Publication: Country Economic Memorandum for Burkina Faso: Making Growth More Efficient, Sustainable, and Inclusive
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2024-07-17
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2024-07-17
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Between 2000 and 2022, Burkina Faso’s economic output has more than tripled in real terms, but this has not translated into significant reductions in the number in extreme poverty. Economic growth has been highly volatile due to exposure to weather and climate shocks, political instability and conflict, and external shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. Although the economy has undergone major sectoral changes, they do not reflect the degree of structural transformation needed to equip the country for future success. A slowdown in agricultural production over the past decade has left Burkina Faso less able to provide employment in rural areas and feed a growing population. Growth has not been efficient due to low productivity, a sub-optimal allocation of production factors, and major constraints to private sector development, including a low human capital base. Growth has also not been sustainable due to low levels of investment, the deterioration of public finances, and the destruction of natural resources, which all limit the economy’s resilience to shocks. Finally, growth has not been inclusive due to the underemployment of young people and women in the formal sectors of the economy, and little redistribution of the fruits of growth. The policy objective in this area will be to increase women’s engagement in higher-value sectors, improve their access to productive inputs, and increase their physical security and household agency. Under the high, sustainable, and inclusive growth scenario, significant per capita GDP gains would see Burkina Faso join the group of lower middle-income countries by 2040 and remain in the group thereafter.
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“Pajank, D; Abalo, K; Porte, J. 2024. Country Economic Memorandum for Burkina Faso: Making Growth More Efficient, Sustainable, and Inclusive. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/41889 License: CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO.”
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