Life expectancy at birth: 51 years male, 52 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 7.2 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun—Burkinabe; adjective—Burkinabe
Ethnic divisions: more than 50 tribes; principal tribe is Mossi (about 2.5 million); other important groups are Gurunsi, Senufo, Lobi, Bobo, Mande, and Fulani
Religion: 65% indigenous beliefs, about 25% Muslim, 10% Christian (mainly
Roman Catholic)
Language: French (official); tribal languages belong to Sudanic family, spoken by 90% of the population
Literacy: 13.2%
Labor force: 3,300,000 residents; 30,000 are wage earners; 82% agriculture, 13% industry, 5% commerce, services, and government; 20% of male labor force migrates annually to neighboring countries for seasonal employment (1984); 44% of population of working age (1985)
Organized labor: four principal trade union groups represent less than 1% of population
- Government
Long-form name: Burkina Faso