Burkina Faso is located in West Africa. Its area is 274, 000 km2. It is a member of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WEAMU), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union (AU).

Burkina Faso is located in West Africa. It is surrounded to the northwest by Mali, to the east-northeast by Niger, to the east-southeast by Benin, to the southeast by Togo, to the south by Ghana and to the southwest by the Ivory Coast. It has no outlet to the sea. It is a very flat country; the highest point is the Tenakourou, at 747 m to the west. It is a member of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union. It ratified the agreement establishing the World Trade Organization on May 3, 1995.

The primary sector (30% of GDP and 80% of the working population), which explains the importance of the informal sector (estimated at 80%), is mainly driven by the cultivation of cotton. The secondary sector (20% of GDP) consists mainly of the mining sectors (especially gold, which accounts for 11% of GDP and which together with cotton, generates nearly 95% of the country’s export earnings), construction and manufacturing. Finally, the tertiary sector (50% of GDP) benefits in particular from the development of financial services and telecommunications.

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