EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Since September 2022, Burkina Faso is led by a Transition Government headed by Captain Ibrahim Traoré, who came to power in a putsch that overthrew Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Damiba. Former Transition President Damiba had himself assumed power after carrying out a successful coup d’etat and deposed the democratically elected government of former President Roch Marc Christian Kabore on January 24, 2022. In addition to the Transition presidency, Burkina Faso now has the Transition Legislative Assembly and a Transition Charter and has a fully restored constitution. Shortly after taking over, the Transition Authorities unveiled their guiding document, the Action Plan for Development and Stabilization (PASD, 2023-2025). The PASD priorities—which were aspects of the strategic vision charted by the Kabore government—are: (1) fight against terrorism and restore territorial integrity, (2) respond to the humanitarian crisis, (3) and rebuild (or “refound”) the state and improve governance. On January 25, 2023, Burkina Faso validated its budget for the PASD, which is expected to cost US$12.4 billion, or US$4.1 billion annually. The PASD will be financed using domestic resources (40.9%), loans (32.2%), and grants (19%), but still faces a financing gap of US$3.34 billion (27%). Confronted with a deteriorating security environment, where terrorists reportedly control 40% of the national territory, the Transition Authorities led by Traoré are prioritizing the war effort and have introduced new taxes to generate revenue to acquire the requisite military resources.
Burkina Faso is a landlocked country and among the world’s poorest countries according to the UN Development Program (UNDP) Human Development Index, ranked 184 out of 189 countries in 2022. Burkina Faso has an estimated population of 22 million inhabitants (as of June 2022), and the IMF estimates Burkina’s 2022 growth domestic product (GDP) at US$ 21.8 billion. Burkina Faso’s economy rebounded in 2022 and grew at an estimated 2.7%, slowed partly by insecurity and an unusually weak year of gold exports. The economy is forecasted to grow at 4.9% in 2023. The fiscal deficit rose steadily from 5.5% in 2022 to 6.9% of GDP in 2023, partly as a result of a multitude of challenges, including security, humanitarian, food, and social, among others. Over 40% of the Burkinabe population live below the poverty line, and the country ranks 144th out of 157 countries in the World Bank’s Human Capital Index. Some 80 percent of the country’s population is engaged in agriculture—mostly subsistence—with only a small fraction directly involved in agribusiness. In 2022, in response to the food and energy crisis caused by the Ukraine crisis, the government rolled out a series of measures, including spending approximately US$ 126 million on fertilizers, to prop up agricultural production. Earlier, in a series of actions to address COVID-19, the Burkinabe government announced US$ 656 million worth of socio-economic measures ranging from tax breaks to subsidies and food support to low-income families.
Overall, Burkina Faso welcomes foreign investment and actively seeks to attract foreign partners to aid in its development. It has partially put in place the legal and regulatory framework necessary to ensure that foreign investors are treated fairly, including setting up a venue for commercial disputes and streamlining the issuance of permits and company registration requirements. However, there is room for more re progress to facilitate more competition, especially in sectors where SOEs are dominant, and to enforce intellectual property protections.
Burkina Faso ranked 111th out of 177 countries in the Heritage Foundation’s Economic Freedom Index in 2023. Burkina Faso’s rank in the Corruption Perception Index improved slightly from 78th in 2021 to 77th in 2022 (out of 180 countries).
The gold mining industry has boomed in the last decade, and the bulk of foreign investment is in the mining sector, mostly by firms from Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, South Africa, and Russia. Moroccan, French and UAE companies control local subsidiaries in the telecommunications industry, while foreign investors are also active in sectors such as banking and financial technology, agriculture, transport and logistics, energy, and telecommunications. There is a growing foreign investment interest in the security sector. In June 2015, a new mining code was approved to standardize contract terms and better regulate the sector. As of early 2023, the government has indicated its plans to revise the mining code. In 2018, the parliament adopted a new investment code that offers many advantages to foreign investors. This code offers a range of tax breaks and incentives to lure foreign investors, including exemptions from value-added tax (VAT) on certain equipment. Effective tax rates as a result are lower than the regional average, though the tax system is complex, and compliance can be burdensome. Opportunities for U.S. firms exist across many sectors, including agriculture, energy, banking and finance, telecommunications, manufacturing, and aviation.
Burkina Faso remains committed to a market-based economy without barriers to trade. Over the last 15 years, the national power utility’s Société Nationale de l’Eléctricité du Burkina (SONABEL) customer base and energy demand ballooned, growing by 64% between 2015 and 2021. However, supply can only meet the demand in non-peak periods. Burkina Faso imports nearly 70 percent of its electricity from neighboring Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire and faces electricity reliability and affordability challenges. It also imports other energy products such as gasoline and gas through a network of foreign companies to meet local demand. In September 2022, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) terminated its US$ 500 million compact with Burkina Faso as a result of the unconstitutional transfer of power that year. The Compact aimed to unlock economic growth by strengthening electricity sector effectiveness, energy reliability cost-effectiveness, and grid development and access, creating a more favorable investment environment for firms in the energy sector and the wider economy and spurring further foreign direct investment in Burkina Faso.
Measure |
Year |
Index/Rank |
Website Address |
---|---|---|---|
TI Corruption Perceptions Index |
2022 |
77 of 180 |
|
Global Innovation Index |
2022 |
120 of 132 |
|
U.S. FDI in partner country |
2022 |
N/A |
https://apps.bea.gov/international/ |
World Bank GNI per capita |
2021 |
$830 |
https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/ |