations Development Programme 2007-8). Its economy is vulnerable to external shocks and only Sierra Leone, currently emerging from civil war, is poorer.


View Larger Map

More than 80% of the population relies on subsistence agriculture which is vulnerable to drought and poor soil. Only one river in Burkina Faso - the Black Volta - flows for the whole year, and rainfall levels are decreasing.

As a result, rural people are moving to towns and cities to search for work. A knock-on effect of this rural to urban migration is the growth of unplanned slums which lack basic water and sanitation services.

Burkina’s literacy rates are among the worst in the world. Less than 19% of men and less than 9% of women are able to read and write. Most literate people are in the capital. In the countryside, it is possible that there might be only one literate person in a village of 1,000 people.

International Service has been active in Burkina Faso since 1978. The majority of our local partners work with local communities in both rural and urban areas, and focus on working with disabled people and women.

Read our story about how International Service is helping women in Burkina Faso spice up their profits...